Tom Sutton

Post 0224: Buy when it’s red This time last week, Wisetech and Xero, both listed on ASX as WTC and XRO were trading as follows: WTC = $83 per share, down from almost $100 per share XRO = $123 per share, down from about $140 per share These two are tech giants in Australia. And their share prices are expensive. So the best times to buy these sticks are when stock prices drop, like what happened last week. Just after one week, these two stocks are rising again: WTC = now $93 per share, up $10 XRO = now $136 per share, up $13 The best days to build wealth is when people frantically sell shares. Because shares of good companies that are driven down by irrational and emptional investors will always rise in the long run. As explained earlier, the PNG stocks don’t follow the overseas trends. You will therefore see that the stocks listed on PNGX are not rising as fast. They neither fall as fast when bad news drives world stock market prices down.

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How Dovetail grew to a $970M (Australian) valuation in 5 years—and created a new SaaS category: I chatted with 4 members of their team, and 4 UXR leaders, to learn the details. 1. Product-led growth, design-led company Dovetail's business model is decidedly product-led growth. The company relies on the product, and inherently viral features like research reports, to acquire, convert, monetize, and retain users. But design-led is its culture. CEO and co-founder Benjamin Humphrey has been in the details of the design since its beginning. And the product "feels" like it as a result. 2. Creating a hub for a neglected persona Rewind to 2016. While engineers had JIRA, Designers had Sketch, PMs had Google Docs, and analysts had Tableau, User Researchers had... nothing? Their workflow was a mess of hopping between different software. Ben had lived it as a product designer at Atlassian. There was a plethora of software focused on how to build, but there was almost nothing about what to build. So, after proving out the idea with an MVP, he recruited his Atlassian Engineer friend, Bradley Ayers, to join him. 3. Mastering the PLG motion Dovetail excels in all layers of PLG: → Acquisition: they don't use any outbound sales, focusing on product acquisition → Core problem communication: the home page emphasizes improving how you make product decisions → Reduced friction: its onboarding is focused on a standard walkthrough, but it is 10 steps → Activation: Dovetail has an intuitive product, examples, and templates to take you from setup to habit → Retention: as a system of record, the product gets stickier as more (qualitative) data is put in it → Monetization: the free plan has unlimited functionality, but only 1 project → Expansion: it has a natural growth of free users, who eventually become editors 4. Creating powerful, reinforcing growth loops Dovetail 2 two core loops: • More paid seats helps them build a better product, which helps UXRs succeed, which drives more UXRs and paid seats                                 • UXRs succeed, driving collaborators to join, which go from free to paid seats As well as 2 ancillary loops: • The more paid seats, the more it can invest in inbound sales • The more free seats, the more expansion products like Channels (to analyze customer support data) it can build 5. Building towards a category of one While there are competitors in the research insights space, Dovetail is building out its own category. It's not quite transcription. It's not quite a hub for research. It's that and more. This has helped it create its own, new category in SaaS. As Benjamin, still the CEO, told me: "We're building a system of record for all insights... It's a friggin' long, 20-year journey. You need to be a little nuts to have that level of ambition. "

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🌎🌍🌏 If you're expanding into the US (or into a bigger, international market) from Aus or NZ, here’s quick 3 tips for Google Ads: 1️⃣ Start with only one test area. i.e. don’t target the whole country. ↳ Otherwise you’ll need to 10x your current budget at the bare minimum as it will be depleted instantly with minimal results and not enough data for Google’s algorithms to optimise 2️⃣ Remember to localise your ad copy, landing pages etc ↳ It’s easy to forget basic even small things like changing the “s” to a “z”, among many others (e.g. localise -> localize) 3️⃣ Create a new, separate ads account  ↳ Not essential, but definitely recommended. Reduces complexities like reviewing metrics, adjusting strategy, billing in USD etc. Make sure to link it back to your original account using a MCC

