From building apps to building a business: How one Shopify dev became an entrepreneur

The world needs more entrepreneurs, including developers who create the tools and experiences that drive commerce forward.

Take Björn Forsberg, for example. Based in Denmark, Björn initially explored the idea of becoming a Shopify merchant in 2011. Recognizing the opportunity to tackle merchant pain points as a developer, he instead taught himself to code and started building apps for the Shopify App Store.

Today, his company, FORSBERG+two, supports over 100,000 merchants worldwide with five apps that handle invoicing, emails, order management, and digital product sales. It’s a thriving business that gives Björn the freedom and flexibility he wants for his family. (The “+two” part of the company name represents his wife and daughter, though he notes, "Now we also have a boy, so it really should be +three.")

Building in the Shopify ecosystem

Our app ecosystem is built to help developers like Björn shape, customize, and extend the entire commerce experience. With the backing of our global infrastructure, scalability, and reliability, developers have created 13,000+ apps and 200+ themes, enhancing everything from storefronts to checkouts to backend integrations.

And there's always room for more innovation. In 2023, app partner earnings increased by 30%, with similar growth in Q1 this year. If trends continue at this pace, our app dev partner earnings could hit $1B for the first time in 2024.

Commerce moves fast, and that creates endless opportunities to make it better for merchants. If you’re a developer or aspire to become one, we provide the tools and resources to help you succeed. Our suite of APIs, SDKs, primitives, and tools enables you to create powerful, tailor-made apps and themes with ease.

In our Summer ’24 Edition, we’ve released updates specifically for ecosystem developers, including:

• New benefits for the Built for Shopify program: This program helps developers meet our high standards for app performance, security, and ease of use. Achieving Built for Shopify status is the highest level of recognition an app can receive. The new benefits are designed to boost installs with promotional options and different ad types on the App Store. These include a new search filter for discovering certified apps and ad segmentation by merchant plan type to reach high-value merchants and optimize ad spend.
• Streamlined app review process: We’ve made the app review process more structured and seamless, with clearer expectations, guidance, and visibility into progress. In the past six months, we’ve made it 30% faster for new apps to get published, with higher quality.

Become a developer on Shopify

If you’re a developer or want to become one, we give you the tools and resources to do just that. Come build with us and join Björn and thousands of other devs in creating unique experiences for millions of merchants.

Our Summer ’24 Edition is not just about updates; it’s about empowering you to innovate and thrive. Dive into the latest features and see how you can make a difference in the world of commerce. Together, we’re not just building apps; we’re crafting the future of commerce.