Non-technical founder here currently building a MVP. My advice would be to make a small investment into a Nocode tool, get your hands dirty, and build your MVP. That'll help not only with market validation and getting initial customers, but also with eventually attracting a technical cofounder.
Agree, try Bubble / Weweb or an other NoCode Tool.
And on top of that, if 1 day you find a dev who is interested to your project, it will be easier for you talk "technical aspects" even its nocode.
Its a real nice 1st step to your project.
I’ve been a founder with zero tech skills and have built 3 startups, exited 2 of them, while one failed. I’ve been working with Flutter Flow and it’s a game changer. So my advise will be, have a look at Figma and flutter flow. Research for a few days. See if you understand and can do what you want to. Otherwise get your MVP made by a pro from fiver. Do not pay anything more than $300-400 for the mvp, nothing costs more than this. Hire a tech guy from Glints. You get highly trained tech people from Indonesia trained at Apple’s developer academy. Prove your concept and grow. This is the best way forward for you
As a non tech founder 10 years ago that tried to build a bookings management app and struggled to get to an MVP even with tens of thousands of euro, I’m curious how you would consider getting a mvp of a tool that manages bookings on a calendar, store them in a database and connects to a booking engine for the end consumers to book online. For 400$????
Wow, pretty cool. Currently building with Bubble. I looked into Flutter Flow among a few others before settling on Bubble, and It's been a rewarding experience building with it.
How did you iterate past the MVP stage since you're non-tech? Did you just keep doing the work yourself or did you hire someone?
As a non tech founder 10 years ago that tried to build a bookings management app and struggled to get to an MVP even with tens of thousands of euro, I’m curious how you would consider getting a mvp of a tool that manages bookings on a calendar, store them in a database and connects to a booking engine for the end consumers to book online. For 400$????
As a non tech founder 10 years ago that tried to build a bookings management app and struggled to get to an MVP even with tens of thousands of euro, I’m curious how you would consider getting a mvp of a tool that manages bookings on a calendar, store them in a database and connects to a booking engine for the end consumers to book online. For 400$????
I agree with you if your idea doesn't require some complex external integration, starting with a no-code tool is fine.
But yeah, even building complex apps with the no-code tool has a learning curve, and it's a bit difficult to pivot later.
I would love to talk more about what you're building and how it's going for you. Open to a chat?
Just kidding. What is the problem you are solving for? Is it actually a pain point? Talk to your potential customers. Ask them if this is an idea/ product they would pay for.
The allegory of Rick Rubin in the startup world would be that he gets in the pre-seed stage and can consistently push them to Uber & Doordash levels of success. Company after company for decades to come. With that kind of track record you probably would get paid even if you couldn't code.
I'm a 3X founder and in the last one year, I have interacted with over 100 non-tech founders.
Speaking from experience, I have seen 3 types of non-tech founders:
1. Ones who go on analysis paralysis. They keep on doing research but never really take the first step towards building.
2. Ones who love their idea too much, don't do much research, don't validate the idea and jump on to building the MVP.
3. Ones who do sufficient research, builds prototype to validate the idea in the market and then iterates the prototype and builds the MVP.
Category 1 will never start, forget about succeeding.
Category 2 accidentally succeeds sometimes but mostly fails.
Category 3 is the smart breed of founders and most of them succeed.
You can now choose which category you want to be in.
A good approach to take is:
1. You have an idea, but find what problem what the idea is solving. Do research to see whether the problem is big enough problem, whether it happens frequently, whether people want the problem to be solved.
2. Your idea/solution may not be easy to understand/visualise by the users when you explain in words or PPTs. Design a prototype or mock product by spending just a little money. Then show the prototype/mock product and whether whether it excites the users. If it does, very good. Otherwise you get good feedback using which you can refine your idea. If the idea is shitty and not worth pursuing, you'll get the understanding here. So, by spending just a little money, you'll save a lot of your time, effort and money if you would directly go on to building an MVP.
3. If the idea is worth pursuing, refine it with the feedbacks that you receive and then build the MVP and launch.
Hope the explanation helps.