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🔥 Unpopular Opinion: Australia's Fractured Fintech Ecosystem As a Fintech founder or community member to go to all the major events this month you're looking at circa $1K minimum, even more if you're not a startup founder. 💰 Now it's not a HUGE amount of money but that's just June, there's multiple events throughout the year. 🤝 Now all of these events are great opportunities for networks to grow, deals to be done and partnerships to be formed and should be attended. They're organised by passionate and great people. 🤗 But there's lots of talk about Fintech struggles of late and how as a community we can band together and help increase funding, talent and growth of Fintech in Australia. 🤯 We have multiple communities, awards, summits (including a new one last week), newsletters, memberships and then there's other communities for cyber, regtech, proptech, insurtech, crypto and on and on and on the list goes. 👊 And I'm not naive as to how we got to where we are, and I'm certainly not diluting the value each community or event brings, we all love a good backslapping. It's just appears to be overly complex for our size of market. So it beggars the question, do we need micro communities, with different audiences, agendas, voices? And as a Founder how do you determine where to spend your hard earned $ and get the best bang for buck? #australia #fintech #events #community #networking

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There's a glaring irony among NFPs in the Australian startup ecosystem... They preach "know your customer" but often fail to practice it. Want to see how? Let's break it down... 👇🏾 What NFPs preach: "Always talk to your customers." What NFPs practice: Making assumptions about customer needs. What NFPs preach: "Use data to drive decisions." What NFPs practice: Relying on gut feelings and outdated information. What NFPs preach: "Build for diversity and inclusion." What NFPs practice: Creating one-size-fits-all solutions. Remember... NFPs in the startup ecosystem give great advice to founders. But the real winners are those who don't just preach, but actually practice customer-centricity. Have you noticed this disconnect in the startup ecosystem? Share your observations in the comments. ---------------------------------------------- Found this useful? Repost for your NFP startup ecosystem to "know their customer". ♻️

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I've talked to hundreds of community founders and researched thousands (and acquired 15+). Many have reached 8-figures of revenue - profitably! There are five things that the best community business founders get right from the start. 1. Deep love for their members. The best community founders really want to make their members' lives better. They love meeting with them, learning from them, and serving them. There's a respect there that you can't fake 2. Hustle. Community founders do it all in the early days - product, marketing, sales, member support, events - it's exhausting! But the best community founders realize that it's the right way to learn about their members and optimize for profitability before they scale the team 3. Member-product-monetization alignment. It's easy to get seduced by the $10k/year membership model of YPO, Hampton, Chief, etc. But that model isn't right for most communities. I've seen great community businesses built around sponsorship, events, courses, products, and, yes, membership. All of these models can produce great business if the alignment is there. 4. Small team and disciplined approach to expenses. Most of the best communities were started and scaled by teams of one or two - for a long time. The best community founders grow slowly, relying on outside contractors and doing most of the work themselves until the business is big enough to support a small team. Community businesses can, and should, be profitable. 5. Focus on organic growth. The most successful community founders rely on referrals, SEO, and owned content channels (newsletters, podcasts) instead of paid growth. The beauty of these channels is that you can provide value to your existing members at the same time as you're attracting new ones. Win win! Building a great community business isn't easy, but it's absolutely possible - and can be tons of fun along the way. Plus, how many other businesses can you start with just your laptop and zero technical skills and scale to an 8- or 9-figure exit?

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If you’re looking for an easy, lightweight way to optimise images and speed up your WordPress site, check out the latest version of the plugin I have built at an affordable price of 2 coffees! Convert JPG, PNG to WebP Pro WordPress Plugin. What’s New in the latest Version 1.1.5? 1️⃣ Automatic WebP Conversion upon Upload: Images now automatically convert to WebP right after upload for seamless optimisation. 2️⃣ Batch Conversion Enhancements: Real-time feedback on remaining images during bulk conversion. No more negative counts in the batch conversion process! 3️⃣ Code Improvements & Bug Fixes: Resolved issues with duplicate functions when both free and pro versions were activated. Proper handling of the "Enable WebP Conversion" setting, ensuring conversions only when enabled. 4️⃣ Security & Efficiency: Nonce verification and input sanitization for enhanced security. Better user feedback with conversion status displayed clearly on the admin page. And many tweaks under the hood. For more details, visit documentation page: https://lnkd.in/dqdmFt6i

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I know very few happy agency owners 😢 I know lots of happy software founders 😁 Here's why... ✅ No big team ✅ Better cashflow ✅ No client hamster wheel ✅ Building a sellable asset And yet, most content is about “How to start an agency” More people should look into software.

