The appropriate selection of a technology stack is critical in eCommerce as well as varies at critical business growth stages as business challenges evolve.

With numerous platforms and applications available out there in the market, it’s vital to select technologies that enable you to deliver customer experiences that level up your business in your industry.

Platform selection can be particularly tricky if you’re not familiar with the technical aspects of eCommerce development. This is why Bart Mroz, our guest, and Co-founder of SUMO Heavy, reiterates how crucial it is to have a good advisor and team members that know this well from a tech standpoint.

So to help you get a headstart in building your own tech stack, here’s Kunle and Bart Mroz conversation about digital transformation and technology-driven ecommerce growth using the right tools and platforms to scale your business.

Covered Topics:

• eCommerce Tools and Platforms
• DNA of fast-growing startups
• Digital Transformation

Podcast Show Notes:

• 01:43 -Easily Grow Your Business With A Powerful Marketing Automation Platform! Check out Klaviyo
• 02:50 – Who is Bart Mroz and what is SUMO Heavy?
• 05:06 – Podcast: In the Ring with SUMO Heavy
• 08:20 – Transitioning from a technical deployment model to a more strategic consultant business
  • SUMO Heavy is always looking for the best cost-effective ways to do business.
  • No platform bias
• 09:36 – Headless eCommerce
• 11:20 – Adapting to self-hosted eCommerce platforms
  • Transition to the cloud
  • Rackspace vs. Shopify vs. Magento
• 14:13 – Review on Shopify Plus
  • Shopify is good for growing enterprises that have a lot of contacts.
  • Shopify Plus is more heavily focused on marketing; it runs on the same system but with different architectures and with better quality support.
• 17:59 – Comparing eCommerce platforms
  • Workarea
  • Shopware
  • Shopify is the most ideal considering the ease of use.
• 29:31 – Get the easiest way to backup your Shopify or BigCommerce store and undo unwanted changes with Rewind.io… Mention you heard about them at 2x eCommerce Podcast and get a ONE MONTH FREE TRIAL
• 22:07 – Other eCommerce platforms
  • Pre-Commerce – platform for marketplaces
  • Ruby on Rails
• 23:14 – What are the fundamental layers to build a rock-solid foundation for scaling?
  • Have a good advisor or consultant who knows well from a technological standpoint
• 25:33 – Scaling and Infrastructure
  • What’s the DNA of a fast-growing company?
  • Companies that are well-funded and go with the right people and the right experts are usually what helps it grow faster.
  • “But I think that’s the DNA of [a fast growing-company]–understanding what you don’t know and bringing the right people into it.”
• 27:44 – Company Culture
  • “Be nice.”
  • Working 80-100 hours a week is not okay either.
• 28:31 – Shopify’s Checkout Process
  • e-Wallet: Shopify Pay
• 31:41 – Digital Transformation
  • Digital transformation is a top-down evolution, evolving every part of your business and every department has to be involved.
  • “You are basically forced to do digital transformation so doing it right, it’s involving every part of your business, every department has to be involved from the marketing to the operations.”
• 34:23 – SUMO Heavy’s Top 3 Platforms aside from Shopify and Magento
  • Bigcommerce
  • Backend Integration
  • Workarea
• 38:10 – Lightning Round
  • What advice would you give to yourself five years ago?
    • Move to New York faster.
  • Are you a morning person?
    • Yes.
  • What’s your daily morning routine?
    • I usually get up, go to the gym and I go to work.
  • What two things you can’t live without?
    • My wife and probably my phone.
  • What book are you currently reading?
    • Remarkable Retail by Steve Dennis
  • What are the indispensable tools that you use for managing your business?
    • bill.com
    • bench.co
    • Gmail Suite
  • What piece of advice would you give to e-tailers on scaling and growth?
    • Have an amazing team internally or have an awesome advisor or consultant that’s gonna help you, that’s agnostic to everything.
• 46:20 – Join the 2xEcommerce Facebook Group

Topic Takeaways:

• It all comes down to what is the best solution for the client, it doesn’t matter about what platform you are using as long as it serves the needs of your customers.
• In this digital age of transformation, moving companies over is gonna be an interesting time because the situation we are in actually forces us to evolve. And that takes doing the right things by involving the whole organization from top-down.
• While funding is a huge advantage for startups, do know that it isn’t the only deciding factor. It will only help you grow faster if you are properly leveraging the skills and talents of your team and you are carefully considering your every move.

Tweetable Quotes:

“I think what people get in trouble for startups is just wanting to move fast and move fast… The problem with that is you’re not thinking about every single decision [that’s] making an impact on other decisions.”

———–