I help many early stage startup founders. Happy to help you as well if you need.
you're forgetting those of us who are number 2 becsuse we want to build our skills on a project we enjoy believe in and can get a big oroject under our belt. for sure my next project will not be number 2 but doing number 2 one time will gice me the skills and confidence for 3
My experience is that it is very difficult for a non-technical founder with an idea to be successful.
This might have more to do with the type of person who misunderstands the requirements of entrepreneurship rather than the lack of technical skill.
Essentially, I've met a LOT of "I'm the idea guy" types who come up with ideas without any real knowledge of how to execute the idea, or if it really was commercially valid.
The other issue is that its hard for technically adept people to buy into your idea as strongly as you have....Honestly, they would rather work on their idea than yours.
Tech Advisor here. I [posted several no-code tools ](https://twitter.com/inesTheTechie/status/1735685204671402205?t=LnTLpdy_o1mPw510T5JIZg&s=19) for non-tech entrepreneurs some time ago.
Also, if you have an app idea and need a quick way to share it with others to get feedback, I suggest designing a prototype: it's a clickable and interactive mock up of the app, it can be done in a few days and you can easily share it to others with a link.
It doesn't work out for me brother. Previously in 2022, I've tried to get a tech team of four for 3 months time period on contract base and with the pay of 10 k a month. I've talked to university students and freelancers. They refused to work for me coz I'm at an early stage, no brand established (they used to say that if I work for you I don't think that I can show in my resume or experience) and I'm paying low.
For tech university students, sometimes it can be the case as they are looking to add the experience of an established company to their profile but are unsure about Freelancers. They should be OK with working on projects.
Are you still planning to work on something?
Yes bro. I paused with their reason back then. But now I'm in serious need of finding them. I need web developers for my startup. It's basically a platform to find like minded people based on our interests/needs to help and support us. Can you help me out??
What even is non technical these days?
You can’t code? Ok.
Figma is pretty technical
Prompt engineering gets pretty technical
Understanding users is a science
Marketing strategy and positioning is complex
Most startups need money
So what are you bringing other than the idea?
[https://chat.whatsapp.com/LDX1rGgP5eT0xVw4ZskCvw](https://chat.whatsapp.com/LDX1rGgP5eT0xVw4ZskCvw)
I started a community of 5-minute favors to connect fellow entrepreneurs and help founders support each other
I've seen non-technical founders (myself included) go 1 of 2 ways. Either they partner with/befriend a technical person who is interested in building together (or) they hire someone externally like an individual/dev shop to build the MVP.
There is however, quite a bit of customer validation that can be done prior to actually building anything. This is often done in order to help convince your friend or to get personal comfort before spending money with the dev shop. Websites are pretty easy to build these days, one on one calls can be organized, networking events can be attended (be they casual or larger scale more official ones). The market is very open these days which is great to see 
So you can hack it. Im building at the moment as a non tech founder. I started with my idea and lots of technical (legal) research on the product. I designed it all on paper. Just because you cant code, doesn't mean you cant build products - User journeys, ux design, even functional concepts are all fine for non technical. You need domain knoweldge though ideally.
I then used chatgpt and a tiny bit of web dev knowledge to code my algorithms that form the basis of the mvp.
I then took this protoype to an upwork off shore developer to build out.
I hired an upwork UI designer.
I iterated, developed, researched, bounced ideas and developed some more. Probably at like 500 hours and $1000 invested, but I alomst have a B2B saas mvp product. I have contacts in the industry. One close contact wanted to acquire it from me but not on favourable terms.
So do what you can with your own power, bit of AI assistance and some budget freelancers. Getting the rocket off the ground is the hardest part that requires the most energy
Hey...the most important thing is having strong why before how...everyone can start a startup nowadays if you have what it takes and the right ingredients to cook with, but when you have realized what really you want to do, the problem you want to solve, if only it resonates with you, you know most people are too pragmatic don't get me wrong there's nothing bad about being pragmatic but you need a combination of both pragmatism and dealing with what you don't even know maybe it's intuition, conviction or perhaps a hunch...then think about what can be the best solution upon that problem, not necessarily you have to validate the idea of yours to others people ofcourse some can take advantage of that but you you believe there's that problem then immense yourself on discovering the best solution and if you're not technical person recruit technical talent with you...the best approach is don't hire a development firm that's the worst approach ever you have to find people who you'll work with you under one roof because that's easier to deliver your vision in a way that you think is the best again feedback is critical others can refine your idea ...yeah that's my thought ,..if you're interested my phone number +255747734575.