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This post is great for Startmate, but don't ignore the headline: "9 out of 10 times VC loses money". This is a truth a lot of startup founders just don't get... when you take VC, you think you've made it... but *most of the time* a VC writes a check it goes sideways. Getting VC is NOT a magnificent milestone... it's the start of a very risky journey. Think about that: your investor comes to your board meeting... and 8 or 9 out of every 10 board meetings they go to they know "this company ain't gonna make it". I'm not against VC's and I had a terrific VC in my company, but I don't think enough founders *understand* the realities of venture capital, *particularly* in Australia, where the whole ecosystem is quite immature and a long way behind the US. #VentureCapital #fundraising #VC #startups #founders

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Proxima raised a $12M Series A earlier in 2024. Another founder recently asked me if there’s anything I would do differently when raising VC. We’re still in the thick of executing and implementing post-raise, so I haven't had much time to reflect, yet. But there are 5 things I do wish I understood earlier: If a founder asked me, “What should I know before I start raising?” here’s what I would say: LEARNING 1) Raising will take longer than you think: I was warned about this, but I didn’t truly understand it until I experienced it. Be prepared for delays. LEARNING 2) Get lots of practice: Presentation prep is crucial. Refine your data and practice your storytelling. This not only helps you present confidently but also helps you develop your story. LEARNING 3) Pitch to low-risk investors first: Identify people in your extended network who you can pitch to without needing a perfect outcome. Use these opportunities for practice. LEARNING 4) Create urgency: Investors need to feel a sense of opportunity cost or fear of missing out. Establish a timeline that encourages prompt decisions. LEARNING 5) Generate buzz: Create a competitive dynamic. Here’s a real-world example: Early in my fundraising journey, I was invited by an investor to their Sand Hill Road office for a Monday meeting. They offered a Zoom option, but I told them I’d be in Palo Alto anyway (I wasn’t). I booked a flight and messaged other contacts, saying I’d be in town for a meeting with another firm and was available to meet the day prior. Most VC firms hold partner meetings on Mondays and have offices on Sand Hill. This strategy worked. I ended up meeting with multiple firms that trip. This created buzz and showed I was actively talking to others. (For context, none of those firms ended up providing the term sheet I signed, which is why I feel comfortable sharing this.) The point is that letting firms know you’re talking to others shifts the dynamic and speeds up the process. TL;DR: Fundraising is intense. Build your stamina for pitching (and rejection), get the reps in, and get scrappy to generate competition among VCs. I’d love to hear from other founders. What do you wish you’d known before raising? What am I missing? Anything you’d do differently?

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Woo is seeking feedback for a WIP feature they're preliminarily calling "Woo Blueprints". This feature allows you to import and export settings, with plans to support for importing and exporting pages, posts, products, and theme settings. Head over here to give you feedback > https://lnkd.in/eZm2B72H

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We spent $26,430 on PPC and Facebook ads for a veterinary surgeon clinic from Feb 1 - Jul 31 176 leads for orthopedic surgeries came in After ad spend + fees, this vet clinic paid $222 per orthopedic surgery lead that came in since Feb 1 They're margins are 40%+ and charge no less than $3000 per TPLO Not bad But here’s the real story A new surgeon had just joined one of LA’s top 10 clinics for TPLO surgeries. The clinic was expanding rapidly, launching a state-of-the-art facility by 2025. Sales needed to come in asap. We used highly targeted PPC to attract high-quality traffic. We didn’t stop there. We dove into aggressive remarketing on Facebook. If folks need to see a brand a min of 8 times before they "remember" it, we need to show up once/day every day for the next 6 months (maybe even more). The secret? We identified 15%-30% of the anonymous visitors (those who never filled out a form or otherwise became a lead) — In the last 2 months alone, we've had 13k visits to the site & have gotten 1.5k leads from this We nurtured them with a tailored email sequence. Slowly, they became clients. And the process is quite straightforward: - Invest in PPC - Use Facebook ads for remarketing - Find out who *is not* filling out your forms - Nurture leads via email & retargeted Facebook ads This simple process will work for *anything* — any product, any service 1. Use PPC to grab the attention of those who are searching "now" 2. Identify any website visitor who *does not* fill out a form 3. Use Facebook ads and Emails to up to that person once/day every day (think: unique daily reach Facebook ad campaign)

