From the article, it sounds like if they didn't choose the option they did, then they would have had to either close their business or largely cease it:

    "He told me in plain words they don’t want us to continue operating and that they’re locking our API key for new installs as we speak."

That's the "Option A" in the list:

    Option A - Stop what we’re doing, downscale the business and wait for the new APIs.

"downscale" there is a bit confusing, as it's unclear if that really means to comply with the "don't continue operating" desire from the Shopify people. I'm guessing it does, and that they'd look for other business ventures instead, thus not a complete cessation of the business.

So, it seems (to me) like they chose the right option. 2 further years of operating income and growth, though they didn't manage to figure out a working, alternative, income strategy before things went sideways at the end of the 2 years. :/