[CEO Interview] A Conversation with StoreHero CEO Kurose: What Does a "Growth Partner" Actually Do?

Launching with this issue, our "Monthly Growth Team Series" features interviews with StoreHero members at the forefront of e-commerce growth — primarily on Shopify — sharing their vision and the details of their work. In this first installment, we sat down with CEO Kurose to learn about the appeal of the "Growth Partner" role and what StoreHero is working toward.

If you're interested in Shopify growth operations support, be sure to follow along with future installments in this series.

17 Years in Digital Marketing — and the Drive to Provide "Genuine Business Support"

To start, could you briefly introduce yourself and walk us through your career up to this point?

I've been involved in selling products in the digital marketing space for about 17 years. I previously worked at agencies that specialized in specific areas like SEO and website optimization. But I became increasingly driven to build a company that could support business growth across the board — from customer acquisition and CRM to inventory management — without being limited to any single domain. That's what led me to found StoreHero.

What vision or philosophy do you hold for your growth support team?

Shopify is truly an outstanding platform. It has a rich ecosystem of apps and dramatically streamlines e-commerce operations. But running a successful online store isn't as simple as "just set up Shopify and watch your sales grow." To actually drive revenue, you need to build and operate systems that combine advertising, CRM, inventory management, site optimization, and more.

With that in mind, we want our Growth Partners — the members of our growth support team — to become deeply committed to each merchant's business growth and earn the trust to take full ownership of their operations. When human capabilities alone aren't enough, we bring in the development team's expertise, supporting business growth through the combined power of people and systems. Building that kind of organization is what I'm striving for.

Can you tell us more about your growth platform?

Our growth platform, "StoreHero," is a system designed to streamline and automate growth operations. Running an e-commerce business involves a wide range of tasks, and even within the four areas we specialize in — advertising, CRM, site optimization, and inventory management — the operations can be quite complex. This platform enables automation across all of those functions.

There are two major things the growth platform enables.

The first is data visualization. It integrates with Shopify, Shopify apps, Google Analytics, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and other ecosystem tools, consolidating all the data you need in one place. This allows you to monitor sales, inventory, advertising performance, and more in real time — making it much easier to identify and address issues accurately.

The second is workflow automation and efficiency. The platform handles routine operations on your behalf based on current conditions. For example, if inventory runs low, it can automatically reduce ad exposure and CRM visibility for that product, or exclude it from discount campaigns — automating those granular operational tasks for you.

By leveraging the StoreHero growth platform in this way, merchants can execute Shopify growth operations that would be impossible to manage manually — raising the probability of success.

Could you tell us more about the background behind forming this team and the mission it's asked to fulfill on the ground?

When the company first launched, it was just me and COO Sasatani — two people. But even then, we were supporting the business growth of Shopify merchants, so the foundation of the growth team was there from day one.

The company's mission and the team's mission have been the same since we were founded: "Make commerce businesses around the world into heroes."

To fulfill that mission, StoreHero's Growth Partners are expected to take the lead across the entire project. Rather than waiting for merchants to make requests, they proactively propose the next moves that will drive growth — because it's only by seeing those initiatives through to completion that a merchant's business actually grows.

Knowledge and technical skill matter, of course — but more than anything, I believe what's essential is the mindset of taking ownership and personally driving business growth forward.

Top-Tier Shopify Expertise and a Multi-Faceted Growth Structure — The Secrets Behind Delivering Results, Team Composition, and Cross-Department Collaboration

You mention having "top-tier Shopify expertise in Japan" — what specifically are your strengths?

Around 2019, very few companies were running Shopify operations with "growth" as their central focus. StoreHero had been specializing in strategies and operations aimed at increasing merchant revenue since that time, which is why we've accumulated what I'd consider top-tier experience in Japan.

I myself have been involved in digital marketing for a long time and have been systematizing that knowledge. For example, I've built out a framework for growth steps tailored to different types of brands and products — such as which channels work best for which industries and how to leverage them effectively.

Even junior team members can drive results by following our framework with feedback from their manager — it's set up so that executing within that structure translates to outcomes.

What kind of environment have you built to help the growth team consistently deliver results?

Internally, we have a wealth of operational know-how and technical manuals covering Shopify growth operations. And with the StoreHero growth platform, we can automate and streamline growth operations — enabling us to execute initiatives that would otherwise be impossible to carry through. Of course, we also maintain consistent one-on-one support among team members.

Beyond that, Shopify's ecosystem involves many partner companies, and we hold regular study sessions where we learn from external partners as well.

Can you walk us through the organizational structure of the growth operations team and how responsibilities are divided?

Currently, the growth operations team has eight members. Broadly, we're divided into front-line members and support members.

Front-line members act as project leads, handling everything end-to-end — from setting project goals and planning initiative strategies to implementation and ongoing operations.

Support members work behind the scenes to back up the front-line members, particularly when advanced implementation or non-standard customization is needed.

How do you collaborate with other departments, such as engineering?

The development team builds and maintains the StoreHero growth platform. The growth team continuously provides feedback like "if we had a feature like this, we could run operations that would expand revenue."
Since the development team shares the same ultimate goal, we maintain close daily communication and they support merchant growth from the technical side.

Growing the Team Further — The Talent We're Looking For, the Growth Opportunities You'll Gain, and a Message to Future Teammates

As you continue to expand the team, what kind of people are you looking for? What skills and mindset matter most?

Experience with Shopify operations, Google Analytics, advertising platforms (Google Ads, Meta Ads, etc.), or CRM will help you hit the ground running. That said, Shopify growth operations cover a wide range of functions, so you don't need to be expert in all of them right now.

What matters more is a genuine willingness to learn, a mindset of committing to results, and the follow-through to execute on the fundamentals consistently. If you have those qualities, we have the environment to help you grow — and you'll be able to catch up.

What kinds of skills and growth opportunities can team members expect from working on the growth team?

You'll develop top-level skills and know-how in Shopify growth operations. You'll also gain real, hands-on insight into what products sell and how — the kind of experience and intuition that only comes from being close to the data. Put in a few years of dedicated effort, and I believe you can become someone who leads the industry in Shopify and growth operations.

Finally, do you have a message for anyone reading this interview — or anyone considering joining the team?

Growth support at StoreHero leaves no room for shortcuts or half-measures. The numbers in e-commerce speak for themselves — the results are always right there in plain sight. That's exactly why there's real meaning in engaging honestly with each merchant and their business, and genuinely supporting their growth.

For anyone who wants to make a real difference for e-commerce businesses — not with quick fixes, but by getting to the root of the problem — this is an incredibly rewarding place to work.

If this resonates with you, let's have a conversation. Let's grow the e-commerce industry together and turn commerce businesses around the world into heroes.

Summary

The "Growth Partner" role is defined by deep commitment to Shopify merchants' revenue growth and business success. It's a job where your value is measured by results — and that's precisely what makes it so rewarding and full of opportunity for growth. If any part of this resonated with you, we encourage you to reach out to StoreHero. Let's work together to build the future of e-commerce with Shopify.

View the Growth Partner job listing here