Which company or start-up inspires you the most and why?
That's a good question and I had to think about it a lot! At the beginning I was thinking about the big tech companies like Tesla, Apple, Google, Microsoft and so on.
Then I was thinking of touch points that I have with the companies. The company I have the most touch points with is not in the above list of big tech companies.
Shopware is the company that inspires me the most! Let me tell you why.
The first time I used Shopware
When I used Shopware the first time it was only software for me. I came in touch with Shopware5 because I had to improve the design of a shop. At that point I didn't know that Shopware will be one of the reasony why I got my first job as a developer.
Once I landed my job in an agency I did more and more with Shopware. I also slipped more and more into the community and the Shopware-World and I love it 💙
Open - Authentic - Visionary
Shopware stands for these values and you actually can see it! Let's break this down a bit.
Open
Open-source software is the best right? Shopware is open-source and they live it! You can be part of the journey and contribute.
Not only the software is open, the people are open and welcoming as well. I had the pleasure to meet, talk and spend some time with a couple of people from Shopware and the Shopware Community. But more about that later!
Authentic
Shopware was founded by Sebastian and Stefan Hamann and Stefan Heyne. They actually started the company when they were still in school. Today Shopware is a big player in the e-commerce industry. The two are still the owners today. The headquarter is still in Schöppingen, where Shopware was founded. It doesn't get any more authentic than that, does it?
Visionary
You have to try new things especially in software right? Now Shopware introduced something like Guided Shopping and changed the way a customer can interact with a shop. So Shopware tries to always meet new demands and I think they are doing a pretty good job at it!
Shopware Events & The Community
What makes Shopware outstanding and inspiring for me are the events and the lovely community. And there are a lot of events. But it's not about the quantity, it's about the quality right? Well I was part of a couple events already and I can tell you all of those were well organized and the organisators did a pretty good job!
I think the people who organize the events are always the same. So if one of you is reading this big props to you!
SCUC - Shopware Community UnConference
The very first event I attended was the UnConference and at this point I didn't know anyone. I was going there alone so I was pretty nervous.
As with almost every event, there was a pre-party. At the pre-party I got to know the first people. I realized really fast that everyone is very open and nice as well.
SCUC - Main Event
The next day was the main event. It was pretty cool to already know a couple of faces. So there were at least a couple of people I could talk to. But like everyone I was welcomed with a personalized shirt, so you could easily talk to everyone. That's the spirit!
There was no fixed timeline. It was a real UnConference. Anyone could come up with a topic and pin it on a board. Then everyone could vote for two topics and you could listen to the talk you like the most. The topics could be Shopware related but also could be anything else. It was pretty fun!
So you had lectures, fun, parties and food. Everything was taken care of. You had breaks to network and also a gaming area with a foosball table, air hockey and a flipper. Could you do an event even better? I don't think so.
App-Contests
Of course Shopware has a App-Store as well! As a manufacturer you can create apps or plugins and sell them in the store. Now apps are kind of new. To push the apps there was a app-contest.
To participate in the app-contest you only had to write an app and bring it in the store. What's a big difference to other contests is that Shopware also had Boost-Days to help the developers. So if you had a problem with your app or simply wanted to learn how to create an app the boost day was the right thing for you.
The boost days usually take part in gather town. You can talk to other people from the community or to developers from Shopware. If you are stuck with your app one of the developers probably could have answered your questions.
Now thenext boost day will actually be a hackathon! I try to be on site and will keep you updated. If you just want to feel the spirit just join the boost day online in gather town!
Now to move back I wrote a couple of very simple apps for the app-contest. That was the reason I got invited to the Shopware Community Day!
Shopware Community Day
The Community Day shows how much Shopware cares about their community. They have one day in the year just for the community. There are different stages with different talks. For me the most interesting stage of course was the tech stage!
The Community Day was pretty big but still everything was taken care of! It was a hybrid event so even if you could be on site you could follow everything. There also was a small game hidden on the venue where you could win some Shopware swag!
Luckily I particpated in the app-contest and got a SWAG-Bag! So if there is another Shopware App-Contest and you want some SWAG I highly recommend you to particpate in that contest! I'm most proud of my first php elephant Cody Blou! Now I need the girlfriend Cody Vuelette for my lonely elephant.
