Hey everyone, I hope you're doing well.

I'm writing this one with The Wide Event getting very close now.

It is a strange moment because there is still work to do, but at the same time, the event already feels very real.

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

• Final preparation before the big day

• Why I'm taking a small break before the last sprint

• Why relationships are becoming a real moat for Shopify app founders

Let's go! 🔥

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Final preparation before the big day

The Wide Event is now in about two weeks, and I can feel it becoming very real.

For a long time, it was still something I was preparing in the background. A date, a venue, a list of things to organize, and many small decisions that did not feel visible yet. Now it is different, because people are coming, tickets are almost gone, and the final details start to matter a lot.

I'm really excited about it.

There are still quite a few things to do, of course. We are finalizing the last parts of the event, checking details, and making sure the day feels good from start to finish. But overall, everything is going well.

The event is also almost full now. If you still want to get a ticket, it is still possible, but I would not wait too long. I know some people will message me too late and ask if there is still a way to join.

If you know you want to come, now is probably the moment.

Get the ticket here: https://wide-event.com

I have already announced some speakers, but not all of them yet. I know many people are waiting for the full lineup, and I understand why. The next announcements are coming soon, I just want to make sure everything is clean before sharing more publicly.

The goal now is simple: finish the preparation properly, announce the remaining speakers, fill the last seats, and make sure people leave the event with real conversations, new ideas, and new relationships.

That is why I do it.

A small break before the final sprint

I wanted to share something a bit more personal too, because this period has been intense.

Preparing The Wide Event took a lot of energy. Not in a bad way, because I love building this kind of project, but it is still energy. There are many decisions, messages, details, deadlines, and moments where you have to keep moving even when your brain is already full.

On top of that, I also have my leg to manage. It is one of those things that reminds you that you are not only a founder with tasks to finish. You are also a human being with a body, energy, limits, and moments where you need to slow down a little.

So before the final sprint, I decided to take a small week of holidays in Tunisia.

Not because things are going badly. Actually, it is the opposite. The event is going well, but I know the last stretch will require a lot of focus, and I prefer to arrive rested instead of trying to prove that I can push without stopping.

Before the war, I need one week off.

I say that with a smile, of course, but you understand what I mean. The final days before an event are always intense. There are last messages, last confirmations, last small problems, and probably things nobody can predict yet.

I want to come back with a clear mind. I want to be present during the event, not just physically there while thinking about everything I still need to manage. When you organize something for months, it would be sad to arrive exhausted and miss the moment you created.

And if some of you are in Tunisia during that week, send me a message. It is always funny to meet people from the Shopify ecosystem in unexpected places. 😁

So that is my current state: a bit tired, very excited, still with work to do, but happy with where things are going. Now I just need to breathe for a few days, come back rested, and enter the final sprint with the right energy.

Why relationships are becoming a moat for Shopify app founders

I've been thinking a lot about relationships lately.

Maybe it is because The Wide Event is getting closer. Maybe it is because AI is changing the way people build software. Or maybe it is simply because after a few years in the Shopify ecosystem, I can see more clearly how much business comes from trust.

AI makes it easier to build an MVP, fix bugs, write code, analyze reviews, summarize support tickets, and move faster as a solo founder. It does not make building a real product easy, but it removes a lot of friction.

That is a huge opportunity.

But if it becomes easier for you, it also becomes easier for everyone else. More people can launch apps, more people can copy features, and more people can enter categories that were harder to enter before.

So the market gets louder.

For a long time, many founders thought the best product would naturally win. Better features, better code, better UI, and the market would understand. I still believe the product matters a lot, because a bad app will not win only because the founder has a network.

But I don't think features are enough anymore.

If AI helps many founders build similar features faster, the question becomes different. It is not only, what can your app do? It is also, why should people trust you, remember you, recommend you, and choose you when they have ten options that look almost the same?

This is where relationships become a moat.

Not networking in the fake sense. Not collecting business cards or pretending to care because you want something. I mean real relationships with merchants, founders, agencies, partners, and people in the ecosystem.

When I look at how I grow my own business today, a lot of it comes from staying close to people. I talk to merchants. I talk to founders. I talk to agencies. I post publicly, reply to people, follow up after conversations, and try to turn online contacts into real relationships when it makes sense.

It is not one big tactic. It is many small things repeated for a long time.

Someone replies to a post, and you answer with a real comment. Someone asks a question, and you help without trying to sell immediately. You meet someone at an event, and you send a message the next day instead of letting the conversation disappear.

This is slow, but it compounds.

For Shopify app founders, this matters a lot. Merchants help you understand real problems. Other founders help you see what is normal and what is not. Agencies see many stores, many apps, and many patterns you will never see if you stay alone.

AI can help you find signals. It can scan App Store reviews, summarize calls, monitor Reddit, or organize support conversations. But AI cannot build trust for you.

It cannot replace the feeling someone has after speaking with you several times and realizing you are serious.

That is why I think the next years will reward founders who understand both sides. Use AI to move faster, because ignoring it would be a mistake. But also become better at the human part, because that is where differentiation will be harder to copy.

Clear communication. Trust. Audience. Community. Relationships.

The Wide Event is a concrete expression of this for me. Of course, it creates visibility, and of course, it helps the business. But if it were only a marketing tactic, I don't think I would put so much energy into it.

The real reason is that I believe the Shopify ecosystem needs more real connections. Online content is powerful, but people still need rooms where trust can happen faster. They need places where conversations go deeper than comments and DMs.

If you are building a Shopify app, don't think about networking as something you do after the product works. Make it part of the product journey itself.

Talk to merchants before and while you build. Share what you are learning publicly. Ask real questions. Reply properly when people answer you. Follow up after good conversations. Go to events if you can, and create your own small moments if you cannot.

Don't make every conversation transactional. Start by being useful and curious. The opportunities usually come later, after people have seen you show up consistently.

I don't know exactly how the Shopify App Store will evolve with AI. But I am quite convinced about one thing.

The founders who win in 2026 will not only be the ones who build faster.

They will be the ones people trust.

Thanks for reading!

I’ll see you in the next email, in 14 days. Until then, take care!

Mat.