Shopify App Dev Story: Josh and Rhian of Venntov
This is the third feature in a series of Shopify App Dev Stories. To learn more about the series and submission process, please visit this page.
The Basics:
Shopify App Devs: Co-founders Josh Highland and Rhian Beutler
App on the Shopify App Store:
How did you originally find out about Shopify & the Shopify Partner program?
Josh: In 2009 I read “The four-hour work week” by Tim Ferriss. I got inspired to create a physical product. Using his book as a guide I created a men’s hair pomade company. Being a software engineer I knew I would spend more time on building an ecommerce solution than selling my product, so I followed another suggestion from Tim Ferris and set up a Shopify account. I loved the flexibility of the platform. I encouraged several of my friends to move their stores to Shopify. I eventually sold my business but continued to do theme and app work for a few of my friends. I wrote a private app to help my friend’s store with SEO. I eventually released the app publically on the Shopify App store as “SEO Manager” (originally SEO Meta Manager). I was completely sold on Shopify and directed all my efforts towards the platform.
Rhian: I found out about Shopify through Josh when a family member had gotten an obscene price quote for an ecommerce site build. I called Josh to verify if the quote was within normal bounds and he said something to the effect of “Rhian you could build this yourself, build it on Shopify.” So I did. From there I learned SEO and digital marketing- my background is in banking and finance (although my schooling was in the humanities) and I applied both knowledge sets towards my understanding of analytics driven SEO and ecommerce strategies. To say I was/am obsessed with digital marketing strategy both in theory and practice is an understatement. When Josh was about to publish Shopify Empire in early 2015 he reached out to me to be his editor, we found out we worked well together. We formed a partnership, and we didn’t look back.
Our first office was approx 5 x 5, this is when we decided we were going to become business partners!
What was the inspiration behind your first Shopify app?
Josh: In 2011 the Shopify Admin was very basic compared to what it is today. Today there are the “SEO Fields” with the page title and meta description along with a Google simulator. Those things didn’t exist when I created SEO Manager, which is why I created an app to do those things. We were one of the first apps to offer those abilities to merchants.
What did that day feel like, when you officially became published on the Shopify App Store?
Josh: Getting our first paid customer was an amazing experience. I can imagine it’s like a merchant making their first sale. It’s a big deal. After the first few sales the sense of duty really hit me — merchants depend on this, they depend on me. Customer service instantly became a priority and a source of inspiration. Helping merchants succeed has been a driving force behind Venntov. My job isn’t to sell apps, it’s to help entrepreneurs change the world around them.
What was your favorite moment as part of the Shopify Dev Community?
Rhian: I was able to speak at Shopify Retail Tours* in both 2015 and 2016, and they were amazing experiences. Speaking about both SEO and BFCM was an opportunity of a lifetime, and I met brilliant merchants who inspired me and gave me valuable feedback about their needs as merchants - which has influenced the way we think as a company.
**Editor’s note: The event series known as Retail Tour is now Shop Class
Additionally, Unite is a fun way to meet developers that you know from Slack channels or cold emails. I have found that the relationships I build in person are significantly better than those I have made via the internet. Unite has given us a platform to do that, and it is so much fun!
Further, we have had the opportunity to speak at numerous meetups as well as at ShopLaunch in SF. Both of us love to speak, not because it puts us in front of a crowd, but because it serves as an opportunity to help educate merchants and connect further with partners. We both enjoy giving back to the community that has given so much to us.
To be honest we are totally Shopify superfans, so it is hard to pinpoint a single favorite moment because we love all the moments that we have- and we have had opportunities of a lifetime because due to Shopify.
Josh: The above picture is of me at the Unite 2017 after party — one of those tattoos is real the other is temporary. I told you, we’re superfans!
What advice would you give to another Shopify dev?
Don’t take short cuts.
Win the right way. Use ethical business practices, and just because everybody else is doing it, doesn’t mean that it’s the right thing to do.
Don’t feel pressured to scale human capital.
You will get pressured, and that pressure may come from your VC or from other developers in the community. You can either buy in, or buck the norms. We have always been big fans of going against the grain, and walking a path that makes sense to us, and often doesn’t make sense to others. It’s okay to do the same!
Trademark your stuff, and keep your IP close.
Always protect your ideas.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Don’t forget why you’re doing this. For us our mission is to help merchants be more successful and to build a legacy for them and their families.
Find out what works for you. We used to do agency work, now we don’t. The experience gained from doing managed services was amazing, and is something I would recommend doing if you are entering the Shopify space. It helps you understand merchant needs and the common UX and marketing challenges merchants face. However, in order to scale our apps ( and save on human capital) we decided to focus solely on app production and app support.
Lastly, talk to your merchants and be open to feedback. Use that feedback to iterate and make your product better.
