What is the recipe for a successful startup? Any marketer and startup owner will tell you that, often, the secret lies in getting to market quickly with an original idea. Whoever takes a market share first wins over all other companies that turn out to be secondary. In addition, for success, it is important to correctly calculate the costs of creating a project and its promotion in order to stay afloat for some time and not waste all investments in the first months while the product has not yet gained great popularity. That is why many projects launch as no-code startups.
No-code development allows you to quickly enter the market with at least an MVP or even create the final product without using code and complex integrations. This greatly simplifies development and, most importantly, gives startups the opportunity to grow quickly and stay within budget. If you are not yet using the no-code approach, it's time to learn more about it and get inspired by examples of companies that have created their products without code.
No-code startups are startups that do not use programming to create their products. They may belong to completely different industries, but it is their approach to development that unites them. Such startups practically do not hire programmers and do not have a large staff of developers. They create their products in graphical interfaces, seeing the result immediately.
The owners of no-code startups do not have to have deep knowledge of web or app development. Together with designers and marketers, they can implement their ideas without using code. In extreme cases, they resort to integrations, which today are very easy to set up – according to the principle of copy and paste.
No-code startups are quickly entering the market, significantly saving on salaries for programmers, and, in principle, face fewer problems in hiring and retaining specialists.
Today, very different startups in various industries use a no-code approach to development. Not only small projects but also large well-known companies create their products without code. This allows you to speed up significantly and reduce the cost of development.
Using a no-code platform with a graphical interface, startups create web applications, websites, customer portals, and even mobile applications. With an original idea and a desire to understand no-code platforms, any startup owner can create an MVP with no code at all or with just a few lines of code.
You may think that no-code development is only suitable for certain startups - for example, only for online stores or for collecting applications for personalized service. But this is far from true. Even very large and well-known companies like Airbnb and Dropbox started their journey with no-code development. After identifying the demand for their idea and the emergence of the first users, they gradually complicated the products. In addition, there are many startups that still use only no-code or low-code development.
Below we have collected some original examples of successful no code startups in various fields. They create popular and in-demand products without a deep understanding of programming. Perhaps they will give you ideas about your own no-code startup.
Everyone knows about the online education giant Coursera, but few know that this project is built without code. This did not stop Coursera from growing by 450% in users in 2020 alone.
The essence of Coursera is very simple: it is a platform where other users can post their own courses, communicate with students, and get paid.
Such platforms are developed using Webflow, Bubble, and BuilderEngine.
FiveTeams is a marketplace where highly qualified employees of technology companies and recruiters who are looking for such specialists for their companies meet. However, this is not just a recruiting platform like many others. First of all, FiveTeams is focused on a passive job search. Job seekers who sign up on the platform don't necessarily want to quit right now – they just might be willing to transfer to another company if they are offered better terms.
Also, FiveTeams easily resolves the issue of remuneration negotiations, which usually causes inconvenience for both parties. On the platform, employers set up a budget range, and job seekers immediately indicate what salaries could force them to change their job.
In addition, FiveTeams cares about fairness. User profiles are anonymous, and recruiters are guided only by applicants' experience and skills and not by their gender or appearance. If an employer is interested in a particular candidate, the latter can decide if they want to disclose information about themselves and start a dialogue with the company.
FiveTeams uses the Webflow no-code website builder for the landing page and content management system. The recruitment web application itself is implemented with Bubble. The startup also uses a number of other services for marketing and data processing tasks.
You may have heard of Lambda School. It is one of the most popular and innovative online coding learning programs. It was created in 2017 as the first boot camp to use revenue-sharing agreements as a finance strategy. Now, this startup has rebranded and is called the Bloom Institute of Technology, as it has significantly expanded the range of training programs. The Bloom Institute of Technology offers detailed and helpful courses on coding, server software development, web development, data science, and more.
The main goal of the courses of this school is to provide students with a stable path to increasing income without risks. The school is now ranked #1 in the Best Software Development Courses of 2022 and generates around $93.3 million in annual revenue. Its MVP was built on low-code platforms such as Typeform and Retool. However, then the startup switched to the no-code platform. The product currently works with Calendly, Webflow, and Zapier.
With an abundance of high-tech services, we began to forget that startups are not only about high technology. An original online store can also be a startup. For example, the Suta store was founded by two sisters from Mumbai. Their fashion house sells classic sarees, dresses, and blouses. One of the hallmarks of Suta is that this startup employs weavers and artisans from disempowered communities and uses sustainable fabrics exclusively. This online store built on Shopify has earned great popularity not only in India but also abroad.
Client portals are a common example of a no-code startup. You can create functional and secure customer portals with a small set of tools. At the same time, you save a lot of money and time spent on organizing, hiring developers, and creating a web portal.
One such example is Untapped Capital, which features thousands of businesses. They created a portal for investors to monitor startups as part of the funding process. For these purposes, they used no-code tools: mainly Softr and Airtable.
There are many micro SaaS businesses in the world, and many of them naturally do not have a large budget for developing a web or mobile product in a traditional way. In such cases, no-code development comes to the rescue. Small businesses have successfully used this approach to launch their products quickly and cheaply.
One such business is Mmiror. This startup offers companies to conduct A/B user testing for a fee. The company launched this product very quickly and was able to carve out a niche in the market. In addition, this service looks simple and stylish – all thanks to no-code development.
Marketing experts say: if you think of some idea for a very narrow audience, be sure that there will definitely be people in the world who will support it. This is true for Loot Crate. It is an example of a niche business: the startup sells "geek subscription boxes for gamers and nerds." This project is built on Shopify and allows you to order packages on your favorite topics: movies and TV shows, gaming, anime, pop culture, etc.
Yes, it's absolutely possible. Thanks to no-code platforms, the time from the appearance of a business idea in your head to its implementation is significantly reduced today. If you are a startup, you can start working on your product on a no-code platform. This way, you will significantly reduce costs and development time. If at some point, the functionality of one no-code platform is not enough for you, you can connect other no-code or low-code tools or integrations.
You do not need a deep understanding of programming languages to create a product on a no-code platform. On the other hand, you will need UI/UX experts and web designers because the creation of a product takes place immediately in a graphical environment. By turning to experts, you can save even more time on no-code development and continue to develop your business.
Hallwil collaborates with dozens of startups worldwide that have already appreciated the benefits of no-code development. We can help you choose the right platform and create your project on the no-code platform. The finished product immediately turns out to be beautiful, modern, and understandable for the end user. This is the main advantage of no-code platforms and our company.
In this article, we have provided seven examples of startups created without coding. Of course, there are many more of them in the world. Every industry and niche has products built without code. In many cases, they turn out to be a much more cost-effective and smart solution than long-term development in the traditional way of hiring programmers. Hallwil has extensive experience in product development on no-code platforms. We are experts in Webflow and also work with other tools. If you have a startup idea, please contact us, and we will give you a rough estimate of the cost and timing of its implementation without coding.
Traditional web product development takes at least a year – from organizing processes to hiring developers and actually creating products. With no-code development, you can get an MVP in just a few weeks or even days if you start with a landing page to test user interest in your startup idea.
No-code web or mobile product development is several times cheaper than traditional development. You can save at least $5,000-7,000 every month on developer salaries alone.
Modern no-code tools allow you to create web portals and applications that are in no way inferior to applications developed using coding. On the contrary, they have a simple architecture and cleaner code, which ensures high performance.
Contact us to discuss your app idea and possibilities. We’ll advise you on the best solution and estimate the project. If you have any questions – we’ll provide you with answers.