Why entrepreneurs should embrace no-code platforms

Entrepreneurship is all about coming up with new and unique solutions to issues. An entrepreneur can be anyone. With the advent of information technology, IT-enabled solutions are propelling entrepreneurship around the world. Often, entrepreneurs from varied backgrounds envision a solution to a community or corporate problem that requires automation, an app, or an IT solution to tackle. However, because they lack a technical background, they will face numerous hurdles and may end up not fixing the problem at all.

The good news is that a relatively new global industry is assisting in the resolution of this problem for non-technical persons. It's known as low-code, no-code, and intelligent developer technologies (LCNCIDT). According to a new International Data Corporation (IDC) prediction, worldwide LCNCIDT sales would reach US $21.0 billion in 2026, with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8 per cent from 2021 to 2026. With the no-code and artificial intelligence advancements, apps may be built in a couple of weeks by simply paying for the no-code platforms.

Building a competent technical team to develop and manage their business technology is a problem that Bangladeshi entrepreneurs and business owners frequently encounter. It occurs mostly as a result of a lack of understanding of how various technologies and processes operate, a misalignment of values, underestimating the timeframe to build, an inadequate reward system for competent developers, etc. They experience a challenging path as they come to comprehend the resources, expertise, and persistence needed to develop a tech solution.  Although they have different learning curves, no-code or low-code platforms provide practically ready-made solutions to assist entrepreneurs in developing a solution. No-code platforms provide numerous integrations to data sources and other tools without requiring command-line code. Bubble, one of the most well-known no-code platforms, is one such tool. To assist users, Bubble offers pre-made templates, widgets, and community forums. It is advisable to become familiar with a project through several tutorials and comprehend what it can provide before starting it.

Speed is crucial in entrepreneurship. Users can create solutions to an issue and test them in a matter of weeks using platforms like Bubble. This will enable entrepreneurs to quickly iterate in order to achieve product-market fit. Using platforms like these also reflects positively on entrepreneurs. Investors and teams will have more confidence in entrepreneurs if they see such resourcefulness of entrepreneurs of non-technical backgrounds. Sayem Faruk, the founder and CEO of Airwrk -- a full-stack talent marketplace enabling startups to hire and manage pre-vetted tech talents from South Asia, highly recommends using a no-code platform for entrepreneurs for the minimum viable product (MVP) if they don't have a technical co-founder or a tech team initially.

Low-code, no-code, and intelligent technology can help both entrepreneurs and businesses. Businesses can design visually appealing websites on their own utilising tools such as Webflow. Webflow's e-commerce solutions can help startups and small companies. Businesses, students, and startups can use both free and paid versions. Webflow is typically easier to use for non-technical users than WordPress technology. Other popular names such as Softr, Adalo, and Glide can be suitable for different business purposes. Users need to explore these tools to find the most suitable one according to their business needs.

In fact, technology teams can profit from LCNCIDT as well. Before entering into full-scale commercial production of a solution, developers can develop prototypes using AI-enabled low-code or no-code platforms to better understand the limitations and reach of these technologies. Blaze technology is one such platform. It is a no-code platform that allows users to import external data from nearly all of the most popular tech platforms, including Airtable, Excel, Shopify, Traipe, MongoDBm, Salesforce, and many others. In addition to its drag-and-drop components to build an app, it offers an AI-enabled visual builder that helps users see data, search, and add new forms.

These innovative no-code and AI-enabled solutions also assist entrepreneurs in improving their talents. Not just entrepreneurs, but also white-collar workers, should learn to leverage new technologies to improve the efficiency of their businesses and jobs. AI that is creative and productive, such as Chat GPT and Dall-E, will pose a threat to the employment of white-collar workers. Analysts believe that artificial intelligence will forever alter the employment landscape. People are learning how to use new technologies. AI-related tech may take less time than one thinks to break into the mainstream. When compared to prior revolutionary technologies such as electricity, computers, or even the internet, the age of AI and emerging technologies will might disrupt things even faster. 

The key to thriving in such disruptions is to lean into change and adopt these emerging technologies as early as possible. No-code platforms are game changers for entrepreneurs. No-code platforms are democratising entrepreneurship and making it easier for anybody to start their own business by allowing people to produce digital products faster, at a cheaper cost, with greater flexibility, and without requiring technical experience. As these platforms improve and become more sophisticated, Bangladesh's entrepreneurs can embrace them to tackle the initial hurdles in their journey of entrepreneurship.

The writer is working in a health tech startup in the UK.
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