No-code, no-code everywhere!
A view on the rise of the no-code movement
The so-called “no-code” or “zero-code” is one of the hottest topics right now. More and more no-code tools are entering the market and raising VC money. In the last 5 years, we have been seeing more than $1B flowing into space, and at least two no-code startups have managed to become unicorns: Airtable was valued at $1.1B in 2018, and Notion has recently hit a $2B valuation. The no-code pioneer Zapier keeps a low profile, having raised only $1.3M. I do have a feeling, though, that they are on a clear path to unicorn status.
In the last 2 years, very active no-code communities have sprung up everywhere. You will find everything starting from books and tutorials to social networks and job-boards for “no-coders”. No-code is really en vogue!
I personally see a lot of opportunity in this space, and I’m not alone on the Runa team. We have made some exciting investments that could be defined as no-code or low-code: games development platform AppOnBoard, marketing chatbots constructor Spectrm, and workflow automation tool n8n, as well as an exit with e-commerce shop constructor Ecwid.
In this article, I’ll share some research findings related to no-code platforms, including a list of more than 50 interesting no-code startups. But first, let’s go step by step and answer the following questions:
- What is no-code?
- What is it used for?
- Why is no-code so popular?
- Are no-code and low-code different?
- What types of no-code tools are there?
What is no-code?
No code is an intuitive and simple interface for building custom web-apps that replaces code. For example, in Fig. 1 you can see how mobile game development via Buildbox looks like:
Of course, no-code isn’t only about game development, and there are many more use-cases. The story started a long time ago with some of the first website builders, such as WordPress. The second wave of no-code started after 2010 with the emergence of the above-mentioned, Airtable, Webflow, and Zapier. Their founders started to tackle new use-cases to help businesses all over the world. Zapier co-founder Wade Foster in Acquired LP podcast joked about the so-called AWZ (Airtable, Webflow, Zapier) concept used by startups’ founders, where Airtable and Zapier are used for backend and Webflow for frontend. In general, Airtable adds superpowers to Excel and Google spreadsheets, Webflow allows to create business websites and Zapier connects a bunch of apps to automate workflow processes.
What is it used for?
No-code has plenty of different use-cases:
- Workflow automation and optimization — No-code apps allow to significantly improve our efficiency and enable us to create basic workflows. Previously, if you wanted to integrate Gmail and Dropbox, you needed some coding skills. Enriching a spreadsheet with external data required a lot of copy and pasting. Even to build a simple web workspace, you had to know at least some basic HTML. Now, everyone can do these things irrespective of coding ability.
- Fast launch of the new product or MVP — Thanks to no-code, I can easily create an MVP and test my hypothesis. Just imagine two non-techy friends planning to build a future unicorn. To test the feasibility of their idea, they need to do experiments and iterate. The first step is to launch a website or mobile app to understand the demand. Should they pay money to the development agency or go with an independent coder? Nowadays, it’s possible to do neither and instead get started with no-code.
- No-code + code — In the simplest case, no-code development is usually based on templates, and the number of options is limited. But sometimes you have the opportunity to add your own piece of code. In this case, you can increase the complexity of the product with your own dev skills. This use-case also works for our two non-tech founders mentioned before. Once the idea is validated and they need to scale, they need to start hiring devs to improve the product and win the market.
- Building internal tools — With no-code, you can build your own custom CRM, survey form, checklist, dashboard, admin panel, collaboration tool, intranet space, and even a mobile app for employees. Most of the time, building business apps requires integration with other tools in the backend, using no-code automation tools such as Zapier or Airtable.
Despite the rise of no-code, we still need developers to build core and complex products. However, the space is quickly evolving, which begs the question: Could somebody build a $1B+ tech business without any coding?
Why is no-code so popular?
No-code’s popularity is well-demonstrated by the rising number of searches for the term “NoCode” (see Fig.3).
No-code is popular in part because it reduces repetitive tasks and allows non-technical people to automate tedious work themselves. Secondly, businesses that adhere to the Lean Startup philosophy of testing and launching new products can quickly build MVPs. As we see in Fig. 4, the demand for Product Managers is accelerating, and companies need more “makers”:
No-code is actually great for such purposes. You don’t need to hire more devs for each new product. Product teams can create the first version and test it, as they determine whether it has the potential to be a billion-dollar idea that is worth pursuing.
Are no-code and low-code different?
When we speak of no-code, we often hear of its related buzzword: low-code. We can understand the difference at first glance: low-code requires coding skills. I think of them as tools that address different customer segments:
- No-code is for non-techs. It allows non-techs to build IT products and to automate workflow.
- Low-code is for coders. It simplifies the development process.
There are quite a few interesting low-code tools and companies in this space (that deserve their own article)!
What types of no-code tools are there?
I have devised a list of interesting no-code companies in the EU and the US. All of them can be classified by two large categories, External and Internal, based on the use-case:
- External — In this category, no-code is used to create an outward-facing product. This includes website builders, mobile apps, game development platforms, and chatbots creators. In my research, I also found no-code solutions for building fintech and insurtech products, as well as podcast pages (which maybe I should use for some future content)!
- Internal — In this category, no-code is employed in the creation of products that will be used inside a company. This is quite a big category with a number of different sub-groups, including collaboration and integration solutions, workflow optimization tools, internal apps constructors (CRM, Checklists, etc), so-called “spreadsheets on steroids” that allow for app building and data extraction from external sources, and even no-code Machine Learning models!
And here is my promised gift to you: a link to a detailed list of more than 50 startups. Enjoy!
Conclusion
We are living in a time marked by the rapid evolution of technologies. Since the Dot-com bubble, tech startups have become a major part of our life, though many tools have been accessible only to a small percentage of us: the coders. However, the high demand for software developers has led to the development of the new class of tech creators: no-coders. No-code is here to stay as it brings a lot of value, enabling people to build IT products and solve complex tasks without much of a technical background. It makes our lives easier and opens up a world of opportunity for those who can’t code.
What do you think about no-code, and how has it impacted your product development? We’d love to hear from you at go@runacap.com.
