No-code tools offer both technical and non-technical founders an excellent way to kickstart their startups. They enable faster product validation and reduce time-to-market, allowing any team member to contribute. However, it’s important to understand their limitations and assess whether they are the right fit for your specific needs.

This is a Founder’s guide to Building Startups with No-Code by Valeriy Bykanov

What is No-Code?

When it makes sense?

When it doesn’t?

Which tools to use when?

Do I need any coding experience to build with a No-Code?

How much effort it takes to build with a No-Code?

What are the pros & cons?

…?

Let’s unpack.

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TL;DR

• “No-code” tools allow you to build fully functional web and mobile apps without any coding and software development experience.
• Sweet spots for no-code in Startups:
  • PoC or MVP of a simple SaaS tool;
  • Marketplaces, directories, data-subscription platforms;
  • Functional prototypes powered by real data;
  • Internal data and workflow tools (e.g. dashboards and admin panels);
• If you don’t have a tech co-founder, no-code can be your lifesaver, allowing you to bring your idea to market without eating into your funding.
• While No-Code tools allow building products really fast, there’s still a learning curve.
• Building a software startup with no-code tools is still not (yet) a typical approach, so be ready to face some skepticism.
• As your product matures, you’ll likely increase the share of “all-code” and decrease the share of low-/no-code respectively. This is totally normal development and will likely happen gradually between Seed and Series A.
• Tier 1 tools: Bubble for web apps; FlutterFlow for Mobile apps; Retool for internal apps; Webflow for websites; Airtable or Supabase for databases; Shopify for e-commerce; Stripe for payments (to the list of most popular tools).

Lay of the land

Pros/Cons

Pick your tech stack