6 ms·

Hi YC, We’re Darrell, Jibril, and Robrecht, the co-founders of Appollo (https://www.tryappollo.com/ https://www.tryappollo.com/). Appollo is a single API to lau

Hi YC, We’re Darrell, Jibril, and Robrecht, the co-founders of Appollo (https://www.tryappollo.com/ https://www.tryappollo.com/). Appollo is a single API to launch your app to all eCommerce platforms. Appollo enables you to create 1 app with our APIs and launch it to all the eCommerce platforms while also letting you maintain it as 1 app. Previously, you had to create and maintain an app separately for Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, Square, Wix, SquareSpace, Etsy, etc. Before Appollo, we were working on a live stream application for eCommerce stores, which was how we were confronted with this problem. Looking forward to your feedback!

rsstack 5y ago
I love this. Now that you have a working version, what's next on your road map?
- Darrelladjei 5y ago
  Thanks so much! We are building out more API endpoints so more customers can start building their app with our APIs. In particular some folks have asked for Front-end functionality e.g. to change the theme on the target website. If you have any suggestions of things you would like would love to hear about them!!
alex4864 5y ago
Hey! As someone who isn't super familiar with this space, I'm a bit confused about who your target user is. At first I thought it was for people who have a mobile app and want to publish it on a bunch of stores, but the APIs are all about querying products and customers, so I guess it's for integrating with eCommerce platforms? A concrete example use case on your website would help explain this to me a lot!
- throwaway744678 5y ago
  Browsing a bit through the doc I believe this is targeted to developers that build "apps" that online merchants can (buy and) use on their e-commerce website. I agree with alex: a sample app would probably make it more clear!
  - Darrelladjei 5y ago
    Thanks guys! Yes correct! we are targeting developers that are building apps/extensions for the website. Great idea about the sample app, will add!
    - skeeter2020 5y ago
      advice from someone ina similar area: STARTER app not SAMPLE app. The former gives your clients a starting point to build production applications; the later is usually some throw-away sample code that quickly goes stale and causes nothing but support headaches. By extension, you will need to dedicate ongoing resources to keep this up to date; that's what you expect of your clients, so I hope you enjoy dog food!
fuzzer37 5y ago
Doesn't the name kind of clash with some already existing, relatively well known software? I was sort of confused when I saw the name of your company. https://www.apollographql.com/docs/react/ https://www.apollographql.com/docs/react/
- kgraves 5y ago
  this is the first time I have heard of 'apollo graphql', doesn't seem to be well known really.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- Darrelladjei 5y ago
  Hey, haha yh good spot! We picked appollo because we help people launch (apollo bit) apps (app bit).
dangrossman 5y ago
You have a pricing page but there's not a single dollar sign on it. I have no idea what this costs. I also took a quick look at your API documentation, and I couldn't figure out how I'd use this. I run several popular Shopify and WooCommerce apps right now. Their primary integration point with the store is via injecting a script tag into all pages, using Shopify's ScriptTag API or WordPress's wp_head hook. I couldn't find how I'd do this using Apollo.
- Darrelladjei 5y ago
  Hey, We are adding script tag support very very soon!
jacobn 5y ago
Hi, I run clippingmagic.com (a SaaS to clean & prep ecommerce product shots) so this could be a great fit for us - we've talked many times about integrating with the platforms, but... A few comments & questions: 1. https://tryapollo.com https://tryapollo.com fails to provide a secure connection? 2. Viewing https://docs.tryappollo.com/docs/introduction https://docs.tryappollo.com/docs/introduction on mobile leads to the sidebar getting hidden - may want to copy your ToC into the How To Use This Doc section to not make it look like you have three doc pages total ;) 3. https://docs.tryappollo.com/reference#fetch-products https://docs.tryappollo.com/reference#fetch-products - do I provide a "cursor" or a "page"? 4. The "media" object type is not separately documented. Based on the "Create a product" form it's {src:string, type:string} - what are the valid string values for "type"? 5. When I update a product, do I have to include all fields, or can I include only those I wish to update? 6. How do I append another product photo? How do I insert one? How do I remove one? 7. https://docs.tryappollo.com/reference#fetch-variant https://docs.tryappollo.com/reference#fetch-variant goes to the wrong spot on the page, it goes to Collections API section. 8. Ditto all questions for products also for variants (page vs cursor, media & how to do narrow updates to it). 9. https://www.tryappollo.com/pricing https://www.tryappollo.com/pricing - your pricing page has as of right now no clear indication of your intended business model. Charge a fraction of revenue? Fixed $x/install? Something else? 10. Continuation of service: building an app is a non-trivial commitment. What happens if things don't work out for appollo? Thanks!
