open source commerce

Ben Marks

Live from Ecomm Forum: Ben Marks on PHP Foundation and the Future of Open Source Commerce

Live from Ecomm Forum, host Brent Peterson sits down with industry veterans to discuss the latest trends shaping ecommerce. Ben Marks is a well-known figure in the open source commerce community who recently transitioned from his previous employer to launch several new ventures. The conversation covers Ben’s new role with the PHP Foundation, his work with Nomicore, and his perspective on the current state of Magento and Adobe Commerce.

Key Takeaways

  • Ben Marks has taken on the role of handling all fundraising efforts for the PHP Foundation, an organization that maintains and develops the PHP programming language
  • PHP continues to thrive despite long-standing predictions about its demise, with ongoing improvements and community support driving its relevance
  • Magento remains supported by Adobe but hasn’t received feature updates in years, only security and performance patches
  • The open source community around Magento stays strong, with volunteers continuing to contribute time and effort
  • AI is becoming a forcing function for commerce companies, separating those who will survive from those who won’t
  • Data is emerging as the new storefront, replacing traditional SEO-focused strategies
  • Intentionality matters when adopting AI tools—companies need to start somewhere and build momentum
  • AI-powered shopping experiences are already changing consumer behavior and purchase patterns

About Ben Marks

Ben has spent his entire career working in and around the PHP ecosystem, building expertise in open source commerce platforms and community development. His background includes significant time at Magento, where he helped shape developer relations and consulted on the founding of the Magento Association. After leaving Adobe in May, Ben launched into consulting work while taking on leadership positions that allow him to give back to the communities that built his career. His expertise spans ecommerce platforms, developer advocacy, and open source governance. Beyond his technical knowledge, Ben brings a unique perspective on how communities form, thrive, and create value beyond traditional business models.

Episode Summary

Ben shares his new ventures since leaving Shopware in May, including his role handling fundraising for the PHP Foundation and joining the founding team at Nomicore. He pushes back on the narrative that PHP is dying, explaining how the language continues to improve through foundation support and community contributions. Recent developments include significant performance improvements and new features like an official MCP package.

The conversation shifts to the current state of Magento and Adobe Commerce. Ben offers a candid assessment, noting that while Adobe still supports Magento and the Magento Association, the product hasn’t received feature updates in years. Adobe Commerce continues to develop separately. Ben suggests a clear line needs to be drawn between these products and personally would love to see Magento turned over to the ecosystem. Despite these complexities, he remains impressed by how many people still care deeply about Magento and continue contributing to the community.

Ben discusses highlights from the ecommerce forum, particularly a panel featuring executives from commercetools, Shopware, and Klaviyo discussing AI’s impact on commerce. The key takeaway centers on intentionality. Klaviyo takes 10 minutes during every all-hands meeting to showcase efficiency improvements made with AI. This approach separates companies that will thrive from those that won’t. Sharon from commercetools champions the idea that data is the new storefront, arguing that companies need to rethink strategies as search engine traffic declines.

Ben illustrates this shift with a personal shopping experience. He asked ChatGPT to help find specific boots in black for his wife before a wedding trip. The AI analyzed their travel route, evaluated delivery options, found a shoe shop in Lexington, Massachusetts along their route, verified the store had reliable inventory data through their Magento 2 site, and provided everything needed to complete the purchase. This experience changed how Ben Marks thinks about shopping in the future.

Final Thoughts

Ben Marks brings a valuable perspective to the ongoing transformation happening in ecommerce and open source technology. His work with the PHP Foundation ensures that the underlying technology powering billions in commerce transactions continues to evolve. His involvement with Nomicore points toward a future where natural language replaces structured searches. His continued engagement with the Magento community demonstrates how open source ecosystems create lasting value beyond any single company’s control.

As the lines between search, discovery, and purchase continue to blur, one question remains: Will your commerce strategy enable customers where they want to be, or will you keep investing in where they used to be?

