067 - Preorders, Selling Plans, and AI Ops with Sandesh Kulai

<p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>STAY CONNECTED</p><p>Subscribe to Liquid Weekly for more expert insights:<br><a href="https://liquidweekly.com/">https://liquidweekly.com/</a></p><p>EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS</p><ul><li>Sandesh’s Shopify Origin Story</li><li>Built for Shopify Recognition</li><li>From Back-in-Stock to Preorders</li><li>Selling Plans Beyond Subscriptions</li><li>Why Preorders Are More Than a Button Change</li><li>Storefront and Theme Support</li><li>24/7 Human Support</li><li>Engine Room and AI Operations</li><li>Building the Business Like a Product</li></ul><p>FIND SANDESH ONLINE &amp; RESOURCES</p><ul><li>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandeshkini/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandeshkini/</a></li><li>Twitter/X: <a href="https://x.com/heysandy801">https://x.com/heysandy801</a></li><li>STOQ: <a href="https://www.stoqapp.com/">https://www.stoqapp.com/</a></li><li>STOQ on the Shopify App Store: <a href="https://apps.shopify.com/back-in-stock-restock-alerts">https://apps.shopify.com/back-in-stock-restock-alerts</a></li></ul><p>TIMESTAMPS</p><ul><li>00:00 - Cold Open: Fighting Operational Slowdowns with Engine Room</li><li>00:52 - Introduction &amp; Sandesh’s Birthday</li><li>03:02 - Built for Shopify Recognition at Editions.dev</li><li>07:50 - Rails, React, and the STOQ Tech Stack</li><li>08:52 - Sandesh’s Origin Story: Apps, Shopify, and Product Management</li><li>12:10 - From Restock Rocket to STOQ</li><li>13:36 - Why Preorders Are More Complicated Than a Button Change</li><li>15:16 - Selling Plans, Purchase Options, and Deferred Payments</li><li>18:38 - Deposits, Partial Payments, and Charging Customers Later</li><li>20:45 - Using Preorders and Waitlists for Better Inventory Decisions</li><li>21:36 - Conversion Analytics for Preorder Campaigns</li><li>24:32 - Listening to Merchant Feedback and Expanding Product Direction</li><li>28:12 - Supporting Storefronts, Themes, App Embeds, and Selectors</li><li>30:50 - Building 24/7 Human Support</li><li>33:01 - Scaling Support from Founders to a Team</li><li>39:58 - Engine Room: Artos Software’s Internal AI Dashboard</li><li>41:12 - Tracking Merchant Sentiment, Reviews, Web Vitals, and Escalations</li><li>44:15 - Using AI to Keep the Team Focused on What Matters</li><li>46:02 - Co-Founder Dynamics and Long-Term Partnership</li><li>52:47 - Advice for App Developers: Treat the Business Like a Product</li><li>54:13 - Shopify Dev Changelog Highlights</li><li>01:01:49 - Picks of the Week</li></ul><p>DEV CHANGELOG</p><ul><li>More admin intents now support Settings: <a href="https://shopify.dev/changelog/more-admin-intents-now-support-settings">https://shopify.dev/changelog/more-admin-intents-now-support-settings</a></li><li>[action required] Ship and pickup in one order now available in feature preview: <a href="https://shopify.dev/changelog/ship-and-pickup-in-one-order-feature-preview">https://shopify.dev/changelog/ship-and-pickup-in-one-order-feature-preview</a></li><li>[action required] App deployment in CI/CD is now available for all apps: <a href="https://shopify.dev/changelog/app-deployment-in-cicd-is-now-available-for-all-apps">https://shopify.dev/changelog/app-deployment-in-cicd-is-now-available-for-all-apps</a></li><li>Publish and unpublish product variants independen