Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP) is a cloud-based commerce platform that focuses on small- and medium-sized businesses. If you consider that according to data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, that businesses in the U.S. that employed less than 500 workers accounted for 99.7% of all businesses, you would have a pretty good idea of the market potential that SHOP stock has.

That still leaves nearly 20,000 businesses that have 500 employees or more, but the fact is, the U.S. is built on small- and medium-sized businesses. And that’s why companies that have decided to look to this market as core to their business model are doing so well these days.

Many younger workers are choosing to opt out of the 9-5 grind and look to follow their interests rather than be a corporate cog. Whether that’s a good decision or not, isn’t something that’s worth discussing here.

Here, we’re seeing the trend and we take advantage of the trend. Like payment processor Square (NYSE: SQ), SHOP is about empowering small business owners — whether they’re brick and mortar shops, strictly e-commerce or somewhere in between — to build their business without having to hire bookkeepers and marketing departments until they have the time and money to deploy money into those resources.

It’s a DIY model that has great appeal to new generations of entrepreneurs who are interested in getting their ideas to market first, rather than building a corporate infrastructure.

SHOP Stock Should Be On Your Buy List

This also has a lot of attraction for investors. SHOP stock is up more than 30% in the past 12 months and 14% year-to-date. That’s very impressive given the fact that it’s not really making much of a profit yet.

But it is growing rapidly. It has a $17 billion market cap and the Street loves what it sees. All this has been happening while SHOP has had two secondary offerings in the past year.

Usually those dilute shareholder value and the stock drops. But not here because SHOP is all about taking that money and growing its business through acquisitions or expanding into new markets.

The strategy has worked. And that is the key at this point. SHOP continues to grow its top line and make progress on its bottom line. Those are two very important features in a young growth stock in a developing market.

My Portfolio Grader has SHOP stock at a B rating right now. Some of it is likely the fact that it hasn’t yet turned a profit and some of it is — this market has yet to find any real direction.

Either way, at this point, SHOP is doing everything right. It has a strong platform that is growing. It has proven that it’s able to deliver on growth, quarter after quarter. And it is in a very interesting market sector with a very strong brand.

Granted, pure growth stocks aren’t always the most stable stocks in the market, but if SHOP manages to become the brand leader in its sector, a long-term ride may be very rewarding.

Louis Navellier is a renowned growth investor. He is the editor of four investing newsletters: Growth Investor, Breakthrough Stocks, Accelerated Profits and Platinum Growth. His most popular service, Growth Investor, has a track record of beating the market 3:1 over the last 14 years. He uses a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks. Mr. Navellier has made his proven formula accessible to investors via his free, online stock rating tool, PortfolioGrader.com. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.