"Our startup's $2 million revenue runs on a $80/month NoCode stack."

When I shared this, I got many questions around the tools used.

So, today I share 7 types of NoCode tools along with:
1. Specific use case each solves
2. Real examples
3. Alternatives

Thread 🧵

1/ Marketing websites

A) Tools: @unicornplatform, @umsohq

B) Use cases
- You can simply drag & drop elements onto a page

- Build a marketing website in less than 60 mins

- Easily edit your marketing copy & communication to customers
1/ Marketing website (contd.)

C) Example

- We built our entire website of https://t.co/mdQsG3XKpg containing over 50+ pages on Unicorn platform

D) Alternatives
- @carrd
- @webflow (covered later)
2/ Database storage and information websites

A) Tool: @airtable

B) Use cases
- Advanced and more UI-friendly excel
- Easily collect data using an intuitive form
- Neatly present the data on your website in intuitive layouts
2/ DB & Information websites (contd.)

C) Example
- To help individuals laid off due to COVID, we built a page listing those who could be hired: https://t.co/QRmyRdLvWk

D) Alternatives
- Tools like Sheet2site, Table2site work well with Airtable to make quick websites
3/ Beautiful info & e-commerce websites

A) Tool: @webflow

B) Use cases
- Build beautiful custom layouts without Code
- Leverage its "CMS" to make numerous automated pages
- Use particularly if you are a designer and want to implement custom design to pixel perfection
3/ Beautiful info websites (contd.)

C) Examples
- We built both Scale (https://t.co/WYOMSbhe0S) and Founder origin stories (https://t.co/Bccnk2ttJc) on Webflow

D) Alternatives
- Bubble (https://t.co/EBjaMRd1FQ): However, if focus is pixel perfect design, Webflow is much better.
4/ Automate workflows

A) Tools: @zapier, @integromat

B) Use cases
- Automate recurring manual effort
- Store data in CRM, send automated mails, integrate tools, etc.
- @zapier is more intuitive but costly, @integromat has a steeper learning curve but handles complex cases
4/ Automate workflows (contd.)

C) Example
- Almost all our dynamic flows are handled by Zapier or Integromat. User signup -> storing their data in our db -> sending them a mail

D) Alternatives:
- Parabola (@parabolahq)
- Automate (@automate)
5/ Login & membership systems

A) Tools: @MemberstackApp, @memberspace

B) Use cases
- To convert your static website to have signups/logins and to also manage SAAS memberships
- Restrict content or pages to only paid users
5/ Login and membership systems (contd.)

C) Example
- We built a dashboard for new projects viewing, sharing invoices, etc. using the above set of tools: https://t.co/GzLnfE0dSr

D) Alternative
- Bubble offers an in-built authentication system but doesn't manage subscriptions
6/ Any complex web-based product

A) Tool: @bubble

B) Use cases
- Job-boards, marketplaces, internal tools => build varied applications using its "workflows" & database
- Quite self-sufficient and removes the need to depend on other tools
- Responsive design is a not the best
6/ Complex web-based product (contd.)

C) Example
- Our internal tool is entirely built on top of Bubble and saves ~160 human hours per month (has sensitive data, so can't share video)

D) Alternatives:
- Adalo, Glide: More suited for mobile apps (discussed next)
7/ Mobile apps

A) Tools: @glideapps, @AdaloHQ

B) Use cases
- Build complex mobile apps with a simple drag & drop functionality
- Automate user actions with in-built workflows
- Use their own DB or even GoogleSheets to store data
7/ Mobile apps (contd.)

C) Example
- Not used these products myself, but a really cool example is of the apps made to help organise & share COVID resources with people: https://t.co/5mpFJSKvWv

D) Alternatives
- No credible alternatives that I know of
That's it for this thread - start building great products!

Also, I regularly write on startups, so, if you would like more such threads, consider retweeting the first tweet & following me :)

https://t.co/S2qTErZQP8

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I just finished Eric Adler's The Battle of the Classics, and wanted to say something about Joel Christiansen's review linked below. I am not sure what motivates the review (I speculate a bit below), but it gives a very misleading impression of the book. 1/x


The meat of the criticism is that the history Adler gives is insufficiently critical. Adler describes a few figures who had a great influence on how the modern US university was formed. It's certainly critical: it focuses on the social Darwinism of these figures. 2/x

Other insinuations and suggestions in the review seem wildly off the mark, distorted, or inappropriate-- for example, that the book is clickbaity (it is scholarly) or conservative (hardly) or connected to the events at the Capitol (give me a break). 3/x

The core question: in what sense is classics inherently racist? Classics is old. On Adler's account, it begins in ancient Rome and is revived in the Renaissance. Slavery (Christiansen's primary concern) is also very old. Let's say classics is an education for slaveowners. 4/x

It's worth remembering that literacy itself is elite throughout most of this history. Literacy is, then, also the education of slaveowners. We can honor oral and musical traditions without denying that literacy is, generally, good. 5/x