When we first formulated creating a Shopify competitor at Weebly, we already had some experience for the Start (for websites), Manage was something new (going from using editing tools a few times a year to updating inventory and orders multiple times a day), and by the time I left we were in the Grow tools space.
You can never do enough Grow.
When you talk to SMBs, ignoring the outliers, everyone wants help selling and getting customers.
So I disagree on Shop app — so long as the KPIs drive shop owner happiness. If you deviate from their happiness, then yes, will lead you down the wrong path. Something the app GM should be cognizant of.
Well articulated. What do you make of Stripe in this ecosystem? They do not have a vertical focus like the others, but with Atlas and their other product launches, they are clearly doing a lot to make it easier to start and operate a business.
On another point, I have a question: I like how you break it down to start, manage, grow. As a startup, it's hard to do all of these at the same time. Do you know where Shopify for example focused on in their formative years? Was it start and manage? Manage and grow? Was it only manage and then grow into the other two areas? When I map what I'm doing to this start, manage, grow breakdown, it has been manage and as that takes shape, the start has become important. Wondering your thoughts on this.
I don’t understand the objection to Shopify being both platform and aggregator. We have companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook doing things outside their core business so why couldn’t Spotify strategically aggregate as they platform? Furthermore, distribution is a huge challenge for lots of their users which means that’s a value proposition.
The question is not if they should aggregate or not? The question is when and unless you’re looking at the data Shopify is looking at, you couldn’t say. I personally think they are in the right position and right time to do both.
Building partnerships with Walmart and Facebook is the same strategy as aggregating. They are solving for distribution and that’ll only serve to make their users happy.
Shopify was late to figure out that they need to help their customers to grow their businesses. Yet the shop still doesnt add much benefits for business owners when a customer has to remember his/her favourite brands. I have always thought of this few years ago and few months a go I designed a solution for online retailers to showcase/display their storefronts. think of it more of a virtual mall. Why I did this? for two key points: online retailers can be discoverable, and spend less on online marketing. Here is a link to my thoughts and prototype: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6685942936120676352/
I like the piece and the discussion around the topic. Shopify has been at this fork for years. I think the market(e-commerce) is headed to an overly consolidated place which becomes extremely unhealthy for innovation, smaller businesses, and consumers. Having spent years in e-commerce the "moat" that Amazon and similar are creating is clearly in Anti-Trust territory with manipulation of suppliers and pricing.
I felt that Shopfiy was the one player that would push the platform trajectory and continue to disrupt/decentralize the e-commerce world. It appears they have chosen a different path. Good luck to them and maybe they can act as a type of hybrid and bridge to something else.
That leaves room for the new BiaB platform to be created Maybe this will be a Blockchain solution? Maybe that's too far a stretch; that reality is probably a decade or more away.
When we first formulated creating a Shopify competitor at Weebly, we already had some experience for the Start (for websites), Manage was something new (going from using editing tools a few times a year to updating inventory and orders multiple times a day), and by the time I left we were in the Grow tools space.
You can never do enough Grow.
When you talk to SMBs, ignoring the outliers, everyone wants help selling and getting customers.
So I disagree on Shop app — so long as the KPIs drive shop owner happiness. If you deviate from their happiness, then yes, will lead you down the wrong path. Something the app GM should be cognizant of.
Well articulated. What do you make of Stripe in this ecosystem? They do not have a vertical focus like the others, but with Atlas and their other product launches, they are clearly doing a lot to make it easier to start and operate a business.
On another point, I have a question: I like how you break it down to start, manage, grow. As a startup, it's hard to do all of these at the same time. Do you know where Shopify for example focused on in their formative years? Was it start and manage? Manage and grow? Was it only manage and then grow into the other two areas? When I map what I'm doing to this start, manage, grow breakdown, it has been manage and as that takes shape, the start has become important. Wondering your thoughts on this.
I don’t understand the objection to Shopify being both platform and aggregator. We have companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook doing things outside their core business so why couldn’t Spotify strategically aggregate as they platform? Furthermore, distribution is a huge challenge for lots of their users which means that’s a value proposition.
The question is not if they should aggregate or not? The question is when and unless you’re looking at the data Shopify is looking at, you couldn’t say. I personally think they are in the right position and right time to do both.
Building partnerships with Walmart and Facebook is the same strategy as aggregating. They are solving for distribution and that’ll only serve to make their users happy.
Shopify was late to figure out that they need to help their customers to grow their businesses. Yet the shop still doesnt add much benefits for business owners when a customer has to remember his/her favourite brands. I have always thought of this few years ago and few months a go I designed a solution for online retailers to showcase/display their storefronts. think of it more of a virtual mall. Why I did this? for two key points: online retailers can be discoverable, and spend less on online marketing. Here is a link to my thoughts and prototype: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6685942936120676352/
Nikhil,
I like the piece and the discussion around the topic. Shopify has been at this fork for years. I think the market(e-commerce) is headed to an overly consolidated place which becomes extremely unhealthy for innovation, smaller businesses, and consumers. Having spent years in e-commerce the "moat" that Amazon and similar are creating is clearly in Anti-Trust territory with manipulation of suppliers and pricing.
I felt that Shopfiy was the one player that would push the platform trajectory and continue to disrupt/decentralize the e-commerce world. It appears they have chosen a different path. Good luck to them and maybe they can act as a type of hybrid and bridge to something else.
That leaves room for the new BiaB platform to be created Maybe this will be a Blockchain solution? Maybe that's too far a stretch; that reality is probably a decade or more away.