Turning the "Ideal" Envisioned by Growth Partners into "Reality" Through Technology and Ingenuity: The Engineering of Business Growth by GOps, the Ultimate Execution Team
At StoreHero, which supports the growth of commerce businesses, there exists a counterpart to the strategy-focused "Growth Partners (GPs)" — and that is "Growth Operations (GOps)."
Technical implementation, operations automation, and data management — we sat down with Tsuda, the leader of the "execution team" that ensures the growth scenarios envisioned by GPs don't remain just pie-in-the-sky ideas but land as concrete results, and asked him about the full scope of his work.
Why is StoreHero's GOps so compelling? What makes GPs so impressive from a technical perspective? And what exactly is the "ultimate execution team" the team aspires to become? StoreHero CEO Kurose digs deep.
GOps Is About More Than Just "Writing Code"
Kurose: First, could you tell us specifically what the "GOps (Growth Operations)" team you lead actually does on a day-to-day basis?
Tsuda: In one phrase: "comprehensively supporting Growth Partners (GPs) on both the technical and operational fronts, and bringing initiatives to life." But this doesn't simply mean "building whatever we're told to build."
Our work breaks down into three major categories.
The first is advanced implementation and modification using programming.
Shopify has many convenient apps, but there are plenty of unique requirements that can't be met with standard features alone. In those cases, we write custom scripts for apps like "Shopify Flow" and "Mechanic" to fill in the gaps. We also build backend systems — for example, writing GAS (Google Apps Script) in Google Sheets to sync data for measuring offline conversions from ads.
The second is requirements definition and design.
For instance, say there's a request to "survey only first-time buyers." Rather than jumping straight into implementation, we organize the steps and goals — "Why do you want to do this in the first place?" "What data is best to use as a trigger?" "How will the collected data be used?" — and then define the technical approach.
The third is building and automating operations: creating systems that reduce manual work for merchants and run without errors.
Kurose: That's quite a broad scope. Do you have any concrete examples where working with a GP led to measurable results?
Tsuda: A case from a popular apparel brand is probably the clearest example.
At the time, the collection page (product listing) had sections for "New Arrivals" and "Restocked," but due to how the system worked, products that hadn't gone on sale yet were also appearing in those sections. From the user's perspective, clicking on an item only to find out "it's not available yet" is obviously disappointing — and it meant that visitors arriving through ads weren't converting.
Kurose: That's both a lost opportunity and a poor user experience.
Tsuda: Exactly. So we worked with the GP to solve it.
First, the GP analyzed "how the current display logic was negatively affecting sales" and "how much extra burden was being placed on staff trying to compensate manually."
Based on that, I built a logic that references the merchant's product data — specifically the "sale start date" and "stock status" — to automatically include only items purchasable at that moment in the collection.
Additionally, leaving a "New Arrival" flag on indefinitely causes it to lose freshness, so I also implemented a process — combining Shopify Flow and Mechanic — to automatically remove the flag two weeks after it was applied.
Kurose: I see. So it wasn't just about changing the display — you also automated the behind-the-scenes task of staff manually removing tags.
Tsuda: Exactly. GPs always have a view of the merchant's entire store operations. They have that sense of balance — "Sure, this implementation might boost sales, but if it doubles the workload for the operations staff, it defeats the purpose." So my job is to propose and implement solutions that technically achieve both higher sales and reduced operational burden.
In this case, we even went as far as creating a manual and walking the client through the new operations.
Why Technical Professionals Are Drawn to "the Business Front Lines"
Kurose: You're a specialist in technology and operations — what do you find most impressive about the GPs?
Tsuda: From a GOps perspective, what makes GPs remarkable is that they "deeply understand the soul of the merchant and see through to the 'essence' of the customer experience."
Those of us on the technical side tend to judge things through the lens of system constraints and a binary "can do / can't do" framework. It's easy to say "Per Shopify's specifications, the display in that area can't be changed." But GPs don't give up there — because they've grasped the real reason behind the request: "Why do you want to change it?"
Kurose: Do you have a memorable story that illustrates this?
Tsuda: There was once a request to "change the estimated delivery date displayed on the site." After investigating, I found it was displayed in an area that couldn't be touched through coding — technically, I had no choice but to respond with "not possible."
But as I talked with the GP, the real underlying issue came into focus.
The actual problem wasn't about changing the date itself. The merchant's true concern was this: customers who had ordered a delayed item were anxiously wondering "when will it arrive?" and repeatedly checking their account page. The merchant wanted to ease that anxiety.
Kurose: Ah — so "changing the date" was just one of many possible means to an end.
Tsuda: Exactly. If the goal is "relieving the customer's anxiety," there are other ways to get there — for example, adding a thoughtful note about shipping delays to the order confirmation email, or segmenting customers who bought a specific item and sending them a follow-up email.
