TrendsVC PRO 0078 – No-Code

TrendsVC PRO 0078 – No-Code

Why It Matters
No-Code makes building products more accessible

 Problem
Duplicating work wastes time, money and energy

Solution
No-code tools help you automate work and build products faster, cheaper and better.

Without writing code.

 Players
No-Code Tools

Zapier • Connect apps and automate workflows
WordPress • Build websites and blogs
Shopify • Build ecommerce sites
Webflow • Build websites
Bubble • Build web apps
Bildr • Web3 tools, templates and building blocks
Juicebox • Funding for people and projects
Aragon • Build a DAO
Apps

Lanva • Create shareable videos
Teal • Manage the job application process
Dividend Finance • Finance solar and home improvement projects
Virtual Ghost Writer • Resolve writer’s block

Who to Follow

Ben Tossell • Makerpad
KP • Build in Public
Naya Moss • Frauvis
Max Haining • 100 Days of No-Code
Lola • ​​Lunch Pail Labs
Janel • NewsletterOS
Samuel Thompson • Proven Ventures
Doc Williams • Build with Me
Yves Jean • Kodou
Curtis Cummings • On Deck

 Predictions
No-Code tools will give individuals more leverage. This leads to smaller firms and more million-dollar, one-person businesses. Newsletter writers, podcast hosts and course creators benefit from no-code tools.
No-Code tools will make web3 building more accessible.
Aragon helps you start DAOs
Juicebox helps you fund projects
Fractional helps you fractionalize NFTs
MintGate helps you sell token-gated content
NFTX helps you build liquidity pools for NFTs
Bildr will help you build sites to launch and mint NFTs
Thirdweb helps you build smart contracts without coding
Nifty Generator helps you build generative art NFT collections
The types of products that you can build with no-code tools will expand. Blogs, online stores and marketplaces are table stakes. SaaS, mobile apps, games, cryptocurrencies and DAOs are becoming easier to build.

Opportunities
Build a portfolio of work to break into no-code. Show proof of work to land a job or clients for your agency.
KP built no-code projects before becoming a program director for On Deck.
Héctor Reyes built and sold Coda templates before joining the Coda team.
Lola documents her no-code journey on the Lunch Pail Labs podcast.
Doc Williams makes no-code tutorials.
Join a no-code community. Meet peers, build habits and discover opportunities. See:
100 Days of No-Code
No Code Founders
On Deck No-Code
No Code MBA
NoCode.Tech
NoCodery
Makerpad
Nucode
Automate tasks to save time and build no-code skills. Ask: “What are my routine, boring tasks?” Zapier, IFTTT and Integromat have thousands of integrations. Need ideas?
Automatically share Instagram posts to Twitter
Get alerts when new leads come in
Track Shopify orders in Slack
Start a no-code agency. Time-to-revenue for services is shorter than products. See Minimum Studio, 8020, Lunch Pail Labs and Finsweet. Build the first version of your product with a no-code tool. No-Code helps you validate ideas faster and cheaper. Alex is building a video editing app with Bubble.

Risks
Platform Risk • What if a no-code tool shuts down, changes policies or gets acquired? Unlike open-source frameworks (such as Ruby on Rails and React), most no-code tools are closed-source.
Missing Concepts • No-Coders may not understand database design at first. This can lead to technical debt. Or is it non-technical debt?

 Key Lessons
You don’t have to understand how everything works to use it. Most developers have not built an operating system or programming language. Yet they use them. You can use no-code tools without understanding every aspect.
No-Code gives you a competitive advantage. Why recreate the wheel? No-code apps are easier to build and maintain.
No-Code is a gateway drug to code. Building end-to-end products with no-code tools helps you become comfortable with code.

 Hot Takes
The no-code movement will create more developers. Not less. No-code is on-ramp for those initially intimidated by code.
The best developers focus on outcomes. They don’t have not-invented-here syndrome. They embrace no-code tools, keep things DRY and understand opportunity costs.

 Haters
“There’s code under the hood. Why is it called no-code?”
There’s code. But you can build things without writing code.“No-Code apps can’t scale.”
Most can. The need to scale is a good problem to have.
Most products don’t get that far. Solve it when you get there.

 Links
Who should I talk to about no-code? • The tweet behind this report.
The No-Code Movement • See how no-code affects your ability to bootstrap.
Building the Future of No-Code • On the possibilities of no-code and crypto.

 Related Reports
The Creator Economy • Lower transaction costs lead to smaller firms.
Low-Code • Low-Code tools reduce repetition along with No-Code.
Competitor Risk • No-Code tools make it easier to reach feature parity.
Million-Dollar, One-Person Businesses • Individuals have more leverage than ever.
Paid Newsletters • No-code democratized publishing.

 Thanks

Thanks Stewart Townsend, Prabhjot Singh Lamba, Ash, Dan Parry, Max Haining, Chris Strobl, Will Dyess, Philip Lakin, Yves Jean and Nile Frater. We had a great time jamming on this report.

 What else?
Trends PRO #0078 — No-Code has more insights.

What you’ll get:

30 No-Code Tools (275% More)
8 Apps (100% More)
28 People to Follow (180% More)
10 Predictions (233% More)
12 Opportunities (140% More)
6 Key Lessons (100% More)
4 Hot Takes (100% More)
10 Links (233% More)
12-minute audio episode with exclusive No-Code stories, insights and opportunities.
With Trends Pro you’ll learn:

(Pro) How to build a no-code productized service?
( Pro) Which no-code tools are used to make games?
( Pro) How to use no-code tools to generate leads?
( Pro) How to get no-code versions of popular apps like Upwork and Product Hunt?
( Pro) How to build a marketplace with no-code tools?
( Pro) How do no-code tools help The Creator Economy?
( Pro) Why are technical moats fading?
( Pro) How does no-code affect fundraising?