How YOU Can Start A Tech Company & The Struggles You Have To Go Through (#66)
The GrowthTech Newsletter. By Sina Pahlevan. The Time Wizard.
Ok first of all, I don’t know why MidJourney keeps generating this girly anime art, but whatever.
I’m currently building my first career application and getting ready to launch it and I wanted to share what my partner and I currently going through to give you guys an idea of how hard it is actually ship a successful tech product.
Launching a successful tech company is the hardest thing to do in the world. It’s why it brings you the biggest return. It’s why the richest people in the world launch tech products.
Let me tell you how you can start and what you should expect.
The Team You Need To Assemble
I have a team of 2. I do believe you can launch a product with just yourself using no-code tools, but to launch a generational product… you need custom code.
My partner is a 20-year old from Ghana named Jason. He is my CTO and in charge of coding the backend to my product. I am acting as the frontend developer, designing and building a functional frontend to mix with his backend.
Jason is the reason I even have an opportunity to launch this product, so I owe this man a lot of thanks. This is why I am proud to call this dude my partner. I met him through Instagram, because he saw my content.
If you are a tech founder or an aspiring tech founder… you NEED to be posting content. There is no excuse. As a founder, you have a ridiculous advantage if you have a big brand. You have too much leverage, and you open the door for too many opportunities.
I’ve mentioned this in newsletters before, but use tools like Bubble, Adalo, Framer, Webflow, and others if you are building a product alone.
No-Code Tools For Tech Solopreneurs
Bubble
The best no-code tool for building web applications. You do not need any code whatsoever; the problem is you cannot export the backend code from Bubble. You have to ship features within the Bubble platform. You cannot take your product outside of Bubble.
Adalo
Great for mixing with custom code and launching mobile applications. Has a drag-and-drop method of designing as well, which is easier to learn. The design customizability is not as great as Bubble’s.
Framer
Easiest way to design a website. Use Framer to design the landing pages to your products, where you sell the product. Super easy to use and you can also import files directly from Figma, which makes the website building process a lot easier.
Webflow
One of the best website builders out there. I’m currently using this website builder to design a functional frontend, and then I’m going to export the code and connect it to the backend.
Do You Need Custom Code?
How big are your dreams? What type of product do you want to build?
If you want to make $2,000 - $20,000 a month, sure. Use a no-code tool. But just know, even $2,000 a month is a hard number to get to. And most people don’t get there.
“Everything you want is on the other side of hard.”
An application with custom code can solve far greater problems than limited no-code tools can… it’s just harder to execute. But in business, what’s harder to execute is harder to replicate. And that usually brings you the most success.
I got lucky with Jason, but my advice to all you founders out there is to connect with developers on the other side of the world, hungry for an opportunity. Jason is built different. He is very hungry and ambitious, so I suggest you connect with developers who have that same mindset.
But make sure you have something to offer them. Don’t just sell them on a dream. Prove yourself first, because software developers are much more respected and have more leverage than unproven founders with no skillset.
The Mental Struggles
Everyday… you run into like 5 different challenges. These challenges require MAXIMUM mental effort and focus to solve. The problem is that as soon as you solve one problem, you run into the next one.
You need to have a strong resolve. You need to be willing to go through the fire and keep the vision clear.
These puzzles will drain you. These puzzles will make you want to take a 5-minute break and go on your phone. They’ll make you want to quit. It’s easy to lose sight of what’s important and feel deflated.
You need to push through and continue chipping away at the product.
If you’ve ever seen those prison movies, where the main character has a plan to escape but it takes a while to execute. The entire movie is about his process and long journey of escaping the prison. The same can be applied to launching a successful tech product.
This will harden you mentally, unlike many things in our modern, entitled society.
Is It Worth It?
I don’t know. Ask Mark Zuckerberg. Ask Elon Musk. Ask Jeff Bezos.
Hell yes, it’s worth it. It’s the hardest game in the world, but it also brings about the most success. Launching a successful tech company.