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// Case file · Opinew · 2015–2022

Opinew

A Shopify reviews app that began as my final-year university project, grew up on one small angel round and not much else, and was acquired by Shop Circle in 2022.

  • FoundedOct 2015
  • FundingOne small angel round
  • Rating4.7★ · 620+ reviews
  • ExitShop Circle, Jul 2022

// Problem statement

Trust, at scale

Online shoppers trust other shoppers more than they trust product copy. As I said in 2021: “Reading about other customers’ experiences builds trust in online stores, which in turn generates higher conversion rates.”

There are two catches. New stores have no reviews. And stores with plenty of reviews bury the useful ones, because shoppers don’t dig. Or, as I put it on a podcast: “only the desperate go to the second page.”

// Product · Shopify App Store since Jul 2017

Collect, import, rank, display

It started as a university project on AI and what makes a review useful. In my own slightly breathless words: “at the end of the university, we had to do a project and mine was in reviews and I decided to take it forward and build a company around it.”

  • Request reviews after every order by email, SMS or printed QR code, with optional coupons as a thank-you.
  • Import reviews in bulk from AliExpress, eBay and Amazon. The 2018 homepage was refreshingly honest about why: “Make your shop feel busy right away.”
  • Photo and video reviews, Q&A and replies to reviews.
  • Smart Reviews: AI ranking, built with the University of Glasgow’s Computing Science department, that puts the most useful reviews first.
  • Show them off: customisable widgets, plus rich snippets so review stars appear in Google search results.
  • Plays well with others: Klaviyo, Gorgias, Smile, LoyaltyLion, Rebuy, Google Shopping.
See the screens →
Opinew’s Shopify App Store video, by Shop Circle. 1:33.

// SYS.LOG // OPINEW

Timeline

SYS.LOG // OPINEW 11 entries
  1. BOOT
    Opinew starts in Glasgow Bootstrapped from day one.
    OK
  2. BUILD
    Photo and video reviews for any website Converge Challenge finalist. Also sponsored the 2016 GUTS hackathon: three years from organiser to sponsor.
    OK
  3. SHIP
    Live on the Shopify App Store, 26 Jul Converge Challenge finalist again. RSE Enterprise Fellow, 2017–18.
    OK
  4. SCALE
    Import, review emails, Q&A AliExpress and Amazon import for stores that needed reviews yesterday.
    OK
  5. WIN
    Scottish EDGE winner Young EDGE award, £10,000, from 289 applicants.
    OK
  6. GROW
    Revenue up by over 300% Company figures, reported in 2021 press.
    OK
  7. AI
    Smart review ranking, with UofG Computing Science $25M+ in merchant sales converted. Headcount doubled.
    OK
  8. ANGEL
    One small angel round Used to push marketing. Never got anywhere near a Series A.
    OK
  9. TEAM
    15+ people No VC.
    OK
  10. MERGE
    Acquired by Shop Circle
    OK
  11. GM
    General Manager inside Shop Circle Until July 2024.
    OK

// Status: acquired

Handover

On 1 July 2022, Shop Circle acquired Opinew, a company that never went past one small angel round. I stayed on as General Manager for two more years, until July 2024. What I got out of it: freedom.

Opinew still runs today under Shop Circle, rated 4.7★ from 620+ reviews. I went back to the thing I keep doing: building. This time it’s ShopTest.ai.

Now: ShopTest.ai ← Back to base opinew.com ↗

Sources: Shopify App Store listing; opinew.com via the Wayback Machine (2016, 2018); Companies House (SC515918); Scottish Financial News and Insider (2021); Ecommerce Coffee Break #110 (2022). Video: self-hosted here, originally published by Shop Circle (© Shop Circle).