🧩 Coding is Overrated (The No-Code Movement)

This is The Level Ups. Modern business news for the future business leader (in plain-Jane English).

Today:

• Background

• The No-Code movement

• Is coding overrated?

• How far can it go?

Let’s get into it.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes & 7 seconds

The No-Code Movement: Background.

Technology is one of the most powerful ways for a business to get ahead. We know it. Software is taking over the world.

But for small businesses, it was always a challenge.

See, it's hard to get started if you have a great idea but don’t know how to code. It can take months, if not years, to learn.

The median software developer makes $110k in the U.S. That’s a lot of money for a small business, especially at first.

So what would they do? Raise money. Enter venture capital (VC).

But that put a lot of pressure on the founders. VC money came with a promise. Massive growth. So even if an idea could make $1M a year, that often wasn’t enough for VC funds (who make their money on huge exits).

What if you had a good idea but it wasn’t big enough for VC?

Enter The No-Code Movement

For less than $100/month, you can purchase software to replace a full-time developer (depending on what you’re doing).

You know Squarespace or Wix (but we don’t like Wix, so let’s focus on Squarespace).

Build an entire website in a day with a drag-and-drop builder. Just slide things in place, write what you want, and you’re done.

It was a game-changer for a small business owner that didn’t have time to figure out how to code (or to hire a coder).

But it’s so much more than that now.

People build entire apps using no-code platforms and spreadsheets now.

Drag and drop builders can give us direct copies of Uber or Doordash.

Entire communities of “no-coders” have figured out how to shortcut the old way and bring their vision to life in days instead of years.

You can literally start a business on the weekend with an app, and the sign-up/password pages are all wired correctly, with emails automatically sending and everything.

Insane.

Is Coding Overrated?

I just said the median salary is $110k (USD), so no. As a day job, it’s not over-rated.

But to get your business started, yes. Coding is overrated. Instead of hiring a developer (the old way), do this:

• Create websites, apps, and clones of modern companies without code.

• Use AI to generate images, music, and all the copywriting you’ll need.

• Connect it all with no-code automations

Boom, you’re done.

Code obviously matters, but not for someone looking to start a business. Not anymore.

These platforms are built on code, after all. All software is when you go deep enough.

But for most people, coding is no longer necessary. Start with no code, and then get fancy after the business is making money.

Side hustlers, founders, and generalists can get pretty much any business off the ground without needing to code.

It makes sense when an app the Canadian government spent $54M on was re-created in a weekend. Yes, they coded some of it, but you get the idea.

The Players:

You can build a thriving business with just a few of these tools.

Automation

• Zapier - unbelievable what this can do.

• Make - Zapier but less expensive (fewer apps to work with, though).

• Parabola - the next level.

Websites

• Carrd - start here. Great tool. Best price.

• Squarespace - old, but still good.

• Typedream - very easy to use.

• Webflow - most powerful, most “technical.”

App Builders

• Bubble - the OG.

• Adalo - great for mobile apps.

• Glide - create an app from an excel sheet.

• Appypie - what a name.

Marketplaces

• Sharetribe - your own craigslist.

• Softr - easiest way to build an online marketplace (has some limits).

Communities

• Makerpad

• No-Code Founders

• No-Code Devs

Email

• beehiiv - email and website in one.

Thanks for reading!

See you tomorrow,

Darwin