067 - Preorders, Selling Plans, and AI Ops with Sandesh Kulai
Liquid Weekly Podcast: Shopify Developers Talking Shopify DevelopmentShow Notes
In this episode of the Liquid Weekly Podcast, hosts Karl Meisterheim and Taylor Page are joined by Sandesh Kulai, founder of STOQ by Artos Software. Sandesh shares his journey from building early Shopify apps to working at Shopify, then returning to app development full-time with Artos Software. The conversation dives into the real complexity behind preorders, back-in-stock alerts, selling plans, deferred payments, storefront integrations, and supporting apps across a wide range of Shopify themes. Sandesh also gives a behind-the-scenes look at Engine Room, Artos Software’s internal AI-powered operations dashboard, and shares practical advice for app developers on treating the business itself like a product. STAY CONNECTED Subscribe to Liquid Weekly for more expert insights: https://liquidweekly.com/ EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS Sandesh’s Shopify Origin Story Built for Shopify Recognition From Back-in-Stock to Preorders Selling Plans Beyond Subscriptions Why Preorders Are More Than a Button Change Storefront and Theme Support 24/7 Human Support Engine Room and AI Operations Building the Business Like a Product FIND SANDESH ONLINE & RESOURCES LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandeshkini/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/heysandy801 STOQ: https://www.stoqapp.com/ STOQ on the Shopify App Store: https://apps.shopify.com/back-in-stock-restock-alerts TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Cold Open: Fighting Operational Slowdowns with Engine Room 00:52 - Introduction & Sandesh’s Birthday 03:02 - Built for Shopify Recognition at Editions.dev 07:50 - Rails, React, and the STOQ Tech Stack 08:52 - Sandesh’s Origin Story: Apps, Shopify, and Product Management 12:10 - From Restock Rocket to STOQ 13:36 - Why Preorders Are More Complicated Than a Button Change 15:16 - Selling Plans, Purchase Options, and Deferred Payments 18:38 - Deposits, Partial Payments, and Charging Customers Later 20:45 - Using Preorders and Waitlists for Better Inventory Decisions 21:36 - Conversion Analytics for Preorder Campaigns 24:32 - Listening to Merchant Feedback and Expanding Product Direction 28:12 - Supporting Storefronts, Themes, App Embeds, and Selectors 30:50 - Building 24/7 Human Support 33:01 - Scaling Support from Founders to a Team 39:58 - Engine Room: Artos Software’s Internal AI Dashboard 41:12 - Tracking Merchant Sentiment, Reviews, Web Vitals, and Escalations 44:15 - Using AI to Keep the Team Focused on What Matters 46:02 - Co-Founder Dynamics and Long-Term Partnership 52:47 - Advice for App Developers: Treat the Business Like a Product 54:13 - Shopify Dev Changelog Highlights 01:01:49 - Picks of the Week DEV CHANGELOG More admin intents now support Settings: https://shopify.dev/changelog/more-admin-intents-now-support-settings [action required] Ship and pickup in one order now available in feature preview: https://shopify.dev/changelog/ship-and-pickup-in-one-order-feature-preview [action required] App deployment in CI/CD is now available for all apps: https://shopify.dev/changelog/app-deployment-in-cicd-is-now-available-for-all-apps Publish and unpublish product variants independently from product: https://shopify.dev/changelog/publish-and-unpublish-product-variants-independently-from-product [action required] Bots and agents should identify themselves via Web Bot Auth: https://shopify.dev/changelog/bots-and-agents-should-identify-themselves-via-web-bot-auth Target discounts to specific markets: https://shopify.dev/changelog/target-discounts-to-specific-markets Shopify App Pricing: charge for usage, recurring subscriptions, or both: https://shopify.dev/changelog/shopify-app-pricing-charge-for-usage-recurring-subscriptions-or-both
PICKS OF THE WEEK Karl: A retro Radio Shack 1680 chess computer from 1996. Sandesh: Setting up a Mac Mini to experiment with Hermes and personal AI agent workflows. Taylor: The SDA Toronto guide built with Trudy MacNabb for people heading to Shopify.dev, including events, restaurants, work spots, and local recommendations.
