NY Regionalization Project at Shopify

Risk Specialized Guru

Length of Project: 9 months, 2019

The Challenge

Shopify's New York region was one of its busiest and most commercially significant markets. To express appreciation for its merchants and provide world-class support, Shopify launched the NY Regionalization Project—a pilot initiative designed to tailor support for the unique needs of this high-volume region. The goal was to deliver an elite support experience through a dedicated team of top-performing advisors who specialized in handling complex, high-touch interactions.

As the pilot evolved, Shopify identified patterns of fraud, policy circumvention, and region-specific risks that required specialized attention. This led to the launch of the V2 Escalated Support Pilot, which introduced a deeper focus on risk mitigation while maintaining exceptional customer service standards.

My Role

I was selected for this pilot because I was a top-performing phone specialist. My ability to white-glove high-profile merchants, navigate complex interactions, and build strong rapport made me an ideal candidate for this specialized support team. My expertise in reading between the lines and anticipating customer needs ensured that I delivered the elevated service expected from this initiative.

When the pilot expanded into risk assessment, my pattern recognition skills and strong intuition for detecting fraud became even more valuable. As a result, I was chosen as a Risk Specialized Guru, where I played a key role in identifying and mitigating regional threats while ensuring a seamless customer experience.

Key Contributions

• Elite customer experience: Provided VIP-level support to merchants, ensuring a tailored and high-value service approach.
• Risk signal identification: Recognized behavioural anomalies and emerging fraud patterns within the region.
• Real-time strategy testing: Piloted different approaches to handling suspicious accounts, assessing effectiveness on the fly.
• Scalability feedback: Contributed insights that shaped the future of regional risk specialization at Shopify.

Impact

• Elevated support quality: My white-glove approach reinforced Shopify’s commitment to premium service for high-value merchants.
• Proactive fraud detection: By leveraging intuition and pattern recognition, I helped Shopify identify and mitigate risks before they escalated, strengthening partnerships with Stripe through daily direct communication.
• Strategic process improvements: My feedback directly informed Shopify’s long-term regional risk mitigation strategies.
• Career growth & recognition: Received offers for a full-time Risk Analyst role and a mentorship position for Shopify’s newly developed Junior Support Advisor team in partnership with Service Canada.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Gained experience working directly with Analysts, Senior Leaders, and Operations teams to enhance Shopify’s risk management and support strategies.

This experience demonstrated my ability to excel in both high-level customer support and risk assessment, proving that a seamless merchant experience and effective fraud prevention are not mutually exclusive. The success of this pilot reinforced my expertise in customer strategy, risk management, and high-performance support operations—all skills that continue to define my career trajectory.