Inside Shopify Builder Sundays: What I Saw in Ottawa

"We live to eat."

I look up from my laptop. Two guys at the next table just said it out loud.

I say it back. "Me too."

All three of us burst out laughing.

Two minutes later, those same two guys are on stage.

I'm at Shopify's Builder Sundays in Ottawa. Free event, happens every Sunday, but I'd been putting it off for three months. Today I almost skipped it again. Too much on my plate. I went anyway.

Brian Huang and Brandon Choi built a web app called Cheat Days. In under two hours. It finds the most indulgent, highest calorie food near you, for the day you've earned it. The app was sharp, the idea was fun and their presentation was funny.

Then Frank Wang got up and showed The Finance Student, a site tracking every finance and business event happening across the city.

Then Dongha (David) Yom talked about a setback that pushed him into content creation for Carleton University. It went viral. He ran two other in-person events that sold out completely. He's now a CMO at an AI company.

All three of them are under 20. Most haven't started university yet. Several are already serial entrepreneurs.

I sat there watching people give feedback, ask real questions, push each other's products further. I've been to a lot of events over the years. This one stood out. The apps were sharp, the ideas were sharper, and the people building them hadn't even started university yet.

One more thing stuck with me. There was a visually impaired attendee in the room, and Shopify staff were right there with him, helping him pick snacks, walking him up to the stage. Just quietly making sure the room worked for everyone in it.

If you're building something in Ottawa, Toronto, or Montreal, look up Shopify Builder Sundays. Free to attend, register online first. I almost talked myself out of going again last Sunday. Don't.