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🚀 **Reflecting on Accountability in the Crypto Space** 🚀 In the early days of cryptocurrency, many projects took off with great fanfare, only for founders to vanish post-funding with no tangible results. This lack of accountability left investors questioning: "Where’s the product? What happened to the vision?" Instead of seeing real innovations, we were often met with speculation and disappointment, as founders showcased flashy lifestyles rather than the promised technological advancements. The lesson? Transparency and accountability are not just nice-to-haves—they’re essential for the growth and credibility of our industry. Let's shift the narrative from mere ideas to concrete achievements. It’s time to focus on what we’ve built and share milestones with our community. 🤝 I’m eager to hear your thoughts: How can we ensure accountability in our projects moving forward? Share your experiences and insights below! 💬 #Blockchain #Crypto #Accountability #Innovation #CommunityEngagement

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🐍 Snake Oil Alert 🐍 Shopify Merchants, have you received an email from Nostra AI this week? A good portion of our merchants have. I’m not one to publicly name and shame, but if you have already been caught out, and are still hounding merchants - I think it’s fair game. In short, Nostra has been caught artificially inflating site speed scores by cloaking content on your site, which is a big no-no, especially when it comes SEO. I’m not going to take credit for exposing them though - that was the work of Lukas Tanasiuk, Jake Casto and Youness I.. You can read more about Nostra here: https://lnkd.in/gTuQNDRZ Honestly, I thought being exposed back in December would have been enough to kill them off, but apparently not - so here we. Stepping back from Nostra though, let’s talk about some of the red flags you should be looking at when evaluating any solution: - Not being listed on the Shopify App Store. Shopify does a lot of work keeping snake oil solutions out of their App Store. - Any solution that requires you to change your DNS records. Terms such as “Edge Delivery” or “Crawler Optimization” should also be red flags. Shopify has 4.5k extremely talented engineers, let them focus on edge delivery optimisation.  - Any sales person that feels the need to send from a domain that isn’t their primary domain. Notice that ai-nostra.com isn’t Nostra’s actual domain. Nostra - if you can convince Lukas Tanasiuk, Jake Casto, Youness I. and myself that you are no longer shilling snake oil, I’ll happily make a correction post. On the bright side, it’s given us an opportunity to have some good discussions with our merchants about what we’ve got in the pipeline to keep their sites speedy. Funnily enough, this merchant actually had a 1.69s LCP, but there’s always room for improvement 😉

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Product-market fit is the holy grail for startups - in the early days, searching it out is the one thing Founders should be focussed on. But the journey to PMF is never linear - it’s filled with twists, turns and dead ends. I see this regularly with Founders I work with, who have often got stuck in one of these dead ends, or lost somewhere else along the way. There are lots of reasons this happens but, in my experience, there are just a few key things you need to do as a Founder to stay ahead of the game: 1. 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗅 Trying to appeal to everyone often means you appeal to no one. Identifying and understanding your ideal customer is crucial. 2. 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 Constructive criticism is your startup’s best friend. It can highlight blind spots and reveal opportunities you hadn’t considered. 3. 𝗕𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗶𝘃𝗼𝘁 Flexibility can be the difference between success and failure. Don’t be so wedded to your original idea that you miss where the real opportunity lies. 4. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 Continuously test, learn, and improve. An iterative approach allows you to adapt quickly as you deepen your understanding of the problem space. So what can you do, if you’re a founder looking for Product-Market-Fit? - Conduct In-Depth Customer Research: Don’t do polls and surveys - instead, set up interviews and engage with your potential users wherever they are. The goal is to understand their pain points, needs, and preferences deeply. - Define Your Value Proposition Clearly: Articulate what makes your product unique and why your target customer should care. This should be a clear and concise statement that guides all your marketing efforts. - Test Before You Invest: 99% of founders get MVPs wrong. Remember - an MVP is the smallest thing you can build to test a hypothesis. Gather real user data before fully committing resources. This reduces risk dramatically. - Stay Agile: Rigidity and single-mindedness are hugely detrimental traits in a founder. Be prepared to make adjustments to your product, strategy, or target market as new information becomes available. The journey to product-market fit is seldom a straight line. It’s a dynamic process that requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to learn. Remember, finding product-market fit isn’t just about having a great product; it’s about having a product that meets the needs of the market in a way that no one else does. Keep your ears to the ground, remain flexible, and focus on delivering true value to your customers. #startups #productmarketfit #gotomarket #mentor #founderstories #founder

