Shapers Issue #1 | Community Update + What's Next at ASR

Hey Shapers!

Jon here, founder of AppStoreResearch. Welcome to the first issue of the Shapers newsletter.

We’re finally ready to launch the Shapers community, alongside this weekly newsletter. Thanks to all of you who joined the Slack community early and got involved.

Our goal is to create the most valuable product focused community and newsletter for founders and product people at Shopify app companies. While a few tech focused communities exist - product development, marketing and user research topics usually take a back seat. Our industry is changing at a fast pace and I believe community and collaboration will be keys to building successful software and service businesses in the next few years.

Our newsletter will go out to 500+ Shopify app founders and product leaders. My team and I will curate the most relevant topics, highlight member updates, share our own product updates at ASR and attempt to build more connections between our users and community members.

If you find value in what we’re creating, please forward the newsletter to friends and colleagues. The Slack community and newsletter will remain free but we will have strict vetting process for community access, to keep the membership quality high and conversations valuable. We may add an upgrade later for mastermind sessions and growth events - would love to hear if some of you would find this useful.

Lastly, our product roadmap at ASR has moved along nicely in the first part of 2025. We’ve continued to grow the participant network with a focus on +1M/year revenue brand owners and operators, we introduced B2B Sales/Demo Calls for teams who are after acquisition and sales, instead of research insights, and in the next weeks we will introduce our native call booking system to decrease reliance on external scheduling tools while having a strong integration with Google Calendar.

If you’re not already part of our private Slack community, join here!

Featured Community Members

Check out the intros of featured community members in Slack and say hello!

Not a member yet? Join Shapers.

1. Sweta Mohanty from Recurpay

2. John Tan from Depict.ai 

3. Jaap Vergote from UpsellPlus

ASR Participant Showcase

Darren Fenton, co-founder of The Fat Butcher, has been running a successful online meat delivery business in the UK for over three years. With a focus on efficiency and customer experience, he uses innovation to stay competitive in e-commerce.

Read the case study or start a project to meet participants like Darren.

Sponsored Ad

Overheard on Social

1. Shopify’s model thrives in any market, any climate. Revenue up 27% YOY, GMV nearing $75B, and 7 straight quarters of growth. See the full update here: Read more.

2. Nailing your messaging is half the battle. Here are 2 must-haves before launching any marketing initiative: Read more.

3. Two big SEO myths: 1—LLMs will make SEO irrelevant, 2—Backlinks don’t matter anymore. Both are wrong, and here’s why: Read more.

What I’m Reading, Watching and Using

1. Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell - A great read for breaking down how to hire an assistant and start delegating effectively.

2. Mindjournal - A great product (sold on Shopify) that makes it easy to build a daily journaling habit with helpful prompts and guidance.

3. Everyday Stoic is a YouTube channel that focuses on Stoic philosophy, emphasizing emotional control and regulation as key traits for improving both personal and professional relationships. The channel offers practical insights and teachings based on Stoic principles, making it a great starting point for anyone looking to explore this ancient yet timeless philosophy.

Commerce Fact and Photo of the Week

The birth of modern retail began in 1852 with Paris’s Le Bon Marché, introducing fixed prices, curated displays, and the radical idea that shopping could be a leisurely pleasure.

That's it for now. Have a great week!

- Jon and the ASR team

PS:

Know someone who'd enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to them: Subscribe here!
Not yet a community member? Sign up here!