Iโm Nik, I built a no-code hiring platform from $0 to $80K MRR and achieved 30% MoM. AMA!
Nik Shevchenko
84 replies
I wanted to create products fast and affordable.
Several years ago I lost $300K on building a product that never has been released (a platform for managing crypto assets).
Thatโs how WeLoveNoCode started.
I created a platform to find a no-code developer in one click, share a project and get it developed in weeks, not years and for a very reasonable price.
After 6 months of 24/7 work on WeLoveNoCode we achieved super cool growth:
๐ $80K MRR
๐ธ 30% MoM
๐ profitable from day one and keep growing
๐ super happy that WLNC was #1 on Product Hunt.
I also closed a seed round recently and might have more cool news soon :)
Before WeLoveNoCode, I built 15+ no-code apps myself and went via 500 Startups with another company.
My main credo: more work, fewer words.
Outside of work I enjoy reading books and working remotely.
Excited to share all my experience and help other makers grow! AMA ๐ฎ
I'd be happy to answer questions on growth, product building, no code, hiring, fundraising, remote work...
Replies
Khoa@onmyway133
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Hello fellow maker! How did you begin your journey and why have you chosen this problem to solve?
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@onmyway133 Thanks for asking, Khoa! I saw your apps on Product Hunt. Great job! PastePal 2.0 is neat.
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@onmyway133
To answer your question:
I'm a second-time founder. My first company I started five years ago (I wanted to build a platform for managing crypto assets and trading on several crypto exchanges). It only resulted in me spending something like $300,000 and three years of my life on it.
My development process was not very successful, which resulted in constant switching from one software development team to another. The end of this story is sad - that product never became live. Afterward, I joined a 500 Startups accelerator program with another company which I sold.
During my time at 500 Startups, I learned about no code and finally felt the freedom of building products fast and by myself.
โโOh my god, this was so cool! I felt that I needed to tell as many people as possible about this opportunity. Thatโs how I started with WeLoveNoCode.
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@kodjima33 Awesome to hear. 80k MRR is a huge number. Just upvoted your product on PH
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@kodjima33 Hi Nik, glad you like WWDC Together, I made it for free as a place to hangout during WWDC Keynote, as the last 2 keynotes Apple had to do online due to the pandemic. Hope we can all go to SF next year
Hello Nik! I have many ideas but Iโm not a developer (hey from designers ๐). Any tips on what I can build with no code?
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@alexdeardream
You can build almost everything :) No code is very powerful.
With it you can build something as simple as a new landing page in Webflow, design portfolio in Carrd, web-platform in Bubble, mobile app in Adalo or automation in Zapier. You can also connect APIs, build internal tooling to automate routine tasks or even create a VR app. You are limited only by your imagination.
Prototypr
Thanks for AMA. With the hiring company doing well, do you think to build a no code app too?
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@graeme_fulton
> With the hiring company doing well, do you think to build a no code app too?
WeLoveNoCode is a platform for getting matched with a no code developer and release your product super fast.
WLNC itself is build with no-code.
For now, we are not planning to make our own no code tool.
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@graeme_fulton The reason for this is simple - there are many no code tools out there, so it doesn't really make sense to compete.
100ms Video SDK
Hi Nik, had been working with B2B SaaS that help in tech hiring for a decade now. This seems ๐ฅ. Would love to explore the product more.
Let's stay in touch and catch-up sometime .
Hi Nik, that's impressive! What are your most important channels to find new users in the no-code space?
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@marie_martens Marie thanks for joining my AMA! Tally product looks very interesting. I see you are working in the no-code space as well.
Our marketing was kind of secondary, compering to defining users' needs. We spot user problems and value prop: fast, affordable, simple no-code development, which gives users ready product. All this in weeks.
Regarding channels for no-code: it really depends on your persona. Some no-code tools, like forms can be used in a very big companies by specific teams (design team, marketing team). While others, like WeLoveNoCode are best for fast MVP creation for smaller teams.
So our channels are:
social media ads
Google ads
Product Hunt
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@marie_martens I believe that it all starts with product-market fit. If you see it, you will have growth and your marketing channels will work.
If there is no PMF, even the best paid traffic won't work because the product doesn't solve a real nead.
Thanks a lot for elaborating @kodjima33! I definitely agree on the PMF. Our growth has been organic and we haven't spend money on ads yet, so interesting to see how it worked out for you guys!
Hi Nik, really interesting platform. I'm curious, if we tried this, who are the developers we would get on our project; what sort of experience do they have?
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@suzgupta
> who are the developers we would get on our project;
> what sort of experience do they have?
We have our own no-code development team. We carefully select each of our no-code developers, having interviews, and internal learning program, and qualifications checks. That allows us to keep the quality of skills, which people are bringing, and the quality of the work output.
For every project, we have an internal review, so we are 100% sure that we are delivering what we promised.
@kodjima33 Can clients select a particular developer and, if so, what criteria can we see about them beforehand?
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@suzgupta Thanks for diving deeper.
We have an internal selection. There are 100+ no-code tools, which we support and every developer has their own core focus. We internally match that developer with the project, knowing that this no-code dev made many similar projects exactly for this user story ("make Airbnb-like app with a focus on Indian market").
This allows keeping speed. Also, it reduce time for client < - >no-code developer communication. Let's it be like this - we are also doing internal project management.
Congrats on the impressive numbers! What is your main lesson learned from building a startup from 0 to $80k?