Open Huus Dag
At the Open Huus Dag Shopware was open for everyone. You could just visit the headquarter in Schöppingen, which is near Münster. There were two talks about Shopware and Shopware Work & Life.
You also could go to the roof of the Shopware tower. What was the most interesting for me was a guided tour through the offices. We got a deep insight on how it is to work at Shopware.
The Vegas Room
A lot of companies in the tech industry have a foosbal table, nerf guns or some other games to play. Personally I prefer a good foosbal table! At the Shopware headquarter in Schöppingen they have an own room to play games!
This room is called the vegas room if I remember it correctly. Of course they also have a foosbal table and I think a table tennis table as well. So as an employee you are spoiled for choice. Now would you spend your lunch break in the vegas room or differently?
Labs
My favourite room on the guided tour was the labs room. Basically it is a big room for nerds that want to try different hardware, software and tools. Just imagine a room in which you can put any hardware and tools you like. A room where you can craft different things on your own.
There was a small area for VR. I also saw a Meta Oculus Quest to play around with. The most of us probably could spend a couple of weeks only in this room. Trying and crafting new things.
The Meme Wall
Luckily at the tour we came across the developer office. As a developer do you like memes? I had some good laughs when I saw the meme wall in the office. Unfortunately most of the memes are in german but maybe you also find some of them entertaining.
Why Shopware inspires me more than big tech companies
Of course Google, Tesla, Apple and Microsoft are very inspiring and build cool software and stuff, but they don't have php elephants. Just kidding, those big companies feel a bit untochable for me. You can watch what they do but it's not easy to be part of it right?
Now let's break down why Shopware is so inspiring for me!
Open Source
Shopware is open source! That's a pretty big reason why I like it so much. You can be part of the software. Implement new feature and contribute to make Shopware even greater.
Open Source also means it's free! So you can build your first online shop pretty easy with Shopware even if you are short on money. That makes it possible for almost everyone to start an online shop! You wanna build an online shop? Then I recommend you to at least have a look at Shopware!
Is it a start-up still?
At the moment about 400 people work at Shopware. Can you still call it start-up? The company actually got bigger quite a lot in the last few years. How did it start? Two brothers, a vision and everything besides going to school. That's the spirit! That's the spirit!
This year they also got an investment of $100M from PayPal and Carlyle. Now this investment helps Shopware to grow and expand even more. Shopware goes U.S. now! They just opened an office in New York City!
Shopware is pretty big in Germany and now they also compete with Shopify in the United States. So 400 people is maybe not a start-up anymore but you still can watch them grow. And you also can be part of it and they have elephants.
The Relation
Shopware is a german company and was founded in the same state where I live in. They started pretty small and today we see what they already achieved. I think it's pretty amazing!
It's just pretty cool to know that there is a Software-Company from Germany which is doing this good. Time to compete with all the U.S. companies right? Since they are from germany it's also pretty easy for me to be part of the amazing events.
I know Shopify, Magento and Apple and so on also have a couple of events and stuff but I just feel like Shopware is doing a bit more for the community and I think that's awesome!
Have you ever touched any code from Google, Tesla or Apple? I don't think so. Shopware is still open source so you actually can fix bugs and touch the code that is used by a ton of people. Pretty cool isn't it?
Working with Shopware actually means touching the code. Maybe you find bugs but you can fix them on your own! You also can discuss with the great Shopware Team about new feature and stuff at least at the events. It feels just much closer than the big tech companies like Google, Apple or Microsoft.
Conclusion
Even if you are not into e-commerce, I hope that you enjoyed this article. Hopefully you got some good insights and if you want to start a shop one day, you maybe take a look at Shopware.
As a developer it's pretty easy to get started and you even can contribute. Now if you are still not convinced to use Shopware just join one of the amazing events. In September there is the hybrid event I mentioned. Just register for the boost day and join Shopware in gather town or on site in Schöppingen. I will be there!
The Community is the best and I'm sure that you will love Shopware once you got your hands on it!💙