Keir Whitaker

This year, I've managed to persuade four brilliant people to share their personal stories and insights at Craft+Work: London.

From rebuilding brands to navigating bureaucracy, choosing agencies to wrestling with AI. You're going to love what they have to say.

keirwhitaker.com/blog/london-...

Next up in my interview series "9 Questions For..." is the founder of @withjack.bsky.social Ashley Baxter (@ashley-baxter.bsky.social).

As I always say, "The questions might be the same, but the insights certainly aren't!"

Read here: keirwhitaker.com/blog/9-quest...

I do love a conference! | Keir Whitaker I do love a conference! The atmosphere, the hallway chats, and the chance to catch up with friends and peers. I’ll never stop going to them. But a few years ago, I felt something was missing — a sp...

"We don't do things differently just to be different. We do things differently to create a different experience."

Yup, I just quoted myself 🤣!

A recent post on how my event for Shopify Partners came to be!

www.linkedin.com/posts/keirwh...

Are you a 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 working in the Shopify Partner ecosystem?

If so, you might be interested in 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁+𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 — my small (𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝟱𝟬 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀), intentional event for people like you!

Full details here: keirwhitaker.com/craftandwork...

I think Kim went and bought about 50 Magnum ice creams from the local shop!

Flying Solo Newsletter Sign up to receive my newsletter Flying Solo

Just hit "schedule" on my next newsletter! Am I the only one who finds this more than a little bit stressful?

In this issue:

- Craft+Work 2025 announcement
- New interview with Shopify app devs, Optizio
- Can we add more delight to our work?
- 3 links from The Vault

keirwhitaker.com/newsletter/

YouTube video by beyond tellerrand beyond tellerrand Düsseldorf 2025 Recap

Love the recap video of @beyondtellerrand.com Düsseldorf 2025, complete with a cameo by @oliverlindberg.com.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MNu...

Next stop Berlin: beyondtellerrand.com/events/berli...

#btconf #lostwithlindberg

I may have a positioning problem.

Here's the proof: a recent cold LinkedIn message from a "Franchisee Attraction Partner at McDonald's".

"We are currently looking for Franchisees, and looking at your profile, we think you might be a good fit for our network."

Must revisit my content strategy 🍔!

One for the Substack publishers out there!

Very saddened to hear Lucy has lost her entire archive!

hypeyourself.substack.com/p/deleting-m...

Small world moment: seeing the letterer (Martina Flor) share a net magazine cover she created, which I contributed to while sitting next to the editor of that issue (@oliverlindberg.com)! Still miss that mag. #btconf

Here we go again @beyondtellerrand.com 😀

9 Questions For...Optizio In this edition of 9 Questions For…, we hear from co-founders of Shopify App company Optizio Dave Spanton & Sammy Isseyegh.

In the latest edition of my "9 Questions For…" series, we hear from co-founders Dave Spanton & Sammy Isseyegh of Optiz.io.

keirwhitaker.com/blog/nine-qu...

A LITTLE ISLAND OF DELIGHT — Vivid Magazin He has been consistently breathing new life into the Düsseldorf event scene - for the last 15 years, Marc Thiele has been connecting creative and tech-savvy people who want to think outside the box at...

Great interview with @marcthiele.com discussing the beginnings of @beyondtellerrand.com and where he might take things next.

www.vivid-magazin.de/skilled-trad...

Techtonic May 27 - 28 • Toronto ON

In town for Shopify's Editions.Dev? Why not come a day or two early and enjoy Techtonic from the team at Mantle?

Early bird tickets $100CAD!

heymantle.com/techtonic

Memories 😀!

Prepping a newsletter like it's 2022!

Want in? Sign up here: keirwhitaker.com?popup=keirwh...

I buy a lot of books and occasionally manage to read them (tell me I'm not the only one). One I did read was "Unreasonable Hospitality" by Will Guidara. Highly relevant to anyone running a service-based business. Have you read it?

www.unreasonablehospitality.com

Another great London Shopify Tech Meetup last week rounded out with the usual hunt for a restaurant still serving after 10 pm!

x.com/SammyIsseyeg...

Inside the Duolingo Company Handbook earn about Duolingo's culture, principles, and approach to building extraordinary things.

I love seeing what goes on behind the scenes of businesses, and company handbooks are no exception. I am currently digging into this one from Duolingo.

Found via @peterkang34.bsky.social's excellent "Consumed / Created" newsletter.

blog.duolingo.com/handbook/

General Magic the Movie

I'm a sucker for retro tech documentaries, here are three I recommend:

- General Magic (www.generalmagicthemovie.com)
- The Commodore Story (thecommodorestory.com)
- Viva Amiga (www.amazon.co.uk/Viva-Amiga/d...)

What should I add to my list?

Alex James on LinkedIn: A Niche Is No Longer Enough | 198 comments "Just niche down" has become a lethal lullaby. The world has changed. Firms must adapt. Here's how: | 198 comments on LinkedIn

We're told to "niche down" constantly, but is it enough? Alex James thinks not. What's your take?

www.linkedin.com/posts/alex-o...

And you can also subscribe to the RSS feed here: keirwhitaker.com/vault/feed/ 😀

Vault Collated bookmarks for Soloists and Founders

In a move that feels very 2005, I've started to publish links to articles, tools, and resources I find interesting. Mainly relevant to soloists and founders of small businesses.

keirwhitaker.com/vault/