Co-founder of https://xitter.cf/t.co/tjGfSrYulU ● Co-founder of @OberloApp ● Founder of https://xitter.cf/t.co/yZgi9z2dfW.
Europe
Joined May 2014
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Had a blast at @ShopQuestHQ !
Another amazing event at @ShopQuestHQ ! @adhithya_vijai and @PrakharS96 outdid themselves for the 3rd year in a row and we are now waiting for the next one! 🙏🏼
Thank you @IconUtopia, Donatas, Katre and the @KachingAppz team for joining this year and many years to come!
This is why I have an unreasonable amount of my net worth riding on @Shopify. 😂
We're also seeing great results with this Preorder setup.
2 years ago, we scaled to $800k/day while completely out of stock.... and the conversion rate improved 🤯
Without a big increase in angry customers
Most of you will face inventory issues this Q4.
But if you want to keep scaling, here's the playbook we've been gatekeeping for years:
Turn your stock crisis into a conversion multiplier.
We discovered this accidentally when the factory couldn't keep up with demand.
Instead of stopping ads, we tested something controversial:
Preorders positioned as exclusive access.
Not "sorry, we're out" but "next batch arrives in 21 days - secure yours now before we sell out again."
Conversion rate stayed the same. Sometimes went UP.
Why? Because real scarcity beats your fake "low stock" urgency every time.
Think about it:
- Rolex makes you wait 2 years
- Supreme drops sell out in minutes
- Even Labubus create artificial shortages
Your out-of-stock situation is GENUINE scarcity. Use it.
Here's the exact playbook:
1) The Reframe
Forget your fake "Low stock" text. Now you have REAL scarcity.
Scarcity is THE most powerful psychological trigger.
Position it as "so popular we can't keep up."
When customers see you're genuinely sold out, the fear shifts: "What if I miss the next batch too?"
Your messaging: "Due to overwhelming demand, new orders ship [date]. Previous batch sold out in 72 hours."
Simple. But it converts.
2) The OP Pre-Order Widget That Converts
This shows:
- Exact ship date
- How many have already preordered
- Countdown to next batch
You NEED to let your customers know upfront that it's a preorder, provide clear terms, and when they should expect to receive it.
This solves your customer service problem, and the scarcity implemented counters the conversion rate drop off.
This will allow you to scale while on preorders without much drop in performance, or customer service problems.
You don't even need a developer to implement it, you can just have GPT code it from the image.
3) The Backend Protection
Naturally, preorders trigger more chargebacks if done wrong.
Non-negotiables:
- Clear terms upfront
- Email confirmation with dates
- Weekly updates on status
- Disputifier for chargeback protection
We've tested this with students in Evolve at every level:
$10k days ✓
$70k days ✓
$100k days ✓
Conversion holds. Sometimes improves.
The psychology is simple:
When something's genuinely hard to get, people want it more.
Your inventory problem isn't a crisis. It's an opportunity to create authentic urgency.
Q4 stock issues are coming for everyone; something is going to break if you scale too hard.
The question is: will you panic or profit?
Tis one of the many playbooks we've been implementing in Evolve🤐
Essential Upsell app was cooking last quarter! 🔥
If you're a @Shopify app developer, don't sleep on @letsmetrix - you can find some great insights there.
The @GetEssentialApp team is off to Toronto for @Shopify Dot Dev! 🇨🇦
If you’re around and want to meet or catch up, send me a message. Looking forward to seeing everyone!
Launching a new @Shopify app under @GetEssentialApp be like… WHOOSH! 🚀
Distribution & Trust compounds.
I loved @heymantle. I just didn’t like depending on it. Why? Continue reading..
Sad to see Mantle shutting down. Their team & product were great, and they were solving a real problem @Shopify partners were facing.
When our team first pushed to integrate Mantle, I had two main concerns:
→ Single point of failure. Having payments, affiliate program, support, CRM, emails, and reporting in one tool sounds very convenient. But it also creates a huge risk if it breaks.
→ VC-backed math. The fact that they had raised money was a concern for me. Imho, this space is too small for a VC-scale outcome. Increasing the risk of defaulting.
Apart from that:
- Reporting is useful and addictive, but Mantle pricing was hard to justify on its own for bigger partners.
- To make the pricing work, you need to use more of their products.
- But the more you use, the more critical workflows depend on one tool.
- Competitors focused on one feature will usually be better than one team trying to build everything.
- Convincing partners to switch existing tools and workflows is a hell of a challenge.
I’m curious who steps into Mantle’s place.
Shopify app developers have a lot of knowledge in this space, but I think it would create trust issues for other partners to share their data with another app developer.
What Mantle features will you miss the most?
Lithuania is becoming a @Shopify app powerhouse! 🇱🇹
I recently posted that Lithuania is one of the fastest-growing Shopify markets.
