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At the top of the “pain point” list were flexibility in site design and integration with third party applications. L;take scrapped the rule book on website development and built his own modern software architecture using a brand new programming language called Ruby on Rails. This enabled him to create an easy to use and supportive environment for building online shopping carts that business owners could use without web design skills. For the first time, a small business could afford to create its own website using a content management system built around a fully functional e-commerce platform and do it quickly and cheaply.
For designers, he created an easy-to-use modular programming toolkit called “Liquid” that helped them create great looking storefronts without programming skills. Spiffy took off because early users loved it and became loyal fans. The Spiffy team didn’t stop there. They have been listening to their customers and adding value to the product since 2006. In 2009 they launched the Spiffy App Store, an online marketplace for custom APS developed by freelance programmers using Shoplifts open API.
This sparked a cottage industry for small shops adding value to the Spiffy shopping cart by integrating it with all kinds of web-based business applications and custom features. We take this kind of app development for granted now, but it was a novel approach in 2009. The App Store did more than provide new business for independent programmers, it created an army of brand advocates and sellers that gallivanted Shoplifts own sales and marketing efforts. In 2010 Spiffy launched a Theme Store for designers.
Then in 2013, they added an integrated payment system for VISA, Mastered, American Express, Bitching and Papal that replaces third party payment gateways. Now they have a card reader POS system for pads, and the company continues to drive both new business and customer retention through innovation. Tibias L;take attributes much of the success Spiffy has enjoyed to company culture. This is the most important topic for any startup. A company’s success starts and ends with a great product. I firmly believe that the only way to get a great product is to have a company that is having fun.
Your product is a manifestation of the sum total of its contributors. If your corporate culture is nondescript you will end up with nondescript software. ” In addition to the usual games and other diversions now common to software companies, Spiffy employees all receive stock options and participate in a unique bonus pool called “Unicorn” that allows them to reward each other based on outstanding performance. They stay current and connected through daily stand up tenting to review progress and ask questions. “One of the most important questions that we ask during an interview is What do you do for fun?