In August 2016 I left my job to create Metorik, an analytics and email automation tool for eCommerce stores. Here I'll share Metorik's journey with you, providing an intimate look into what goes on at Metorik from start to who knows.
- Bryce (@bryceadams)
Aug 18th, 2020
It's no secret to my friends and most customers but it does tend to surprise the VCs cold-emailing their way into my inbox - I don't like rapid growth. Growth is a dangerous force that, without control and consideration, can destroy anything in its path. I don't refuse growth, but I do limit it and try to only grow with purpose.
That's why it took me 4 years to take potentially our biggest step as a company - integrating with a new e-commerce platform (Shopify).
Why the hesitation? Well, it comes down to our customers, our product, and our business. All three are crucial to Metorik and ultimately determine our success.
Metorik's customers are my sole priority and every decision we make as a company, from growing our team to launching features, is centred around our customers. I mean it! We don't have investors or funding. 100% of our bank balance comes directly from the 1000's of customers that have placed their trust in us.
Likewise, I refuse to compromise on the quality and features of Metorik. It's what our customers pay us for and the life-force of our business. Growing a product can be a slippery slope if it's not done with intent, so I try to put a significant amount of thought into every product-related decision.
Now, 4 years later, I believe that integrating with Shopify is one of the best decisions we can make for our customers, the product, and our business.
For example, Shopify does not have a native profit reporting feature like WooCommerce (kind of) does. So we'll be making it possible to set the COGS directly in Metorik, along with order/shipping costs - long requested features from our WooCommerce customers. It's not limited just to this - we've already made a variety of improvements to the core Metorik product over the past couple months through the work we've done to integrate with Shopify.
We've heard many times from customers that they've stuck with WooCommerce, even when they wanted to move to Shopify, solely because of Metorik. And for those that have made the jump to Shopify, we've heard from them that they've missed Metorik and can't easily replace it on Shopify. In supporting Shopify, our customers have more freedom in how they grow their business while still being able to use Metorik.
I love the work we do and the value we bring to our customers. I don't want that to end any time soon! But by having all our eggs in one basket and only supporting WooCommerce, we're exposing our business' viability to the choices of one platform. That's an unhealthy way for a business to live and often only becomes an issue when it's too late.
As you can tell, I'm truly excited about this next step in our journey and appreciate you being a part of it. Whether you're a customer, a friend, or just passing by, thank you for your support.