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@digitalkeith
Growth is starting with funding product-market-fit. If you meet users' needs with your solution, the growth and marketing is becoming much easier.
A few tips:
focus on speed
do more, talk less
track your metrics from the day 0
always run user interviews and listen to users
hire the best possible people, if you canโt ask for their advice
Our marketing is a mix of product-led growth, paid channels and outbound sales. Until right now we even didnโt have a marketing team, so all the growth was happening thanks to the product, which meets user needs.
Hey! How did you stared welovenocode startup, how did you come up with the idea, and how did you get traction?
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@es_toledo I will combine my previous answers if you don't mind :)
So, I'm a second-time founder. My first company I started five years ago (I wanted to build a platform for managing crypto assets and trading on several crypto exchanges). It only resulted in me spending something like $300,000 and three years of my life on it. My development process was not very successful, which resulted in constant switching from one software development team to another. The end of this story is sad - that product never became live. Afterward, I joined a 500Startups accelerator program with another company which exited.
During my time at 500startups I learned about no code and finally felt the freedom of building products fast and myself. Thatโs how I started with WeLoveNoCode.
How we did we get growth:
Our marketing was kind of secondary, compering to defining users' needs. We spot user problems and value prop: fast, affordable, simple no-code development, which gives users ready product. All this in weeks.
Regarding channels for no-code: it really depends on your persona. Some no-code tools, like forms, can be used in very big companies by specific teams (design team, marketing team). While others, like WeLoveNoCode, are best for fast MVP creation for smaller teams.
So our channels are:
social media ads
Google ads
Product Hunt
Neuton AutoML
Hi Nik! How did you get #1 on Product Hunt? Which day of the week did you launch? BTW we launched today, please check us out!
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@inna_proshkina Our Product Hunt is a full day of work!
We do preparation with the visuals, copy and positioning + marketing strategy.
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@inna_proshkina I believe that the day of the week is not as critical as having fit with the PH audience.
Are you sure that your users are on Product Hunt.
And congrats on launching!
Neuton AutoML
@kodjima33 these are obvious and generic things to say, I was hoping to get more. The devil is in details ;)
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@inna_proshkina
In details:
- we did minutes by minutes plan
- we used all our marketing channels to inform our community that we launched
- we changed the copy on the website, targeting the PH audience.
Being #1 is not about some tips and tricks. If the PH community doesn't like your product (your product doesn't meet its needs), no amount of "hack" will help.
PH algorithm is very smart. Also, it's a community place, not a platform to only promote your product. Those are details that matter: founders who are engaged with the community and feel what is important for it - are getting better results.
Founders, who try to trick the system ends up having a lot of upvotes but a lower position on the page
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@inna_proshkina
More to think about:
- what is the competition this day? If you have Stripe launching something - you won't be #1
- what announcement is the PH team is doing? If PH has announced their new CEO, all attention will be there
- what activity PH has this day/week/month? If it's summer, it's less active
- is your community on Product Hunt? (your users, friends, those who will support you)
Eventually, when you are getting the first boost and listed on the main page, the PH community decides if they like your product. That's why knowing that your users are here is critical.
Neuton AutoML
How much do you pay to get featured on the homepage?
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@inna_proshkina
Can you please clarify the question.
For the Product Hunt, you do not pay to be featured on the main page, it's about the users love. Or have you asked something different?
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Huge thanks to everyone who joined my AMA! I will be here today, tomorrow and till the end of the week. Looking to answer on all your questions.
If I build something with NoCode or LowCode can my product usage be limited?
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@new_user_294840ab29
No.
In terms of users for the projects we are building, NoCode tools are not limited. I have seen apps with 200,000+ users.
Awesome job with WeLoveNoCode!
My query - How can I choose which Nocode app to use for my needs? On what basis?
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@mehak_samaiya
As a general rule: try to move fast & lean with whatever you are building. You donโt need to spend weeks on choosing โthe best no code toolโ. For almost every task you will find some tool. For example, we support a stack of 100+ no-code tools. If you would try to evaluate each of them (even for 30 min), it's already a 50h (almost 2 weeks).
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@mehak_samaiya So, for a scale of your side project, I would really recommend you to chose from the popular tools. Those are great:
to make landing Tilda, Wix, Squarespace, Carrd, Bubble, Webflow
to make mobile app Adalo, Glideapps, Bravo Studio Apps
Internal automation Notion, Airtable, Coda, Zapier
easy payments BuyMeACoffee, Gumroad, Stripe
to send emails Mailchimp, SendGrid
At WeLoveNoCode you donโt need to choose the tooling, you just tell what you want us to build.
I wonโt stop repeating that no code is cheaper, faster, and simpler.
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@mehak_samaiya Your basis for choosing no-code tools are the following:
- learning curve
- support (especially, if you are new to no code)
- technical capabilities
- price
How can I become your no code dev?
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@new_user_47c42ccb06
Happy that you are considering becoming a code developer! Yes, you can start learning in our academy - https://academy.welovenocode.com/ or join courses from no code tools. Ideally, if you will be able to work on some real projects right away. It can be your side-projects or freelance
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@new_user_47c42ccb06
you can also join our courses if you want to learn with us
we have 200 hours of different courses recorded in the four different no code platforms like Bubble, AirTable, Tilda, Webflow and many, many more. We educate people and after that, we connect them with companies.