- jacobn 5y ago
  I keep misspelling your domain, https://tryappollo.com/ https://tryappollo.com/ (two 'p's, your site) fails to provide a secure connection, https://tryapollo.com/ https://tryapollo.com/ (single 'p') works fine but is a completely different website.
  - Darrelladjei 5y ago
    Yh good catch! We'll fix that!
- Darrelladjei 5y ago
  1. Thanks! we'll fix that! 2. Thanks for the feedback! 3. Yep! it is a cursor that we return to you after your first query 4. Thanks, we'll better document that! The type values are IMAGE & VIDEO 5. No only the newly updated values 7. Ah weird, which browser you using? for me it works. 8. Ditto all questions for products also for variants (page vs cursor, media & how to do narrow updates to it). 9. Atm we are discussing pricing based on customers needs, on a direct call with them 10. We are committed to making this work. If not we are open to many arrangements including helping customers run Appollo on-prem. Phew! Thanks for all the questions haha!
callmeed 5y ago
Looks really great. I have 2 ecomm side projects I'd like to start using this in right away. BTW what happened to the live stream application/idea?
- Robrechtlr 5y ago
  I'll follow up with you over email! Long story short, customers only used it once and didn't come back to the product. We also were more interested in working on this problem that we faced ourselves while working on the live stream application.
- Darrelladjei 5y ago
  Hi! We actually came across the idea for Appollo whilst trying to distribute the live-streaming app to ecommerce stores. It looked like too much effort so we built what we wish had existed. This new market seemed a better founder/market fit and had much stronger customer "pull".
harrisonjackson 5y ago
At first I thought this was so you could sell retail products through all these different platforms. I was thinking.... WHY?! But it is actually for ecommerce plugins/apps/add-ons and the customers are those companies making shopify plugins so they can develop once and deploy everywhere. Echoing other comments - a more clear description / example or word other than "App" might help. I think Add-On or Plugin might be more clear in your one liner when referencing all the platforms. Good luck on the launch! Hope the "meet the batch" thing doesn't flop.
- Robrechtlr 5y ago
  Great point, we have ran into the problem that people misunderstand our product before, especially when they are not familiar with the eCommerce app stores. I'll start testing out plugin/add-on and see if that improves it, apprecaite it!
- skeeter2020 5y ago
  Disclosure: I work for an established (maybe?) competitor to this idea; I say maybe because it's really not clear what you do until I read most of this thread, nor how you do it (or what's planned vs. available). First, Welcome! This is a huge arena and I think there's a million, nuanced areas for companies to tackle and really focus on amazing merchant experiences. THis is a very big (and growing) pie. Second, I think you'd benefit from trying to increase the clarity of what you do and the value proposition, plus how it all works. For example, I'm not sure how you can provide broad-based api support for 3rd party developers without script injection or strong webhook support, but maybe you've got a new approach? I also admit to being skeptical when you mention a feature as surpassing platform rate limits; we have a continual pain point with shopify, query cost calculation and throttling as an example. Third, we also use a platform-agnostic solution, but then build internally on this before exposing client-facing services. After several years we don't support nearly as many platforms as you; how do you stay on top of all these unilateral changes? Just shopify keeps us on our toes, and some of the ones you mention have little critical mass making them unattractive. Finally, it would probably help adoption if you at least gave some indication of what your pricing is going to look like, even flat rate or %, or totally custom... You're asking people to build solutions on top of your product without any sort of idea of what the long term ramifcations look like. That's a hard sell. Good luck with the venture!
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
pbreit 5y ago
I'm wondering what sort of "app" would be deployable to all these platforms? Any examples?
meetneps 5y ago
Is this something to https://unicommerce.com/ https://unicommerce.com/ or https://browntape.com https://browntape.com

rsstack 5y ago

I love this. Now that you have a working version, what's next on your road map?