Because the GP holds onto "the real problem that needs solving," I don't have to stop at "technically not possible" — I can evolve the solution and say "In that case, here are some alternatives." That "relentless customer-first perspective" is what makes GPs exceptional, and it's the moment I get the most excited when working alongside them.
"Maximizing Resources" and "Evolving Solutions"
Kurose: In your day-to-day work, what are the things you're most particular about?
Tsuda: "Deriving the best possible solution from the resources currently available."
When facing a challenge, it's easy to say "we can do it if you add a paid app" or "we can do it if you spend millions on development" — but I think that attitude is not really what StoreHero's GOps should stand for.
By understanding the merchant's budget, their current app setup, and their operational resources, we think creatively: "Maybe we can make this work by tweaking the settings on the app they're already using" or "If we use this trigger in Shopify Flow, we can automate this at no additional cost." Even when something seems impossible at first glance, we hack the system to make it work. That's what "evolving solutions" means — and it's where we get to show our skills.
Kurose: It sounds like the fun of fitting puzzle pieces together.
Tsuda: Exactly. Shopify's ecosystem is enormous, and the combinations are infinite. With something like "Shopify × a LINE integration app × a logistics system," multiple platforms are intertwined — identifying where the bottleneck is, and figuring out how to connect them so data flows cleanly. When you work that out and implement it as a system that actually runs, it feels like a puzzle snapping into place.
Requests from GPs range from vague "I wonder if we can do something like this?" inquiries to niche technical questions like "the API integration here isn't working." Because GPs are fighting on the front lines of business, the challenges they bring are always real and difficult. That's precisely why the sense of contribution when you solve them is enormous.
Team Challenges and Ambitions: Breaking Free from "Single-Person Dependency"
Kurose: Could you tell us about the challenges the GOps team is currently facing and what you're working toward?
Tsuda: To be honest, I'm feeling "the limits of our resources" right now. Thanks to our growth, the number of merchants we support has surged rapidly, and the old approach of "individuals using their skills to solve things hands-on" is no longer keeping up.
Kurose: The classic "single-person dependency" wall.
Tsuda: Yes. When we become maxed out, GPs can't immediately execute the initiatives they want to pursue, and the result is that we slow down the growth pace for merchants.
So what we're working on now is "building a system that produces high-quality output without us having to do everything ourselves." Specifically, we're advancing a project to create "execution templates" for research and configuration tasks, and to standardize and automate workflows using AI.
We're articulating in detail "which tools to use, what to check, and what criteria to apply when making decisions," and encoding that into templates. The goal is a state where team members other than me — or even AI — can complete tasks to the same quality standard I would.
Kurose: Is that the vision of the "ultimate operations team" you're aiming for?
Tsuda: It is. An execution team that can carry out the best growth scenarios GPs envision — without hesitation, flawlessly. I want to build a rock-solid foundation where GPs can confidently say, "With this team behind us, we know we'll succeed."
Kurose: That's one expression of the "entrepreneurship" StoreHero values — not just working hard within what one person can do, but creating systems that maximize value at an organizational level.
Tsuda: Exactly. It's easy, in a sense, to just upskill personally and say "I can solve it if I handle it myself." But that way, we can't make commerce businesses around the world into heroes.
To create an environment where 10,000 or 100,000 merchants can grow, we can't afford to be the bottleneck. Extending my own capabilities and converting them into organizational capability — that's my greatest challenge right now.
We're Looking for People Who Can Enjoy Growing Pains
Kurose: Finally, do you have a message for anyone reading this article who's become interested in StoreHero?
Tsuda: I can say with confidence that StoreHero is a place where you can gain top-class knowledge and experience in Japan in the areas of Shopify and growth. When I joined, the organization had only a handful of people, but I had an intuition that "if I'm with these people, I'll become more knowledgeable than anywhere else." And now, that intuition has turned into conviction — I've been able to grow at a speed that exceeded even my own expectations.
Kurose: What kind of person do you think is a good fit for this team?
Tsuda: For those aiming to be GPs, having "a partner who can turn the strategy you've envisioned into reality through technology" is incredibly reassuring. If you don't want your ideas to remain pipe dreams and you're serious about growing a business, this is the best environment for you.
And for those aiming for Ops (GOps), this isn't a role for a mere "settings agent" or "task worker." You understand the merchant's business model, debate as an equal with GPs, and engineer business growth using technology as your weapon. It's a rare environment where you can experience that kind of "offensive operations."
I think my love for StoreHero is second to none in the company (laughs) — but as a company and as a business, we're right in the middle of a transition phase, a stage where you can feel the growing pains. It may be challenging for those who want a well-structured environment, but if you get excited about "systematizing an unfinished organization" and "breaking through tough problems with technology and ingenuity," I think every day will be stimulating.
Let's build the "ultimate execution team" together and enjoy the challenge of making merchants around the world into heroes. We're waiting for you!