We Reached 400k Users With a No-Code Tool

Summary

Mariam, the founder of a startup, shares her journey of reaching 400,000 users with a no-code platform that has garnered rave reviews. Despite not having a product, she managed to secure prepayments of $5,000 from five customers, validating her idea. The startup faced challenges but found a pivotal moment by integrating with Airtable, which led to significant growth. Mariam emphasizes the importance of community engagement and iterative feedback, which helped triple the company's revenue each year. The company's success is attributed to clear positioning, exploring new marketing channels, and leveraging the community. Mariam envisions a future where no-code becomes a widespread skill, empowering millions to build efficient tools, and possibly leading to an IPO. She also shares a portal she built with her platform for investor updates, showcasing its utility for internal tooling and investor relations.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Marian's startup reached 400,000 users by creating an intuitive no-code platform that allows users to build internal tools and portals quickly and easily.
• 💰 Marian was able to charge $1,000 per user even before having a product, validating the market need with prepayments from five customers.
• 🤝 Starting in 2019 as a family business, Marian and her husband focused on validating the idea by first finding customers and understanding their problems.
• 📈 The first version of their product was a basic website builder launched in April 2020, which garnered significant customer interest and willingness to pay.
• 🔧 They faced challenges such as customer pull-offs and investor skepticism but remained committed to their vision of an easier way to build software.
• 🎯 A pivotal moment came when they decided to build on Airtable, which aligned with customer demands and set them on a successful trajectory.
• 🌐 Launching their application builder with Airtable integration in August 2021 led to rapid growth, becoming the top product on Product Hunt and attracting a passionate community.
• 🗣️ Word of mouth and community engagement were significant growth drivers, with founders actively participating in the no-code community and fostering a sense of belonging among users.
• 📊 They published their roadmap publicly, allowing users to upvote features, which helped build a strong feedback loop and made customers feel included in the product's development.
• 📈 To triple revenue each year, they clarified their positioning, expanded marketing efforts, and doubled down on community engagement, which became a significant growth lever.
• 🌟 Marian's vision for the next 5 years includes empowering billions of knowledge workers with no-code skills and building the largest ecosystem of no-code tools.
• 🔗 They created a portal for investors to self-serve data and updates, reducing the need for manual monthly reports and fostering more autonomy for investors.

Q & A

What is the core product that Marian's startup created?

Marian's startup created an intuitive no-code platform that enables users to build internal tools and portals, which are powered by various data sources like Airtable, Google Sheets, Hops, SWOT, and others.

How did Marian's startup validate their idea before building the product?

They validated their idea by securing prepayment from five customers interested in their product, which amounted to $5,000 each. This initial validation led them to start building the product.

What was the first version of Marian's product like?

The first version of their product was a basic website builder with only 10 blocks, allowing users to build a website in 5 minutes.

Why was the first year of building the software challenging for Marian and her team?

The first year was challenging because they started building the software in 2019 as a husband and wife team, managing family responsibilities while trying to validate their idea and build the product without leaving their full-time jobs.

How did Marian's startup manage to charge $1,000 per user before having a complete product?

They managed to charge $1,000 per user by offering early access and prepayment options to customers who were interested in their product, validating the market need and securing initial funding.

What was the pivotal moment for Marian's software that led to significant growth?

The pivotal moment was the integration with Airtable, which became a highly demanded feature by their customers and users. This integration, along with the launch of their first application builder, led to significant growth and customer engagement.

How did Marian's startup build a vibrant community around their product?

They built a vibrant community by being active in the no-code community, engaging with users, and promoting what the community members were building. They also published their roadmap publicly, allowing users to upvote features, which made customers feel included and part of something significant.

What were the three main strategies Marian's startup used to triple their revenue each year?

The three main strategies were: clarifying their positioning and messaging, expanding into different marketing channels and content creation around pain points, and doubling down on community engagement and user-generated content.

How did Marian's startup shift their focus from attracting only no-code makers and entrepreneurs to more serious business use cases?

As the product matured, they started seeing more serious use cases from established businesses. They realized that relying solely on no-code makers and entrepreneurs was not sustainable for long-term growth, as these individuals' projects often fail or stop. They shifted their focus to cater to businesses building their internal operations and day-to-day workflows.

What is the future vision for Marian's startup in the next 5 years?

The future vision is to empower billions of knowledge workers to build their own tooling for more efficient job performance, making no-code a skill set as common as Excel, and potentially building the largest ecosystem of no-code solutions, with the possibility of an IPO or establishing a significant business.

How did Marian address the challenge of keeping investors updated without constant communication?

Marian built a portal using their own software platform that allows investors to self-serve and access key highlights, metrics, team updates, and community information, reducing the need for frequent updates via email.

What is the template Marian created for reporting to investors?

The template includes sections for key metrics, team updates, product and community highlights, and a section for how investors can help the company. It is designed to be accessible and customizable to fit the company's needs.