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I love seeing company updates from startups, so here's a no bullshit company update on where we're at, our wins and our losses for Q3: 1. September has been hard, but for the right reasons. Avelon is V1 / MVP in its current form, but we need to automate more...and fast. We say 99.6% of the system is automated, but that 0.4% is still a hell of a lot of work. All we get is good feedback, but I want someone to come in and rip apart the system. The Tony Fadell book, Build, gave me this insight and made me want to find users who will just pick apart everything and anything. We want to make the best platform in this space. Cheers to Jamie Clark for the recommendation. 2. I love speaking to brands as much as possible, but I need to be more selective of meetings. We have 112 brand requests to join the platform right now, which I'm slowly working through. We accept maybe 5 per week and I like to give a rundown of why the platform isn't right for the brand if we don't accept their application, alongside alternatives of what other platforms could suit them better. It takes time to select the right partners, but it's one part of the business we'll never automate and we'll never make it open for everyone to use. 3. September has been our biggest month ever. 22% up on target and averaging 26% MoM growth since January. NET profit sits at 77.23% for 2024 and September is 89.45%. We've cut out almost all external development costs over the past 4-months and increased our reporting times for costs. It's a great way to find what you can cut back on. 4. We've focused heavily on automating publisher relationships and all the small changes are compounding from the past 12-weeks. Publisher sales are up a whopping 3200% compared to this time last year and I love seeing success stories from Rob Slade on how we're helping them achieve their targets. BikeRadar came onboard a few weeks back and we saw an instant boost in engagement on the platform. 5. Documenting the platform and how everything works for Affilizz (our new sub-network integration, coming soon) has allowed us to dig into the weeds and refine even more processes. It also means we'll also be able to work with the other half of the sports industry automatically. Big success. 6. I'm lucky that I have Roland Pogonyi as my business partner who focuses on building the platform so we can change/scale/pivot at any moment. Users are fickle and working alongside other developers makes me realise just how good Roland is at what he does. It's an art form. Last but not least: I remain incredibly grateful for where we're at and what this business allows me to do. I type this as I sit with my 88-year old Grandad on his porch in Spain, responding to emails and drinking coffee, laughing about his stories from the Merchant Navy in the late 50's. What have I realised this quarter? Work is great, but life is about appreciating people around you.