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Jason Nyhus

Live from Ecom Forum: Jason Nyhus from Shopware Reveals How Agentic Commerce Transforms B2B Sales

Recorded live from the e-commerce forum in Minneapolis, host Brent Peterson sits down with Jason Nyhus, General Manager of Shopware‘s North American business. This marks Jason’s fourth or fifth appearance on the podcast, highlighting the strong relationship between Talk Commerce and Shopware. The conversation covers Shopware’s approach to AI and agentic commerce, the company’s momentum in the US market, and what makes their community-driven model stand out in an increasingly crowded e-commerce platform landscape.

Key Takeaways

  • Shopware views AI through two lenses: automating routine tasks for e-commerce professionals and implementing agentic commerce to free up B2B sales reps for actual selling
  • Sales representatives currently spend only 25% of their time actually selling, with the remaining 75% consumed by administrative tasks
  • Shopware has grown to several thousand merchants in North America and is now the fastest-growing e-commerce platform in the region
  • The platform’s success stems from three factors: being open source, European clients expanding to North America, and strategic partnerships with agencies
  • Shopware’s business model focuses on being world-class at one thing—commerce software—while letting partners excel at hosting, payments, marketing, and other services
  • The company’s Shoptoberfest event features 10-minute TED Talks by actual merchants sharing real experiences rather than vendor presentations

About Jason Nyhus

Jason Nyhus serves as General Manager at Shopware, where he oversees the company’s North American operations. With extensive experience in the e-commerce space, Jason has witnessed the evolution of digital commerce platforms firsthand. His approach centers on building authentic relationships with merchants and fostering a community-driven ecosystem. Jason’s leadership style emphasizes intimacy and partnership over transactional sales relationships, which has proven instrumental in Shopware’s expansion across North America. Before joining Shopware, he was already connected to the e-commerce community, having met Shopware’s founders, the Hamann Brothers, nearly eight years ago at a Magento unconference in Cologne.

Episode Summary

The conversation begins with Jason explaining Shopware’s perspective on the current AI landscape. He acknowledges that the industry is experiencing what he calls an “AI bubble,” where every company claims to be AI-first. Jason doesn’t mince words about this phenomenon, referring to it as “AI washing.” However, Shopware’s approach differs from the noise.

Jason breaks down Shopware’s AI strategy into two distinct parts. First, the platform uses AI to automate what he describes as “the blue collar work that the white collar people in e-commerce do.” This includes product creation, editing, imagery generation, descriptions, and campaign management. The goal isn’t to replace strategic thinking but to free up professionals to focus on higher-value activities.

The second aspect focuses specifically on B2B commerce through what Shopware calls agentic commerce. Jason provides a striking statistic: sales representatives at manufacturing companies spend approximately 75% of their time on non-selling activities. These activities include corporate mandated tasks that have nothing to do with building relationships or closing deals. “We view Agentic Commerce as a way to really give the sales reps more time to sell by introducing these agents that automate a lot of the blue collar work that they have to do that’s not selling,” Jason explains.

When Brent mentions hearing positive buzz about Shopware finding its footing in the US market, Jason points listeners to independent sources like Built With to verify the platform’s growth. The numbers speak for themselves—several thousand merchants now run on Shopware in North America. Jason attributes this momentum to three specific factors.

First, Shopware’s open source nature allows anyone to install and run the platform for free. This accessibility has led to organic adoption as merchants discover world-class capabilities without upfront costs. Second, European clients who were hesitant to expand to North America now feel confident doing so with Shopware’s established US presence. Third, Jason credits his team and agency partners for launching numerous new stores.

Jason rattles off impressive client names including Uppababy, Dunham Sports, Albany Fasteners, and Boo Ally. He confidently states that Shopware is now the fastest-growing e-commerce platform in North America, though he’s quick to credit the community and ecosystem for this success rather than taking sole credit.

Brent shares a recent conversation he had with the e-commerce manager at Eagle Crusher, who spoke highly of both Shopware’s team and their agency partner. This prompts a discussion about what makes Shopware different from larger platforms where sales representatives often disappear after closing deals, only to resurface during renewal time.

