What makes a Shopify store actually work in 2025? Kurt Elster (Unofficial Shopify Podcast) and Arvind Krishnan (Swym) have answers grounded in experience—and battle scars.

In this episode, Orita Co-Founder Aaron Schwartz brings together two of the most trusted voices in the Shopify ecosystem to unpack what’s working in DTC today—from site design and customer engagement to AI, app stacks, and how to future-proof your brand.

They cover everything from how Wishlist Plus grew to 35,000 free users (without blowing up their margins), to why discovery and personalization still haven’t quite lived up to the hype—and where they might go next. You’ll hear Kurt’s take on building trust, and Arvind’s belief that the best moat is talking to your customers… a lot.