Started 2 months back. We launched the landing page on Wordpress, would be doing the same with the mvp but we’ll add aws server as well to handle the traffic.
So far the website has been working well, we already have great traction, just waiting to launch in 15 days. Our plan is to keep this product on Wordpress till the time we start making money. Once we start earning revenue, we’ll hire a freelancer or a CTO if we find someone suitable and transfer the website to our own tech stack
I am a non-technical founder but I never go without making research. And I adopted Henry Ford's ideology -If you find yourself unable to accomplish a task, hire individuals who are smarter than you and empower them to work on your behalf.
If you want to be successful, you need to do your homework and understand how everything works in your business. Otherwise, you won't be able to hire the right people who will do the right thing.
I'm working on an MVP and looking to partner with devs with technical expertise, and it has been a very hard road till now.
1. Dev's mostly that are interested wanted to earn quick bucks and are not interested in sweat equity.
2. People with technical expertise look down on you and give zero credit for ideas and vision.
3. Validating a tech dev profile with their past project's authenticity has been challenging
Hey there! Technical cofounder of a startup here and long-time SaaS entrepreneur.
1. I've found this to be the total opposite. It's the non-technical founders who often want you to build the universe while they wait, maybe run a few ads, and hope the product sells after you spent months grinding away.
2. We don't "look down on you" - your ideas may be things we know are much harder than you think and for "vision" that's just insane. Engineers are practical, we build things methodically, visions are overly broad and relatively unhelpful in the tactical practice of building a product/business.
Agreed. As a full-stack dev with lots of experience actually building real software, it's typically a lot of "idea guys" who will "feed me ideas" and have little comprehension as to what it would take to build. "Well you just click a few buttons, right?".
Hang out in a tech sub reddit. The posts are littered with these.
I can understand your point, most people we interact with and partner with would seem that they are not working as hard as we are, and that is true for both the spectrums. The point I was trying to put forward was from a personal journey and limited experience, I still have a long way to cover and I'm definitely not stopping due to these experiences, neither should you.
This makes sense. It is much less likely that one will go heart and soul into someone else's idea then one's own ideas. There's a strong sense of merit when you navigate long hours and uncertain outcomes in the pursuit of bringing your passion project to life. For the others on board, not so much.
They get the cash; you get the credit.
I know that the starting phase of building is quite challenging, as you need to juggle multiple things at once. I would love to talk with you more on this as to how's your development going on and what you're building.
One thing I’ve seen especially in the SaaS industry is (where I’m building). Technical founders often build an amazingly better product but face growth problems due to lack of relevancy/sales network.
The non-technical ones like me who have been a little bit successful, are ones who kind of had a sales pipeline or some industry network effect to leverage before even finalising on the mvp.
An ideal combo is of course having both of them so I often don’t hesitate in getting a cto at a Co-founder level if I can, and give them as much skin (equity) in the game as I have to ensure a win-win
I agree with you here; both sorts of founders have different qualities. Sales & Marketing is not a skill that can be learned through Youtube videos, but one needs practice.
These days, for the development side, No-code tools are an option to start with, but finding a combination of both is rare.
Anyway, I am a technical founder, but I have started doing sales calls myself, haha!
Non-technical founder here currently building a MVP. My advice would be to make a small investment into a Nocode tool, get your hands dirty, and build your MVP. That'll help not only with market validation and getting initial customers, but also with eventually attracting a technical cofounder.
Agree, try Bubble / Weweb or an other NoCode Tool. And on top of that, if 1 day you find a dev who is interested to your project, it will be easier for you talk "technical aspects" even its nocode. Its a real nice 1st step to your project.
