Thomas M.

Building Solen in public: turning Shopify visitor behavior into tested store improvements. Looking for a technical cofounder.

Strategy consultant / Skema BS.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Shopify friction worth testing #9:

Email pop-up firing in the first seconds on mobile.

Hypothesis: it interrupts visitors before they see the product.

Test: trigger it on scroll depth or exit intent instead.
Metric: bounce rate, signups, conversion.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Uncomfortable truth: many small stores don't have enough traffic to A/B test every idea.

That's not a reason to stop testing. It's a reason to test fewer, bigger changes, with one primary metric.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Everything Solen recommends gets reviewed by me before a merchant sees it.

Not scalable. Intentional.

Every correction I make is a line in the spec of what the product needs to learn.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Pilot offer I'm testing:

4 weeks, weekly report of the frictions I'd prioritize, heatmaps per device, a weekly call.

In exchange: install a script, 30 min/week, honest feedback.

Free for the first 3 stores. No promised uplift.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Shopify friction worth testing #8:

Size guide opens a new page or a PDF.

Hypothesis: shoppers leave the flow and don't come back.
Test: inline size guide in a drawer.
Metric: add-to-cart rate on apparel product pages.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Why Europe first for Solen, not the US:

The US has ~38% of live Shopify stores. But I'm a solo founder, French-speaking, zero budget.

Where I learn fastest beats where the market is biggest. For now.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Shopify friction worth testing #7:

A free-shipping threshold nobody sees until the cart.

Hypothesis: showing progress ("$12 away from free shipping") nudges order size.

Test: progress bar in the cart drawer vs none.
Metric: average order value.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

So what replaces a viral badge for an invisible product?

My bet: public audits. Each one shows the thinking, starts a conversation, and sometimes becomes an interview.

We'll see if the bet holds.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

@itsvlady Linkedinnnnn

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

I studied how Tally reportedly grew to millions in ARR, bootstrapped.

Core loop: a "Made with Tally" badge every respondent sees.

That loop doesn't transfer to Solen. Optimization is invisible to shoppers.

No badge possible, unfortunately.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Things that should always stay human, in my view:
– prices
– promotions
– checkout
– legal copy
– core branding

Software can suggest. A person decides.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Shopify friction worth testing #6:

Heavy product images that load slowly on mobile data.

Hypothesis: some visitors bounce before the page is usable.

Test: compressed images, lazy-load below the fold.
Metric: mobile bounce rate on product pages, load time.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Something I'm unsure about: the traffic threshold.

I use 10k visitors/month as a working filter for interviews. It's not a statistical rule.

Below what traffic does behavior analysis stop being useful? Open question.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Autonomy ladder I'm testing with merchants:
1. Flag problems
2. Draft changes, you approve
3. Run controlled tests
4. Deploy under strict rules

Where would you stop? Reply with a number.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Solen v0 architecture, no magic:

tracking script → Express API on Vercel → Supabase events table → heatmap + LLM analysis endpoints

Simple on purpose. The hard part isn't the stack, it's knowing what to recommend.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Shopify friction worth testing #5:

Return policy buried in the footer.

Hypothesis: first-time buyers hesitate without it.
Test: one line near the buy button stating the actual policy.
Metric: conversion of new visitors.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

@itsvlady 30 replies to my posts!

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Week 1 of posting 3x/day, building my Shopify app.

Followers: 54 → 86
Impressions: 1.3K
Replies: 30
Store owners interviewed: 0

The replies taught me more than the views.

Week 2 goal: 5 store owner conversations.

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

Question for Shopify founders:

When did you last run an A/B test, and what stopped you from running more?

[Thomas M. @thomzzss_]

@deeponailabs thx man