Jean-Michel Lemieux

18/02/2025 46 min

Listen "Jean-Michel Lemieux"

Episode Synopsis

Jean-Michel Lemieux has an incredible profile. Former VP of Engineering at Atlassian Former CTO at Shopify Founder of DevDegree at Shopify Restaurant owner of Arlo in Ottawa Author of an upcoming book "Build Right Side" Founder of SeaPeopleTakeaways- Early Ottawa tech scene.- Moving to Australia to work for the iconic company Atlassian.- Building trust when leading a new team.- Being a product expert as a CTO is key.- Moving back to Ottawa and joining Shopify.- Scaling Shopify's engineering team from 50 to 3,000.- Work with Founders as an executive like Tobi at Shopify and Mike and Scott at Atlassian.- JML's take on Founder Mode.- Background behind DevDegree.- JML's take on effective communication as a leader.- A strong opinion on technology tools is essential as a CTO.- Launching and starting Arlo one of Canada's top 100 restaurants.- Similarities behind starting a restaurant and tech.- Building a boat and JML's plan to tackle a massive sailing trip.- Power of writing and his book.- SeaPeople, one of his latest ventures.Chapters00:00 The Early Ottawa Tech Scene02:23 Career Trajectory and the Move to Atlassian05:15 Lessons from Atlassian08:03 Transition to Shopify10:50 Scaling Teams at Shopify15:44 Working with Founders18:58 The Concept of Founder Mode21:24 DevDegree: Bridging Education and Industry24:25 Traits of a Modern CTO26:33 Optimizing Technology Teams for Speed and Efficiency27:43 The Intersection of Food and Technology: Starting a Restaurant29:42 Navigating Life After Shopify: A Personal Journey31:36 Exploring the Seas: Building a Boat and Community34:07 Finding Product-Market Fit: Lessons from Entrepreneurship37:20 Writing as a Passion Project: Insights from Building a Book39:04 Embracing a Growth Mindset in Business and Life41:10 The Sneaker Phenomenon: Unexpected Lessons from Shopify47:22 Looking Ahead: Personal and Professional AspirationsKeywordsOttawa tech scene, Atlassian, Shopify, tech leadership, founder relationships, scaling teams, DevDegree, modern CTO, technology, CTO, product design, entrepreneurship, restaurant, growth mindset, Canada, sailing, community, product-market fit