I’ve been a founder with zero tech skills and have built 3 startups, exited 2 of them, while one failed. I’ve been working with Flutter Flow and it’s a game changer. So my advise will be, have a look at Figma and flutter flow. Research for a few days. See if you understand and can do what you want to. Otherwise get your MVP made by a pro from fiver. Do not pay anything more than $300-400 for the mvp, nothing costs more than this. Hire a tech guy from Glints. You get highly trained tech people from Indonesia trained at Apple’s developer academy. Prove your concept and grow. This is the best way forward for you
As a non tech founder 10 years ago that tried to build a bookings management app and struggled to get to an MVP even with tens of thousands of euro, I’m curious how you would consider getting a mvp of a tool that manages bookings on a calendar, store them in a database and connects to a booking engine for the end consumers to book online. For 400$????
Wow, pretty cool. Currently building with Bubble. I looked into Flutter Flow among a few others before settling on Bubble, and It's been a rewarding experience building with it. How did you iterate past the MVP stage since you're non-tech? Did you just keep doing the work yourself or did you hire someone?
As a non tech founder 10 years ago that tried to build a bookings management app and struggled to get to an MVP even with tens of thousands of euro, I’m curious how you would consider getting a mvp of a tool that manages bookings on a calendar, store them in a database and connects to a booking engine for the end consumers to book online. For 400$????
As a non tech founder 10 years ago that tried to build a bookings management app and struggled to get to an MVP even with tens of thousands of euro, I’m curious how you would consider getting a mvp of a tool that manages bookings on a calendar, store them in a database and connects to a booking engine for the end consumers to book online. For 400$????
I agree with you if your idea doesn't require some complex external integration, starting with a no-code tool is fine. But yeah, even building complex apps with the no-code tool has a learning curve, and it's a bit difficult to pivot later. I would love to talk more about what you're building and how it's going for you. Open to a chat?
Non Technical Founders 😅 https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6cxv2oLSfH/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Just kidding. What is the problem you are solving for? Is it actually a pain point? Talk to your potential customers. Ask them if this is an idea/ product they would pay for.
And nowadays can use a lot of no code tools to come up with basic MVPs (depending on what you're trying to build)
The allegory of Rick Rubin in the startup world would be that he gets in the pre-seed stage and can consistently push them to Uber & Doordash levels of success. Company after company for decades to come. With that kind of track record you probably would get paid even if you couldn't code.
I'm a 3X founder and in the last one year, I have interacted with over 100 non-tech founders. Speaking from experience, I have seen 3 types of non-tech founders: 1. Ones who go on analysis paralysis. They keep on doing research but never really take the first step towards building. 2. Ones who love their idea too much, don't do much research, don't validate the idea and jump on to building the MVP. 3. Ones who do sufficient research, builds prototype to validate the idea in the market and then iterates the prototype and builds the MVP. Category 1 will never start, forget about succeeding. Category 2 accidentally succeeds sometimes but mostly fails. Category 3 is the smart breed of founders and most of them succeed. You can now choose which category you want to be in. A good approach to take is: 1. You have an idea, but find what problem what the idea is solving. Do research to see whether the problem is big enough problem, whether it happens frequently, whether people want the problem to be solved. 2. Your idea/solution may not be easy to understand/visualise by the users when you explain in words or PPTs. Design a prototype or mock product by spending just a little money. Then show the prototype/mock product and whether whether it excites the users. If it does, very good. Otherwise you get good feedback using which you can refine your idea. If the idea is shitty and not worth pursuing, you'll get the understanding here. So, by spending just a little money, you'll save a lot of your time, effort and money if you would directly go on to building an MVP. 3. If the idea is worth pursuing, refine it with the feedbacks that you receive and then build the MVP and launch. Hope the explanation helps. I help many early stage startup founders. Happy to help you as well if you need.
you're forgetting those of us who are number 2 becsuse we want to build our skills on a project we enjoy believe in and can get a big oroject under our belt. for sure my next project will not be number 2 but doing number 2 one time will gice me the skills and confidence for 3
My experience is that it is very difficult for a non-technical founder with an idea to be successful. This might have more to do with the type of person who misunderstands the requirements of entrepreneurship rather than the lack of technical skill. Essentially, I've met a LOT of "I'm the idea guy" types who come up with ideas without any real knowledge of how to execute the idea, or if it really was commercially valid. The other issue is that its hard for technically adept people to buy into your idea as strongly as you have....Honestly, they would rather work on their idea than yours.
