Hey!

Well.. It’s been a while. My latest email was on April 9. Sorry about that.

A lot happened, to be honest. I had to handle my business, content, and The Wide Event.

And we’ll talk about everything that happened recently.

Before starting, there are a lot of new people there. Should I write an email to tell you about my backstory, all my failures, how I overcame them, where I am today and where I’m going? So you can know me better?

In today’s email we’re going to talk about:

• The Wide Event Debrief

• Shopify News: End of the $1M exemption each year

• How I grew my 1st Shopify app from $0 to $3K MRR in 4 months (5 simple steps)

• WideBundle is 5 years old

Let’s go! 🔥

The Wide Event Debrief

Let’s start with the beginning.

In 2023 I decided to host The Wide Event for Shopify Partners.

It wasn’t actually the first Wide Event. Since 2019 I’ve been hosting events called Wide Event in Paris but: They were French events and only towards merchants. 🇫🇷

I changed it because my ambitions changed. I had only one concern:

It’s “easy” to bring hundreds of people when they already live in Paris.

But can I bring 100 people to Paris who speak English and come from different countries? → THAT was a challenge.

I aimed for 100 people, we made it. It was tough because tickets hadn’t sold out fast, and I had to push a lot. 😵

The event was good: Le Grand Rex, which was a nice place, the people, the talks, the food.

And it proved that I was able to bring people from different countries.

So the year after, I did the same: The Wide Event 2024.

And this time I aimed for 150 people. And we sold out. Even if it took some time. There were a few people on the waitlist. 💪

And it created something: the ecosystem started to notice that this Shopify partner event was becoming something.

The venue was nicer, the food was good, more people, well… We were improving!

But to me… It wasn’t enough. For 2025 I told myself: I don’t want to create just another event. I want to create an experience. 💚

You know, these kinds of moments you can’t forget, and even 5 or 10 years later, you think about it. Because it was special. Because it was different!

And I aimed for 200 people.

We launched the tickets and… we sold out 2 months before the event started. So I stopped most of the communication.

And even like that, we had more than 40 people on the waitlist when the event began. 😱

People saw The Wide Event as something you couldn’t miss. And that’s what I want for it.

I now know that I want to create more than an event, I want to create an experience. And this is what The Wide Event will be about in the coming years.

For this edition I invited experts in different fields: PJ, founder at Judge Me, Jan, who taught 3,000 people to be Shopify developers, Ika who built 4 Shopify brands and Liam who works as a developer advocate.

4 of the greatest people in the ecosystem.

And we had more: Red carpet, champagne when you arrived, an exceptional venue that looked like a museum, a voice over announcing the event, and the special touch, sparkles on scene whenever a speaker arrived. ✨

Listen. This is just the beginning.

Based on how the event went, I will aim for 300 for the next one, maybe 400. Can you picture it:

400 attendees at a Shopify Partner event. One of the biggest partner events not hosted by Shopify (if not THE biggest). 🔥

Incredible talks and even more magic to make it an unforgettable experience. ✨

The only question is: Will you miss The Wide Event 2026? 🫡

Shopify News: End of the $1M exemption each year

It may be the biggest announcement this year for Shopify App Founders.

When I started in 2017, Shopify was taking 20% of all your app earnings.

A few after they decided to change it. They were now taking 15% only, on all the earnings above $1M. And every year it would reset.

For example, if year 1 you’re making $500,000, they would take 0%

If year 2 you’re making $1,500,000 they would take 0% up to $1M and then 15% on the remaining $500,000.

And the year after it started gain. The first $1M was “free”.

In the following email, they changed it. They found a “middle” solution:

The $1,000,000 earnings are now lifetime and not yearly.

Which means that, as soon as you make your 1st million, Shopify will take 15% on all future earnings. And it won’t reset every year.

The ecosystem was shocked. And so was I. Then you start thinking.

Shopify announced that in 2025, they would help Shopify Partners even more. What if this new paying system gives us an even better solution with the money they’ll make?

Why not?

Imagine they fight harder against fake reviews, fake stores, and threats to leave a bad review.

Imagine the support being even more reactive when you need something, with more knowledge.

Imagine all the problems you have right now being solved.

I’m not saying it will. But it’s a possibility.

How I grew my 1st Shopify app from $0 to $3K MRR in 4 months (5 simple steps)

Let’s rewind for a second.

I’ve built multiple Shopify Apps.
Some did okay.
Some flopped.
One of them, WideBundle, became a top app.
And my 4th app? I took it from $0 to $3K MRR in just 4 months.

No cofounder.
No funding.
No secret hack.

Just simple execution.

If I had to do it all over again today, here’s exactly what I’d do:

1. Solve a boring (but painful) problem

I wouldn’t go for AI. I wouldn’t go for something sexy.

I’d go talk to real merchants. On LinkedIn. At events. In DMs.
And I’d listen.

The best apps I built came from these kinds of “boring” problems.
Things merchants complain about but no one has really fixed.

That’s where the gold is.

2. Build insanely fast

Your first version doesn’t need to look good.
It needs to work.

I’d ship something raw in a week.
Ugly UI? Who cares.

If you’re solving a real problem, early users don’t mind.
They’re not here for design awards.

They just want something that works.

3. Treat support like your main feature

Seriously.

In the early days, I made support my unfair advantage.
Answer fast. Go the extra mile. Offer custom tweaks if needed.

But most importantly?
Ask questions.

Understand their business.
Why did they install? What are they trying to solve? What’s missing?

That’s how you improve the app faster than your competitors.

4. Focus on ONE growth channel

Not two. Not five. One.

Pick the one that makes the most sense for you:

• LinkedIn DMs

• The Shopify App Store

• Cold emails

• Communities

Master that one channel.
Then expand.

Most founders try to scale before they even know what’s working.

5. Obsess over improvements

$3K MRR isn’t about adding 10 new features.

It’s about fixing friction:

• Improve onboarding

• Tweak your App Store listing

• Polish existing features

• Remove steps

• Clarify your copy

Most founders don’t fail because they didn’t build enough.
They fail because they didn’t improve what they had.

Final thought:

Reaching $3K MRR isn’t glamorous.

It’s messy.
It’s support tickets at midnight.
It’s fixing bugs while doing outreach.
It’s working on things that don’t scale.

But it works.

And if I had to do it again, I’d follow the same path.

Simple app. Fast build. Deep support.
And relentless focus on what matters.

Let’s not overcomplicate it.

WideBundle is 5 years old

Tomorrow, May 16, is a special day.

5 years ago, I started working on WideBundle.

Time flies so fast.

Believe it or not, WideBundle was the first app of its kind.

Today, if you type "Bundle" on the Shopify App Store, all the apps you'll find do it.

What a good memory it is.

The image on that post wasn't even real. I made it in Photoshop.

I had found out that 3 people in my network wanted something similar. That's how everything started.

5 years later:

- 2 Apps at 7-figure valuation

- 40,000 followers cumulated on all platforms to teach people how to build apps

- A Shopify Partners event bringing 200 people from all around the world to Paris

- A community of 4,500 Shopify App Founders

- I spoke at 10+ events (including Sho

pify Unite)

It wasn't always beautiful. But I made it through the storm.

Believe in yourself, what you're doing today may be worth something in 5 years ❤️

Congrats on reading that far!

If you want to help me, forward this email to a friend or a colleague.

See you in the next email!

Mat 😁