In this episode of the Liquid Weekly Podcast, hosts Karl Meisterheim and Taylor Page welcome Matt Sodomsky, VP of Product and Strategy at Lightward.The conversation delves into Matt's journey in tech, his experiences with Shopify, and the development of Mechanic, an automation platform designed for Shopify users. They discuss the importance of community support, the unique pricing model of Mechanic, and the architecture behind the platform.*Takeaways*- Matt Sodomsky shares his journey from tech support to VP of Product and Strategy- Mechanic is a backend automation platform that allows for complex customizations- The community around Mechanic is supportive and encourages collaboration- The pricing model of Mechanic is based on a 'pay what feels good' philosophy- Locksmith is another product from LightWord that focuses on access control for Shopify stores- The architecture of Mechanic is designed to handle large volumes of data and tasks efficiently*Timestamps**Find Matt and Mechanic Online*- Matt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewsodomsky/ - Mechanic website: https://mechanic.dev/- Lightward App Store: https://apps.shopify.com/partners/lightward - Mechanic app listing: https://apps.shopify.com/mechanic- Locksmith app listing: https://apps.shopify.com/locksmith*Resources*- Fly.io: https://fly.io/- Crunchy Data: https://www.crunchydata.com/ - AWS CloudSearch: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudsearch/ *Changelog*- Merchants on paid trial plans no longer able to leave reviews on Shopify's App Store - https://shopify.dev/changelog/merchant-eligibility-to-leave-reviews-on-shopifys-app-store- Improved productTags, productVendors, productTypes - https://shopify.dev/changelog/improved-producttags-productvendors-producttypes- Meta events for theme and app listings: https://shopify.dev/changelog/meta-pixel-events-for-app-listing-page and https://shopify.dev/changelog/meta-pixel-events-for-theme-listing-page- [SCHEDULED] Minimum requirement is now optional on automatic discounts - https://shopify.dev/changelog/minimum-requirement-is-now-optional-on-automatic-discounts- [SCHEDULED] Public apps must use new GraphQL Product APIs to be accepted in the Shopify App Store - https://shopify.dev/changelog/public-apps-must-use-new-graphql-product-apis-to-be-accepted-in-the-shopify-app-store*Picks of the Week*- Matt: Three body problem (Netflix documentary): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_Body_Problem_(TV_series)- Karl: Silo (series): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silo_(TV_series)- Taylor: Company of One (book): https://amzn.to/4gzSIxT*Signup for Liquid Weekly Newsletter*Don't miss out on expert insights and tips—subscribe to Liquid Weekly for more content like this delivered right to your inbox each week - https://liquidweekly.com/