non-tech founders do this or die.

non-technical founders, do this or die.

a lot of us are non-tech founders. we don’t know how to code, create servers, deploy, etc. which is a shame. but it’s not the end of the world.

if you don’t want to learn how to code, i think there’s one way to stay alive. you need to find alternative ways to build your product faster than coders.

how? by using existing tools out there.

you might know that i love building products using tools like typeform and zapier. typeform was built as a survey tool, but after years of using it, i realized it could be a great front end. so i managed to create nearly all my mvps using typeform in a very short amount of time (averaging one week).

does it work? yes.

typeform has a stripe integration, so you can start accepting payments from users. i remember in 2023, i created an english resume generator for koreans using typeform. i charged $4.90 per resume through stripe. koreans going on working holidays who needed english resumes started paying to use my service.

so what did i do?

when i received an order, i took their korean resume, manually inputted it into gpt-3.5 (at the time), converted it into a pdf, and sent it via gmail. users had no idea what was happening in the background. they probably thought everything was automated and took 20 minutes to generate. but it was all me.

30% of users got barista jobs in australia using the resumes i created lol.

paul graham founder of yc – do things that don’t scale.

so yes, it works. at least enough to get you started.

if you’re a non-tech founder, you should spend a lot of time learning and testing different tools. that’s how you compete with technical founders early on.

-build asap. -launch a sh**ty product early. -gain feedback. -analyze the feedback. -iterate.

learn as many tools as possible. understand their limitations.

if you don’t, you’ll fall behind in the startup game and eventually die.

developing the ability to map out product structure and the most optimal logical sequencing in your head is crucial – not coding.

this is why i don’t like ai builders that do everything for you. you have no idea how the product works. you skip the logical thinking part, which i think is the most crucial brain exercise for founders.

non-tech founders, start experimenting.

go go go.

(dalle - house made of lego blocks)