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I've bootstrapped two SaaS startups from $0 - $1,000,000 ARR in the Shopify ecosystem, making every mistake you can imagine. Here’s how I’d do it again if I started today: 1. PICK A LANE: - There are two lanes. Brands doing > $1M and brands doing < $1M. - The GTM motions for each are RADICALLY DIFFERENT. - Don't try to do both until you have mastered at least one. Let’s focus on building for brands > $1M, as this is where I’ve screwed up the most. 2. PRODUCT: - Don’t write a_single_line_of_code. - Spend 60-90 days talking with brands. - Refine the pitch/solution/value each time. - Look at their face for signs of interest, instead of their words. - Focus on where you are adding revenue for the lowest lift possible. - Brands will not switch providers or onboard a new tool otherwise. - See how many will commit to a 3-4 month free trial based on hardcoded screenshots of what the solution will look like. Super hard, but it's gonna be a tough first 18 months without this. 3. DISTRIBUTION: - Build in public on LinkedIn and X as a founder. 100x more effective than any paid ads you could run at this stage. - Build a TAM list in Hubspot (around 25,000 brands) to work from. Companies and Contacts. Enrich the data and work backwards. Track how much of the market you are penetrating as you grow. Study how Romain Lapeyre did this at Gorgias (his SaaStr videos are essential viewing) - GOOD cold email. Good, being the key. I’ve been fortunate to have some people in the ecosystem share their strategies in detail with me recently. Still works if done right vs spray and pray. - Invest in SEO early. I’m surprised at how much traffic we get from our blog and the people who show up through RB2B every day. - Buy a $299 Webflow template and hire a good designer to work on branding. Update the template. - Build best-in-class integrations for Klaviyo / Postscript / Gorgias / Skio/ etc. Use their latest tech/API's they want to promote. There’s a chance they could refer/promote to their customer base based on the strength of the integration. At the very least you'll make connections. Tech partnerships will be critical. - Do the same for agency partnerships. No one will take you seriously yet and that’s fine. We’re playing the long game. For every brand you onboard, identify if they’re currently looking for X,Y,Z solution if possible. Refer business to agencies whenever it makes actual sense. Start small, work up. This will come back to you eventually. Leads are the currency. - Show up to every event in your area and every event you can financially make it to. Meet people IRL, it goes a long way and most people in the ecosystem are happy to help. - As soon as you deliver over-the-top service for a brand, ask to put their logo on your site, and plaster over your social. Social proof is HEAVILY Weighted here. Ask for case studies once real results come through. Looks like we're going to the comments to continue 👇

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"Business is tricky, but we have seen this movie before. We must ensure that decisions are not made from a place of fear." In today's economic climate, this statement couldn't be more relevant. New Zealand is grappling with a technical double-dip recession, marked by back-to-back GDP contractions due to rapid interest rate hikes​. The recent economic challenges, including inflation and a sluggish recovery, have put many businesses in a difficult position​ However, history has shown us that fear-based decisions can lead to suboptimal outcomes. In these challenging times, it’s crucial to: Stay Informed and Agile: Keep up with economic trends and adjust your strategies accordingly. Focus on Long-term Goals: Short-term pressures shouldn't distract us from the bigger picture. Stability and resilience are key. Innovate and Adapt: Embrace new technologies and practices to stay competitive. New Zealand businesses have faced tough times before and emerged stronger. By avoiding fear-driven decisions and focusing on strategic growth, we can navigate this tricky business environment and thrive. If you are feeling STUCK taking a CALCULATED Risk can pull you out of a rut!

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Move the platform forward, one step at a time 🪜 Every step you take reveals new or emphasizes existing pain points. The need for subfolders to better organize assets has been felt by developers long before the new inline_asset_content filter has been introduced, and adding 100 SVG files in the mix only emphasizes the need further. There is no such thing as a quick win when you reach Shopify’s scale. Each time you add an ‘and’ to a feature request, you’re forced to solve for more variables which takes longer to solve and thus delays delivering value to your customer. Take this seemingly simple new filter, inline_asset_content. It does just one thing — take content of the file and inline it in the page response. Simple, right? But that file is hosted on CDNs far away from Shopify’s Liquid Renderer, not in DB like Liquid files are. And that file is now a dependency for the Liquid renderer, which is the main player in page response speed (TTFB). And these files can change and invalidate any cached responses at any time. And what do we even call this filter? And Tobi wants this shipped now, not in 2 months. Yes is would be nice to have options to modify classes in the svg, or specify height, or organize your svgs in the assets folder better — but these are nice to have when considering the main problem you’re trying to solve. What’s important here is progress; each precise step removing SOME complexity. Working with native SVG files is simpler than all previous solutions. End of story. Done. Ship it. Inline_asset_content is one step forward, and hopefully the first of many more steps as Shopify’s online store team picks up momentum again. So what’s next? Subfolders in assets would certainly be nice 😜

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