I’m standing at a crossroads: I can either use no-code platforms to swiftly get my MVP off the ground, or I can invest time in learning the code stack for long-term scalability. My startup is in the real estate tech sector, and it appears that no-code solutions could handle most of my initial requirements.
Pros of No-Code:
- Quick to market
- No vendor lock-in with the platforms I want to use, so I can transition to a fully coded base like React with Next.js and Supabase for the backend later.
Pros of Learning to Code:
- Valuable skills for future scaling.
- Skill acquisition that will be useful even if this startup doesn’t take off.
- Knowledge base when working with future developers
- I really enjoy learning to code and don’t find it bothersome
The timeline with using no code would probably be 1-2 months and around 3-6 months if I learn the tech stacks needed. I am come from mobile app development so it will take me some time to understand web dev fully.
So, should I prioritize speed to market with no-code solutions, or invest in coding skills for the long run? What advice would you give me?
Do version one (the MVP) fast then do version two (production) right.
You want to test the market, learn from it and iterate as much and as quickly as necessary. No matter what you think the market wants and will resonate to, you are most likely off by a wide margin.
Now, to build a platform that scales well requires years of education and experience. You can’t learn all of that in a few months. It is a good idea to learn a bit about software development so you can have a meaningful conversation with developers, but don’t fool yourself you can become a great one in weeks.
How much time do you expect that you’ll need to learn to code and build the MVP?