A Fractional Shopify Development Expert for Verve Coffee

Why Verve Coffee Chose Fractional Development During Their Subscription Overhaul

TL;DR Verve Coffee, a premium specialty coffee roaster with a complex subscription business, faced mounting technical challenges during a critical migration from Recharge to Stay.ai. They needed immediate expert support to stabilize their operations, then continuous development capacity to optimize their site but couldn't justify a full-time technical hire. Storetasker connected them with Daniel Paul, who embedded as their fractional Shopify expert, first resolving urgent migration issues, then transitioning to an unlimited development retainer model.

About the Client

Verve Coffee is a Santa Cruz-based specialty coffee roaster known for their direct trade relationships and meticulous approach to coffee sourcing. Operating a sophisticated DTC business through Shopify, it manages both one-time purchases and a substantial subscription customer base requiring complex frequency management, product customization, and seamless customer portal experiences.

The Core Tension

Verve was navigating one of eCommerce's highest-risk transitions. Migrating an active subscription base between platforms while simultaneously needing ongoing development capacity for site optimization and feature builds.

Why full-time hiring added rigidity: During the subscription migration, they required deep expertise immediately. Post-migration, they needed consistent development capacity but at variable intensity. A full-time developer would have been expensive to maintain during quieter periods and difficult to scale during urgent phases.

Why agencies lacked continuity: The subscription migration required someone who could become intimately familiar with Verve's product catalog, customer base, and business logic. Agency rotations and project-based engagements couldn't provide the institutional knowledge needed for both crisis response and long-term optimization.

What was at risk: Migration failures could result in double-charging customers, lost subscription data, or thousands of customers stuck in limbo between platforms. Poor execution would damage customer trust and create weeks of customer service nightmares.

The Storetasker Solution

Storetasker matched Verve with Daniel Paul, a Shopify expert specializing in subscription infrastructure and platform migrations. The engagement evolved through distinct phases: initial crisis support during the migration, transitional development addressing post-migration issues, enabling continuous optimization.

Verve gained immediate access to expert-level technical support during their highest-risk period, maintained continuity as Daniel learned their system deeply, and could scale engagement to match business needs without the overhead of permanent headcount.

The Work

• Identified and resolved variant selector bugs affecting customer portal
• Prevented double-charging incidents through rapid diagnosis and fixes
• Partnered with Stay.ai team to troubleshoot subscription migration issues
• Debugged subscription display issues (prepaid vs. standard confusion)
• Resolved variant mapping problems in customer portal and swap functionality
• Built fallback buy box solutions for subscription products
• Removed dependency on expensive third-party apps where possible
• Implemented custom React components for subscription functionality

Results & Impact

• Successfully migrated thousands of active subscribers without major business disruption
• Resolved critical variant selector bugs that were blocking customer self-service
• Prevented revenue loss through rapid response to double-charging incidents
• Eliminated unnecessary SaaS dependency saving monthly subscription costs
• Maintained operations through crisis periods with same-day technical response
• Established technical roadmap for continuous optimization post-migration

"We genuinely love working with Daniel — he’s so much more than “just” a Shopify expert. His depth of technical knowledge and problem-solving approach gives us the confidence to take on more complex projects without long, drawn-out conversations about resourcing or feasibility."

~Kevin Krainson (Chief Growth Officer @ Verve Coffee)

Why Storetasker

Elite eCommerce talent is the growth unlock especially during high-risk transitions like platform migrations. Most brands can't afford to have that expertise on staff full-time, but they need it available immediately when critical issues emerge.

Ready to scale technical operations without expanding headcount? Explore how Storetasker can connect you with the development expertise your business needs.