Fuel: a Shopify app that moved production

Context

Scalable Press prints and fulfills custom apparel and products. In 2019 it set out to reach Shopify merchants directly with Fuel, a print-on-demand app that connects a merchant’s store to Scalable Press’s production, printing and fulfillment. I joined a team of about 20 engineers in Guadalajara to have a more direct impact on the product and the business.

Problem

Print-on-demand is a crowded Shopify category with established competitors. A new app had to be simple for merchants to configure, while sitting on top of a fulfillment catalog with many product types, decoration methods and pricing rules. It also had to keep orders flowing reliably between Shopify and the factory floor.

What I did

Technical lead from day one. I owned Fuel’s technical direction from its beginnings through its public launch on the Shopify App Store in September 2019.

A simple setup over a complex catalog. I built the merchant configuration experience: choosing a product type, choosing how it’s decorated (print or embroidery), generating mockups, and calculating pricing for affiliates. The goal was a simple interface over a complex fulfillment catalog.

The order lifecycle. I was responsible for the integrations that move an order end to end: store sync, order creation, delivery and fulfillment, backed by MongoDB.

Outcome

• Fuel drove at least a 15% increase in Scalable Press’s production.
• It reached the top 5 of Shopify’s print-on-demand category for several consecutive months, competing with established apps.

Stack

• Shopify App Store
• Shopify API
• MongoDB