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Taylor is in India for Shop Quest, so Karl flies solo with Charles Swayne, owner and app developer at JadePuma Apps and the person behind Datify. Charles is 21, learned Python in sixth grade, and now runs a multi-agent development workflow that researches, plans, audits the plan, executes, and tests itself before he ever looks at the code.
Georgi Petrov, CEO and co-founder of Uxify, joins Karl and Taylor to talk about the half of web performance nobody optimizes for: the shopper's device. After building SMS Bump (acquired by Yotpo), ConsentMo, and NitroPack (acquired by WP Engine), Georgi is now tackling device-specific friction, the laggy buttons, layout shifts, and interaction delays that vary wildly from one phone to the next. We get into how Uxify profiles a visitor's capability without touching your code, the specialized agents that fix problems on the fly, the ClickHouse-powered data layer behind it all, and how to think about performance heading into BFCM. Plus the Dev Changelog and Picks of the Week. Sponsor The Support Heroes: https://www.thesupportheroes.com/ Subscribe to Liquid Weekly Don't miss out on expert insights and tips. Subscribe to Liquid Weekly for more content like this: https://liquidweekly.com/ Find Georgi Online Uxify: https://uxify.com/integrations/shopify/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgipetrov/ Timestamps (00:00) Open (00:29) Intros (02:11) Meet Georgi Petrov of Uxify (02:54) Origin story: hardware hacking to his first software (06:03) Finding Shopify: SMS Bump, ConsentMo, and NitroPack (12:23) Making fast decisions and failing cheaply (15:32) Why Uxify: performance is half website, half device (20:11) How it works: profiling devices and adapting on the fly (26:17) Sitting alongside your theme without touching your code (28:26) Real user monitoring and specialized agents (37:47) The tech stack: ClickHouse and heavy browser testing (41:57) Shopify cart variations and a clever checkout fallback (46:24) Prepping for BFCM and who Uxify is for (51:14) Dev Changelog (58:22) Picks of the Week Dev Changelog [action required] Variants now support multiple barcodes: https://shopify.dev/changelog/product-variant-barcode-is-being-replaced-by-barcodes Create and delete dev stores in Shopify CLI: https://shopify.dev/changelog/create-and-delete-dev-stores-in-shopify-cli [action required] Discounts Allocator Function API developer preview has ended: https://shopify.dev/changelog/discounts-allocator-function-api-developer-preview-has-ended Delivery options in Shopify Functions input now expose their metafields: https://shopify.dev/changelog/delivery-options-in-shopify-functions-input-now-expose-their-metafields Prepare your app for the Shopify admin's new look: https://shopify.dev/changelog/prepare-your-app-for-the-shopify-admins-new-look [action required] Updates to Events payloads and subscription configuration: https://shopify.dev/changelog/updates-to-events-payloads-and-subscription-configuration New Pricing audit trail for contextual product variant prices: https://shopify.dev/changelog/pricing-audit-trail-for-contextual-product-variant-prices [breaking api change] [action required] Removed session.currentSession.staffMemberId from POS UI Extensions (2026-10): https://shopify.dev/changelog/removed-session-currentsession-staffmemberid-from-pos-ui-extensions-2026-10 Request a bundle size exception for existing UI extensions: https://shopify.dev/changelog/request-a-bundle-size-exception-for-existing-ui-extensions Picks of the Week Karl: Keto Oreo-style sandwich cookies (about 50 calories each), part of his ongoing tour through packaged keto snacks: https://www.choczero.com/products/keto-sandwich-cookies Georgi: Calisthenics between AI prompts. Knocking out push-ups and squats while waiting on an agent, which he says burns the time well and sharpens his focus when he comes back. Taylor: Ted Lasso, season 4 on Apple TV+. Still, in his words, one of the most wholesome shows around: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10986410/
Prakhar Shrivastava of FoxSell joins Karl and Taylor to talk about Shop Quest, the Shopify community event he and his team run in Bengaluru, and to prep Taylor for his first trip to India.
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