Stop Underestimating No-Code and Minimum Viable Product Startups

Ignore the haters and understand the benefits

Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

Not long ago, a colleague of mine said some nasty things about the no-code and minimum viable product (MVP) movements in front of me. And that bugged me. At first a little, then a lot.

It’s no secret that I’ve been a pretty vocal proponent of no-code tools and MVP development for startups over the last couple years. And that’s because over those last couple years, I’ve seen rapid advancements come together to create opportunity where opportunity didn’t previously exist.

When used correctly, no-code tools and proper MVP development can help a lot more people start and expand real businesses using real technology–without having to spend years learning to write good code or spend thousands of dollars for a marketing firm to validate market fit.

And it’s becoming obvious that there’s a vested and vocal group of people who don’t want that to happen.

Here’s why you need to ignore them.

The Net Negatives of No Code and MVP Are Overblown

I’ll defend no-code and MVP in a minute. Not a lot. Just enough to prove my point. You won’t even notice it. What’s more important is why the badmouthing of both movements upset me.

I don’t have thin skin. I couldn’t care less about what anybody, successful or not, within earshot or not, says or thinks about any opinions I have one way or the other.

You want to do the let’s-go-get-millions-in-dumb-money-investment-off-a-slick-deck startup thing? Go nuts. You don’t like MVPs? Don’t build them. You love NFTs? Invest your heart out (just don’t invest more than you’re prepared to lose, that’s the parent in me).

What I do have a problem with — a big problem — is that the dragging of no-code and MVP is just another example of people speaking poorly about anyone or anything that doesn’t fit their worldview of entrepreneurship. Because those people are convinced that the way they did their startup is the only way to do a startup.

If they’ve done a startup at all, and that’s usually a big if.