No code, or know code? How code can help you think.

In the last year, we saw a rise in “No Code” tools and platforms, followed by the first “No Code” conference hosted by Webflow— all helping people build out grand visions without a line of code. As Ryan Hoover, founder of Product Hunt puts it:

“You no longer need to become a programmer to build things on the internet, empowering a new wave of makers from different backgrounds and perspectives.”

Even more recently, an actual “No Code” agency received funding to help people build products, without coding knowledge:

However, even with this movement, the question remains — could it be an advantage for product makers and entrepreneurs to skip the coding? Does understanding the code behind your product lead to better solutions, or can time be used better elsewhere? As an indie product maker myself, these are the questions I’m debating right now.

What skills do Product Makers and Entrepreneurs need?

Think this through with me. There are many different qualities that you need to build and run a business, and we’ve seen that coding isn’t a must-have. It’s just as crucial to have vision and planning skills — the vision of where you want to go, and how to get there.

For example, take inspiration from Elon Musk, the businessman who is working in space, automobile, and solar industry at this time. He mentioned:

“If you’re trying to create a company, it’s like baking a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion.”

However, to keep an eye on your product progress and be able to take control of all the stages of your start-up, I would argue that knowing the programming basics is very helpful.