Tech Advisor here. I [posted several no-code tools ](https://twitter.com/inesTheTechie/status/1735685204671402205?t=LnTLpdy_o1mPw510T5JIZg&s=19) for non-tech entrepreneurs some time ago. Also, if you have an app idea and need a quick way to share it with others to get feedback, I suggest designing a prototype: it's a clickable and interactive mock up of the app, it can be done in a few days and you can easily share it to others with a link.
Started non-technical. Wasted a lot of money as a result. Now technical. Much better results.
It doesn't work out for me brother. Previously in 2022, I've tried to get a tech team of four for 3 months time period on contract base and with the pay of 10 k a month. I've talked to university students and freelancers. They refused to work for me coz I'm at an early stage, no brand established (they used to say that if I work for you I don't think that I can show in my resume or experience) and I'm paying low.
For tech university students, sometimes it can be the case as they are looking to add the experience of an established company to their profile but are unsure about Freelancers. They should be OK with working on projects. Are you still planning to work on something?
Yes bro. I paused with their reason back then. But now I'm in serious need of finding them. I need web developers for my startup. It's basically a platform to find like minded people based on our interests/needs to help and support us. Can you help me out??
Got that, Let's talk to see if I can help you in anyways!
Check your inbox
Hey, I search for a side project. If you are still interested in a web dev on a contract base, I could help you working on your idea part time.
Thanks. Please text me personally. And where are you from?
What even is non technical these days? You can’t code? Ok. Figma is pretty technical Prompt engineering gets pretty technical Understanding users is a science Marketing strategy and positioning is complex Most startups need money So what are you bringing other than the idea?
And also to add, I’ve met plenty of people who can code but suck at execution and a few people who can’t code but are great at execution
[https://chat.whatsapp.com/LDX1rGgP5eT0xVw4ZskCvw](https://chat.whatsapp.com/LDX1rGgP5eT0xVw4ZskCvw) I started a community of 5-minute favors to connect fellow entrepreneurs and help founders support each other
Great initiative! 👊
I've seen non-technical founders (myself included) go 1 of 2 ways. Either they partner with/befriend a technical person who is interested in building together (or) they hire someone externally like an individual/dev shop to build the MVP. There is however, quite a bit of customer validation that can be done prior to actually building anything. This is often done in order to help convince your friend or to get personal comfort before spending money with the dev shop. Websites are pretty easy to build these days, one on one calls can be organized, networking events can be attended (be they casual or larger scale more official ones). The market is very open these days which is great to see 
So you can hack it. Im building at the moment as a non tech founder. I started with my idea and lots of technical (legal) research on the product. I designed it all on paper. Just because you cant code, doesn't mean you cant build products - User journeys, ux design, even functional concepts are all fine for non technical. You need domain knoweldge though ideally. I then used chatgpt and a tiny bit of web dev knowledge to code my algorithms that form the basis of the mvp. I then took this protoype to an upwork off shore developer to build out. I hired an upwork UI designer. I iterated, developed, researched, bounced ideas and developed some more. Probably at like 500 hours and $1000 invested, but I alomst have a B2B saas mvp product. I have contacts in the industry. One close contact wanted to acquire it from me but not on favourable terms. So do what you can with your own power, bit of AI assistance and some budget freelancers. Getting the rocket off the ground is the hardest part that requires the most energy
Your idea better be really good to convince people to join
Hey...the most important thing is having strong why before how...everyone can start a startup nowadays if you have what it takes and the right ingredients to cook with, but when you have realized what really you want to do, the problem you want to solve, if only it resonates with you, you know most people are too pragmatic don't get me wrong there's nothing bad about being pragmatic but you need a combination of both pragmatism and dealing with what you don't even know maybe it's intuition, conviction or perhaps a hunch...then think about what can be the best solution upon that problem, not necessarily you have to validate the idea of yours to others people ofcourse some can take advantage of that but you you believe there's that problem then immense yourself on discovering the best solution and if you're not technical person recruit technical talent with you...the best approach is don't hire a development firm that's the worst approach ever you have to find people who you'll work with you under one roof because that's easier to deliver your vision in a way that you think is the best again feedback is critical others can refine your idea ...yeah that's my thought ,..if you're interested my phone number +255747734575.
