Hi, Katt here.
This week’s interview, Ad Advany breaks down in 3 minutes 59 seconds:
🚩 The importance of understanding problems in businesses
🧲 His tools for shipping fast
🏄♀️ Finding his first paying user
🥨 Selling for $40K in one weekend
Before we begin, this issue is brought to you by Senja.io:
How creator Jay Clouse uses social proof to make $600,000 a year
He increases newsletter subscribes with a testimonial widget near his subscribe form (see it in action here)
He sells more courses with social proof on his course pages (see it here)
He drives more warm traffic by posting video testimonials on Twitter and LinkedIn (see here)
He wins more sponsorships with testimonials on his Sponsor Me page
He collects testimonials from customers, course students, and sponsors, using a Senja form and automations to save loads of time
🎈 3 Cool Finds
NoCode Summit is the European No-Code conference. Learn from No-Code leaders (like the CEO of Bubble, Glide, Make, Xano and Softr), keep up with the latest AI trends, network with like-minded makers and have some building fun during the NoCoders Games and NoCode Party. I hope to see you there.
Serpcrawl [made with No-Code] by Minh Pham get’s your page automatically indexed by Google in less than 24 hours. I had no idea tools like these existed so this deserved a bookmark and mention here.
Mojomox is one of my favorite logo and brand kit makers. Simple but fresh.
*This section is a mix of paid sponsorships (in bold) and cool things I use, discovered or made.
🔥 Maker Interview
Hello Ab, what is your background?
I've a background in computer engineering. After university, my focus shifted more towards marketing and sales. I founded a Dutch SaaS called Owet that did $200K ARR four years ago but I was frustrated with the slow development pace by my CTO.
Discovering Bubble, I developed the MVP of a product in a week where my CTO had been working on for 1 year. After we scaled Owet to almost $1M ARR in its best year. This was the start of my love for No-Code.
Tell us about your product that you made?
I recently embarked on a quest to sell an app designed to assist with compliance using AI. Eager to find customers, I started approaching security consultants. One call with Martijn, a consultant, didn’t go according to plan.
Martijn seemed confused by my proposal. Instead of engaging with my idea, he began talking about a different problem his customers were facing. They were struggling to manage data requests, and he wondered if my solution could be tailored to handle that issue. My solution couldn’t solve that problem but I was interested in hearing more.
As he explained the problem, I realized that my original idea had missed the mark with Martijn. Rather than force my pitch, I listened intently, asking him for more details to understand why he was pondering this particular problem.
His explanation sparked inspiration. I could see how his problem could be solved with the power of No-Code tools. I was also amazed that a agency quoted him $200K to develop this solution. More importantly, I recognized that I could build it over the weekend at a fraction of the agency's quoted cost.
What went into building the initial version?
What started as a misaligned sales call transformed into an unexpected opportunity. It set the stage for what would become an exciting and profitable weekend adventure.
The solution Martijn explained would:
Create a unique portal on its domain for each customer
Allow end users to create accounts and send data requests
Notify relevant departments and filter sensitive information using AI
Generate and send letters with the information, closing the request
I got to work and after around 5 hours of development the MVP was ready!
What was your No-Code stack to go so fast?
Bubble was used to create the app. The database, the UI, the login and all the logic was created using Bubble.
CoAlias was used to create customer portals. So each customer could have their own portal, on their own subdomain and their own brand, to allow people to do data requests.
Basis Lab was used for 90% of all the UI elements. It’s basically a repository of elements to create Bubble apps.
Made with frames was used for the other 10% of UI elements (some delete dialogues and confirmation dialogues).
How have you attracted users?
I immediately reached out to Eric, a Chief Security Officer in my network, to pitch the solution to validate the idea. I send him a message using LinkedIn. In a 30-minute call, I presented the problem, the solution, and gave a price of $3K for a 12-month license. I said I would double the price in a month and I was seeking initial customers. He bought it on the spot! Although I was happy with the sale, I realize didn’t like having security officers as my customers. So I thought I would sell the business to Martijn or anyone else who wanted to buy it. I had a customer and app but no domain, name or even website.
Tell us about the acquisition?
I approached Martijn, the consultant again. I was afraid he might think I'd stolen his concept. I pitched the ownership of the app for $36K plus 10% of all sales. I also told him that I would sell it to a competitor if he wasn’t interested. Martijn agreed. As a senior consultant he had enough budget to make the call. I transfered the Bubble app, helped with finding a Bubble developer and signed a contract that I wouldn’t share the app with anyone else.
I was amazed when I saw both payments arriving the next day on my bank account!
What's your advice for makers who are just starting out?
This incredible weekend adventure turned a simple idea into a $40K sale, but the key was being flexible all the time. Talk to people inside companies, understand their problems and priorities, and see how No-Code can turn manual processes into automated solutions.
The journey I've shared isn't just a success story; it's a testament to the power of No-Code and the endless possibilities it offers. These No-Code tools empower us to create, innovate, and turn ideas into reality faster than ever before.
Where can we go to learn more about you?
Follow me on Twitter or visit CoAlias.
🛟 Some links
Join the next Build to Exit Challenge (25% discount)
Filter through all the succes stories here
Buy the No-Code Maker Workbook
Talk to you next week dear readers and let me know (hit reply) if you go to No-Code Summit!
Loved this post!