https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/shopify
These investors include VC firms like First Mark Capital, which are NYC based - and oh yeah, the exact same VC firm that was the biggest investor in the startup I worked at that I said is in freefall but now getting positive financial press. It's not about whether the VCs are running operations, it's about whether the VCs are worried they won't get their money back without an IPO, which seems like a genuine concern for an operation that's losing money.
As to your second point of confusion, your pointing out its a Canadian company as if what I'm saying doesn't apply:
"We qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified exemptions from various requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies in the United States. These provisions include:"
They are IPOing on the NYSE so they are still regulated by the SEC, and if you actually read the filing you will note that they are using the new JOBS act in order to IPO. What I'm saying is not unrelated to anything, Shopify is one of the first companies to take advantage of these new changes in regulation. Maybe Shopify specifically isn't a shaky company, but I do think the doors have been opened for shaky companies without much scrutiny to be sold to a public that has been misled by PR.