The weirdest holiday gift idea ever? Shopify launches 'Gift A Business' service

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By Barclay Ballard
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You can now gift a business to that special entrepreneur in your life

Shopify
(Image credit: Shopify)

E-commerce platform Shopify is allowing customers to purchase an unusual gift this holiday season – a business. 

The 'Gift A Business' event will be launching on Shopify’s Exchange Marketplace on November 16 and allows anyone to purchase a pre-built Shopify store for one lucky friend or family member.

Anyone that’s ever dreamed of being their own boss has probably thought of becoming an entrepreneur but starting out can often be the hardest part. The idea behind the new Shopify service is that gifting a business means putting off that dream is no longer an option.

"Every person who’s always dreamed of starting a business needed their first push,” explained Nicole Martins Ferreira, marketing manager at Shopify’s Exchange Marketplace. “Maybe it’s a friend who believes in them or a parent who supports their dream. We’re launching Gift A Business to encourage friends and family of potential entrepreneurs to support a person’s desire to pursue something bigger than themselves."

The gift that keeps on giving

Bespoke businesses can be purchased for between $50 and $250, depending on how much support is desired. All businesses come pre-designed, however, so marketing can begin from day one.

More than 10,000 stores will be available from the Exchange Marketplace from across a wide range of industries. So whether your business idea revolves around fashion, cars, homeware or anything else, there’s likely to be a store that suits you available.

Businesses also come equipped with a starter package that includes a business certificate, a printable holiday card and five e-books about entrepreneurship. Since 2017, Shopify’s Exchange Marketplace has allowed entrepreneurs to buy and sell businesses, but this is the first time that it’s been possible to gift a business to someone else.

Barclay Ballard
Barclay Ballard

Barclay has been writing about technology for a decade, starting out as a freelancer with ITProPortal covering everything from London’s start-up scene to comparisons of the best cloud storage services.  After that, he spent some time as the managing editor of an online outlet focusing on cloud computing, furthering his interest in virtualization, Big Data, and the Internet of Things.