Jason acknowledges that Shopware is “still subscale compared to some of our competitors,” which allows for a level of intimacy that larger companies can’t maintain. He doesn’t view this as a weakness but rather as a strategic advantage. Jason emphasizes that Shopware targets complex use cases rather than straightforward implementations. “There are a lot of other solutions that are really good and great at solving the more kind of straightforward use cases,” he notes. “And so frankly, those aren’t really our customers.”

This complexity requires deep understanding of what makes each brand unique. Jason uses Above the Fray, an agency partner, as an example. They specialize in the American Equipment Manufacturing space and understand the pain points of merchants like Eagle Crusher. This specialized knowledge creates better outcomes for everyone involved.

Jason outlines three requirements for buying Shopware. First, clients must love Shopware’s people. The company invests heavily in hiring individuals that merchants will like and trust. Second, clients must love the product itself. Jason makes it clear that if Shopware isn’t the right fit, they’d rather walk away from the transaction. Third, clients must love Shopware’s partners. “We think if you line those three things up with a partner that we like and trust, our odds of success are very, very high,” Jason states.

Brent recalls meeting the Hamann Brothers nearly eight years ago at a Magento unconference in Cologne. He remembers them showing up, giving a presentation, and answering questions without any sales pitch. This memory illustrates the community-first approach that has become Shopware’s hallmark.

The conversation shifts to Shopware’s community events, particularly Shoptoberfest. Jason explains that there are six primary ways to make money in e-commerce: software, hosting, payments, marketing services, professional services, and app stores. He adds a seventh category for training and certifications. Rather than trying to dominate all seven revenue streams, Shopware focuses on being world-class at one thing—commerce software—and lets partners excel at the rest.

This philosophy fosters mutual dependence and collaboration. Companies can focus on their core competencies, remain competitive on pricing, and deliver better services. Jason credits the inspiration for Shoptoberfest to Stefan Hamann’s visit to the Ecom Forum in Minneapolis a few years ago. Stefan appreciated how the event didn’t take itself too seriously and how Irish Titan, the organizing company, took a back seat to let the community shine.

“Americans love Oktoberfest. Why don’t we create event called Shoptoberfest,” Stefan proposed. Jason calls this one of the best marketing ideas he’s ever heard, especially considering it came from Stefan Hollein, whom he describes as the “self-proclaimed nerd of the business.” Shoptoberfest has now run for two consecutive years with tremendous success.

What makes Shoptoberfest unique is its format. Jason explains that most industry events feature speakers discussing high-level generalities about AI or trends without getting to practical applications. Shoptoberfest flips this model by making merchants the stars. The event features 10-minute TED Talks by eight merchants sharing their lived experiences with change management, AI adoption, and real-world problem solving. “It’s my favorite event of the year,” Jason admits.

Wrapping up the conversation, Jason praises Irish Titan for organizing the Ecom Forum. He notes that Minneapolis is home to major corporations like Best Buy, Target, Medtronic, and 3M, yet nothing really connected the e-commerce community before Irish Titan stepped in. He emphasizes that Irish Titan invests significant money and energy into the event not because it benefits them directly but because it strengthens the community. While Jason prefers the term “community,” he acknowledges that Darin from Irish Titan likes to say “ecosystem.” Regardless of terminology, the spirit remains the same—bringing people together for collective benefit rather than individual gain.

Jason Nyhus’s insights reveal a company that has found success by going against conventional wisdom. Instead of trying to own every aspect of the e-commerce value chain, Shopware focuses on being exceptional at one thing and partnering for the rest. Instead of chasing every potential customer, they target complex use cases where their platform truly shines. Instead of the typical vendor-customer relationship, they build genuine partnerships based on mutual respect and shared success. This approach has transformed Shopware from a European platform trying to break into North America to the fastest-growing e-commerce solution in the region.

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