But A. Diaz from @RevenueHunt recently shared this chart with me, showing something even more interesting:
Per capita, Lithuania has more Shopify app reviews than any other country in the world. 🚀
And this month, we’re celebrating Essential Apps crossing 10,000 Shopify app reviews! Happy to be building alongside so many great Lithuanian Shopify founders:
→ @GetEssentialApp - we literally have too many great founders to tag 😀
→ @KachingAppz - @malisauskasLT, @DonatasStundys
→ @omnisend - @RytisLauris
→ @tinyseo_app - @elygiux, Tomas Kacevicius
→ @profitKoala / @kopa_ai - @donbenaitis, @realkozlovskis
→ @podbase_ - @GelzinisGytis, @linmott
→ Rockit Discounts - @baltronas
→ and a bunch of other great founders quietly building global Shopify products from Lithuania.
And @TPhilomaths, it looks like the Baltics are owning the Shopify app space overall. 👀
Everyone is losing their mind over this chart. 👇
Agentic AI has caused a massive spike in app releases, but adoption and reviews remain basically flat.
This chart is about iOS, but the same thing is happening in the @Shopify App Store right now.
Anyone can ship a new app in a weekend.
The result? A flood of low-effort apps that merchants never asked for.
So if you’re building for Shopify in 2026, the playbook is simple:
- Talk to merchants.
- Solve real problems.
- Build products people actually want.
- Stop hoping the algorithm will notice you.
- Start building the audience, relationships, and distribution channels that help merchants discover you even before developing an app.
In the AI world, Distribution is KING.
Every @Shopify app founder should read Unreasonable Hospitality by @wguidara. It’s the story of how Eleven Madison Park became one of the best restaurants in the world.
Unreasonable hospitality is turning ordinary service moments into stories people want to tell. You have to: Listen carefully. Notice tiny details. Then act in a way that feels personal, generous, and unexpected.
For Shopify app founders, that could mean:
- You notice an unrelated bug in the merchant’s store while helping with support? Fix it for them.
- Instead of sending a help article, record a Loom for their actual store.
- Instead of a generic onboarding email, send a personalized welcome video to that specific merchant.
- A merchant reaches a special milestone? Send them flowers, a small gift, or a personal congratulations message.
This becomes a real moat in the AI era, because features get copied, pricing matched, and design patterns spread fast. But the feeling of being taken care of is much harder to copy.
A few of my favorite stories from the book:
1. The $2 hot dog at Eleven Madison Park
A group of European food lovers had eaten at all the best restaurants in New York, but one of them casually mentioned they were leaving without trying a classic New York hot dog. Will Guidara ran outside, bought a street hot dog, brought it back, and the kitchen plated it like fine dining.
2. Sending guests a DVD of their favorite movie
If the team overheard a guest talking about a favorite film, someone would go buy the DVD and give it to them with the check.
3. Champagne delivered after the meal
If the restaurant learned a couple was celebrating a big anniversary, they might send champagne to the place where the couple was staying.
4. Recognizing guests before they arrive
The team would research guests before arrival so they could greet them by name and recognize them when they walked in.
In a world where everyone is automating more and more, being thoughtful might become the most unreasonable advantage.
🤖 Made with AI
I hated most meetings with a passion. Maybe you can relate 😅
If you told me a year ago that I'd enjoy back-to-back calls with agencies, partners, and merchants, I would've laughed in your face.
This year, as @GetEssentialApp started focusing more on partnerships, I decided to go against my default and do a lot more of these calls myself.
Turns out, they've been great.
I've met a lot of awesome people, learned a bunch of new things, and made some really valuable connections. Now I actually look forward to these conversations.
If you're a @Shopify agency or app developer and want to chat about anything Shopify, send me a message.
10,000 reviews across Essential Apps 🤯
And every single app is still sitting at 5.0 stars.
What makes this even more special: we’re now the 5th most reviewed Shopify app developer out of 17,578 active developers.
I still read every single review. It’s genuinely one of the best parts of my day.
Really proud and grateful to work with so many talented people at @GetEssentialApp who care deeply about making merchants’ lives better.
Next stop: 20,000 🚀
As an entrepreneur, your to-do list will always be endless.
I’m slowly learning to manage my energy instead of just managing time.
For me, that usually means doing the most important things that move the needle early in the morning, even if there are multiple fires I know I’ll have to put out later.
Those fires will still be there. And I’ll still handle them. Just with lower energy later in the day.
I’ve also noticed that doing the most exciting and meaningful work in the evenings or weekends doesn’t drain me. It actually gives me energy.
This small mindset shift helped me go from being constantly busy with meaningless tasks to focusing on what’s actually most important in business.
How do you decide what deserves your best energy?
Should you build a single @Shopify app or a portfolio?
Start with one app.
Go 100% in.
Solve one problem really well.
Only after that works, a portfolio can start to make sense:
- Shared trust.
- Shared traffic.
- Shared support.
- Shared learnings.
- Shared distribution.
A portfolio gives leverage, but only if every new app makes the whole system stronger.
Recently chatted with @uvkewate about my learnings from running a Shopify app portfolio. Link in comments.
Spent some time working out of a villa with the @GetEssentialApp team. Building, talking, relaxing, laughing, and just enjoying time together.
Sometimes I pause and realize how lucky and grateful I am to build alongside so many talented, motivated, and genuinely kind people ❤️
