“I was out of stock. But I was still spending on marketing.”

Putting something out there

The founder had spent 10 years in the home furnishings industry before deciding to build something of his own. He saw an opportunity in the home & furniture space,  specifically for premium, durable home items designed for real life: messy moments, busy homes, and the kind of wear most furniture just doesn’t hold up to.

“It’s a niche that wasn’t really being served well. I knew there was demand, but I wasn’t sure what would work. So I put something out there.”

The brand took off quickly. Ads were performing, customers were converting, and before long, he sold out.

“That’s when I hit the problem. I was out of stock. But I was still spending on marketing. Do I stop? Do I slow down? I didn’t want to lose that momentum.”

The first pre-order app flopped

He did what most founders would do – searched the Shopify App Store and picked a pre-order app with the most reviews.

“They had more reviews. They looked more established. But within a week, I was frustrated. The UI didn’t make sense. Customer support was slow. And the whole thing just didn’t work.”

“And when you're early-stage, every day matters. You’re running ads. You’re burning cash. You need the tool to just work. Plus, as a first-time founder, you’re not that savvy with tools. You don’t have time to figure things out. Having a straightforward and intuitive setup is the key.

Luckily, that’s when I found STOQ.”

STOQ worked – instantly

“I installed STOQ, and it just worked.”

“It was so simple. I clicked a few things and it was live. Orders started coming in right away!”

“The thing that really stood out was support. Anaam didn’t just answer technical stuff. She actually helped me think through the logic like how to explain it to customers, how to word it. She even helped me with the copy.”

There was also a setup issue where the app didn’t sync well with the existing system.

“I think it was some weird sync issue. I asked Anaam, and she helped me fix it really quick.”

At that point, pre-orders were flowing. But it didn’t stop there. Once he saw how smoothly STOQ was working, he started thinking beyond just plugging a short-term leak.

From stockouts to validating demand for new products

“Let’s say I’ve got a container just leaving the port. With STOQ, I can look at the pre-orders coming in and decide – should I reorder more right now? That’s two weeks of added visibility I didn’t have before.”

“Inventory is one of your biggest costs no matter what you’re selling. Getting that early signal, even a few weeks out, makes a huge difference.”

He wasn’t thinking about demand signals at the start. It was just about solving the stockouts problem. The bigger picture only came once pre-orders were already working.

Early-stage founders don’t plan for this

“You don’t install a pre-order app when you’ve got stock. You only think about it when you’re out of stock. And at that point, it’s urgent. You don’t want to stop selling. You’re still running ads. And you want to keep the momentum going.” 

“For me, STOQ worked. And that’s why I’m doing this. I want other founders to know there’s something out there that actually helps in that moment.”

Customers will wait if you’re honest

“I thought people would cancel, but almost all of them waited. Just one or two dropped. That really surprised me.”

“Customers are different now. They’re okay waiting if you’re honest, if the value’s there, and if you don’t mess it up. You just have to set expectations, give yourself some buffer, and deliver early if you can. And don’t be greedy.”

If you ever get there, have a plan

“Being out of stock and getting pre-orders is one of the best problems a founder can have. I hope every founder gets to experience it someday.”

“When you’re early-stage, you’re focused on getting demand first. You’re not really thinking about what happens if you sell out. But looking back, I wish I’d set STOQ up earlier. It’s free to install, quick to set up and having it ready before things break would’ve saved me a ton of stress. It’s one of those things that separates a good founder from a great one. The trade-off between spending some extra time upfront versus losing momentum later is, in retrospect, a no-brainer. I’d strongly recommend every founder pre-install it early — well before it’s urgently needed.”

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“At early stages, you have limited energy. You don’t want to chase tools that won’t move the needle. But this one did. For me, this actually moved the needle.”

“Every stage is different. Just be honest. Don’t overpromise. And don’t be greedy.”

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Most merchants don’t plan for stockouts. They’re focused on launching, finding product–market fit, and staying alive.

But when it happens — you’re out of stock, ads are still running, and nothing’s coming in — pre-orders might be the only thing that keeps you going.

That’s what happened here. 

And that’s why we built STOQ!

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