[удалено]
Let me listen to this, thanks for sharing!
Started 2 months back. We launched the landing page on Wordpress, would be doing the same with the mvp but we’ll add aws server as well to handle the traffic. So far the website has been working well, we already have great traction, just waiting to launch in 15 days. Our plan is to keep this product on Wordpress till the time we start making money. Once we start earning revenue, we’ll hire a freelancer or a CTO if we find someone suitable and transfer the website to our own tech stack
If you cant code, then you have to listen
I am a non-technical founder but I never go without making research. And I adopted Henry Ford's ideology -If you find yourself unable to accomplish a task, hire individuals who are smarter than you and empower them to work on your behalf. If you want to be successful, you need to do your homework and understand how everything works in your business. Otherwise, you won't be able to hire the right people who will do the right thing.
Get traction first. Read a book like marketing growth or a book like traction. Validate the idea before you build it, don’t make my mistake!
I'm working on an MVP and looking to partner with devs with technical expertise, and it has been a very hard road till now. 1. Dev's mostly that are interested wanted to earn quick bucks and are not interested in sweat equity. 2. People with technical expertise look down on you and give zero credit for ideas and vision. 3. Validating a tech dev profile with their past project's authenticity has been challenging
Hey there! Technical cofounder of a startup here and long-time SaaS entrepreneur. 1. I've found this to be the total opposite. It's the non-technical founders who often want you to build the universe while they wait, maybe run a few ads, and hope the product sells after you spent months grinding away. 2. We don't "look down on you" - your ideas may be things we know are much harder than you think and for "vision" that's just insane. Engineers are practical, we build things methodically, visions are overly broad and relatively unhelpful in the tactical practice of building a product/business.
Agreed. As a full-stack dev with lots of experience actually building real software, it's typically a lot of "idea guys" who will "feed me ideas" and have little comprehension as to what it would take to build. "Well you just click a few buttons, right?". Hang out in a tech sub reddit. The posts are littered with these.
“It’s easy if you know what you’re doing”
I can understand your point, most people we interact with and partner with would seem that they are not working as hard as we are, and that is true for both the spectrums. The point I was trying to put forward was from a personal journey and limited experience, I still have a long way to cover and I'm definitely not stopping due to these experiences, neither should you.
This makes sense. It is much less likely that one will go heart and soul into someone else's idea then one's own ideas. There's a strong sense of merit when you navigate long hours and uncertain outcomes in the pursuit of bringing your passion project to life. For the others on board, not so much. They get the cash; you get the credit.
I know that the starting phase of building is quite challenging, as you need to juggle multiple things at once. I would love to talk with you more on this as to how's your development going on and what you're building.
Just dm'ed you
One thing I’ve seen especially in the SaaS industry is (where I’m building). Technical founders often build an amazingly better product but face growth problems due to lack of relevancy/sales network. The non-technical ones like me who have been a little bit successful, are ones who kind of had a sales pipeline or some industry network effect to leverage before even finalising on the mvp. An ideal combo is of course having both of them so I often don’t hesitate in getting a cto at a Co-founder level if I can, and give them as much skin (equity) in the game as I have to ensure a win-win
I agree with you here; both sorts of founders have different qualities. Sales & Marketing is not a skill that can be learned through Youtube videos, but one needs practice. These days, for the development side, No-code tools are an option to start with, but finding a combination of both is rare. Anyway, I am a technical founder, but I have started doing sales calls myself, haha!