Darrelladjei 5y ago
Thanks so much! We are building out more API endpoints so more customers can start building their app with our APIs. In particular some folks have asked for Front-end functionality e.g. to change the theme on the target website. If you have any suggestions of things you would like would love to hear about them!!

alex4864 5y ago

Hey! As someone who isn't super familiar with this space, I'm a bit confused about who your target user is. At first I thought it was for people who have a mobile app and want to publish it on a bunch of stores, but the APIs are all about querying products and customers, so I guess it's for integrating with eCommerce platforms? A concrete example use case on your website would help explain this to me a lot!

throwaway744678 5y ago
Browsing a bit through the doc I believe this is targeted to developers that build "apps" that online merchants can (buy and) use on their e-commerce website. I agree with alex: a sample app would probably make it more clear!
- Darrelladjei 5y ago
  Thanks guys! Yes correct! we are targeting developers that are building apps/extensions for the website. Great idea about the sample app, will add!
  - skeeter2020 5y ago
    advice from someone ina similar area: STARTER app not SAMPLE app. The former gives your clients a starting point to build production applications; the later is usually some throw-away sample code that quickly goes stale and causes nothing but support headaches. By extension, you will need to dedicate ongoing resources to keep this up to date; that's what you expect of your clients, so I hope you enjoy dog food!

fuzzer37 5y ago

Doesn't the name kind of clash with some already existing, relatively well known software? I was sort of confused when I saw the name of your company. https://www.apollographql.com/docs/react/ https://www.apollographql.com/docs/react/

kgraves 5y ago
this is the first time I have heard of 'apollo graphql', doesn't seem to be well known really.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
Darrelladjei 5y ago
Hey, haha yh good spot! We picked appollo because we help people launch (apollo bit) apps (app bit).

dangrossman 5y ago

You have a pricing page but there's not a single dollar sign on it. I have no idea what this costs. I also took a quick look at your API documentation, and I couldn't figure out how I'd use this. I run several popular Shopify and WooCommerce apps right now. Their primary integration point with the store is via injecting a script tag into all pages, using Shopify's ScriptTag API or WordPress's wp_head hook. I couldn't find how I'd do this using Apollo.

Darrelladjei 5y ago
Hey, We are adding script tag support very very soon!

jacobn 5y ago

Hi, I run clippingmagic.com (a SaaS to clean & prep ecommerce product shots) so this could be a great fit for us - we've talked many times about integrating with the platforms, but... A few comments & questions: 1. https://tryapollo.com https://tryapollo.com fails to provide a secure connection? 2. Viewing https://docs.tryappollo.com/docs/introduction https://docs.tryappollo.com/docs/introduction on mobile leads to the sidebar getting hidden - may want to copy your ToC into the How To Use This Doc section to not make it look like you have three doc pages total ;) 3. https://docs.tryappollo.com/reference#fetch-products https://docs.tryappollo.com/reference#fetch-products - do I provide a "cursor" or a "page"? 4. The "media" object type is not separately documented. Based on the "Create a product" form it's {src:string, type:string} - what are the valid string values for "type"? 5. When I update a product, do I have to include all fields, or can I include only those I wish to update? 6. How do I append another product photo? How do I insert one? How do I remove one? 7. https://docs.tryappollo.com/reference#fetch-variant https://docs.tryappollo.com/reference#fetch-variant goes to the wrong spot on the page, it goes to Collections API section. 8. Ditto all questions for products also for variants (page vs cursor, media & how to do narrow updates to it). 9. https://www.tryappollo.com/pricing https://www.tryappollo.com/pricing - your pricing page has as of right now no clear indication of your intended business model. Charge a fraction of revenue? Fixed $x/install? Something else? 10. Continuation of service: building an app is a non-trivial commitment. What happens if things don't work out for appollo? Thanks!

jacobn 5y ago
I keep misspelling your domain, https://tryappollo.com/ https://tryappollo.com/ (two 'p's, your site) fails to provide a secure connection, https://tryapollo.com/ https://tryapollo.com/ (single 'p') works fine but is a completely different website.
- Darrelladjei 5y ago
  Yh good catch! We'll fix that!
Darrelladjei 5y ago
1. Thanks! we'll fix that! 2. Thanks for the feedback! 3. Yep! it is a cursor that we return to you after your first query 4. Thanks, we'll better document that! The type values are IMAGE & VIDEO 5. No only the newly updated values 7. Ah weird, which browser you using? for me it works. 8. Ditto all questions for products also for variants (page vs cursor, media & how to do narrow updates to it). 9. Atm we are discussing pricing based on customers needs, on a direct call with them 10. We are committed to making this work. If not we are open to many arrangements including helping customers run Appollo on-prem. Phew! Thanks for all the questions haha!

callmeed 5y ago

Looks really great. I have 2 ecomm side projects I'd like to start using this in right away. BTW what happened to the live stream application/idea?

Robrechtlr 5y ago
I'll follow up with you over email! Long story short, customers only used it once and didn't come back to the product. We also were more interested in working on this problem that we faced ourselves while working on the live stream application.
Darrelladjei 5y ago
Hi! We actually came across the idea for Appollo whilst trying to distribute the live-streaming app to ecommerce stores. It looked like too much effort so we built what we wish had existed. This new market seemed a better founder/market fit and had much stronger customer "pull".

harrisonjackson 5y ago

At first I thought this was so you could sell retail products through all these different platforms. I was thinking.... WHY?! But it is actually for ecommerce plugins/apps/add-ons and the customers are those companies making shopify plugins so they can develop once and deploy everywhere. Echoing other comments - a more clear description / example or word other than "App" might help. I think Add-On or Plugin might be more clear in your one liner when referencing all the platforms. Good luck on the launch! Hope the "meet the batch" thing doesn't flop.

Robrechtlr 5y ago
Great point, we have ran into the problem that people misunderstand our product before, especially when they are not familiar with the eCommerce app stores. I'll start testing out plugin/add-on and see if that improves it, apprecaite it!
skeeter2020 5y ago
Disclosure: I work for an established (maybe?) competitor to this idea; I say maybe because it's really not clear what you do until I read most of this thread, nor how you do it (or what's planned vs. available). First, Welcome! This is a huge arena and I think there's a million, nuanced areas for companies to tackle and really focus on amazing merchant experiences. THis is a very big (and growing) pie. Second, I think you'd benefit from trying to increase the clarity of what you do and the value proposition, plus how it all works. For example, I'm not sure how you can provide broad-based api support for 3rd party developers without script injection or strong webhook support, but maybe you've got a new approach? I also admit to being skeptical when you mention a feature as surpassing platform rate limits; we have a continual pain point with shopify, query cost calculation and throttling as an example. Third, we also use a platform-agnostic solution, but then build internally on this before exposing client-facing services. After several years we don't support nearly as many platforms as you; how do you stay on top of all these unilateral changes? Just shopify keeps us on our toes, and some of the ones you mention have little critical mass making them unattractive. Finally, it would probably help adoption if you at least gave some indication of what your pricing is going to look like, even flat rate or %, or totally custom... You're asking people to build solutions on top of your product without any sort of idea of what the long term ramifcations look like. That's a hard sell. Good luck with the venture!

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

pbreit 5y ago

I'm wondering what sort of "app" would be deployable to all these platforms? Any examples?

meetneps 5y ago

Is this something to https://unicommerce.com/ https://unicommerce.com/ or https://browntape.com https://browntape.com