No code App Builder vs Hire Developer/Agency
This question is for entrepreneurs without a tech background. Would you rather build an App yourself using a no code tool? Or, hire someone to build it? (Keeping in mind that most No code tools are a subscription model)
If you pick hire someone, would you like them be on autopilot and figure out most things? Or you would like to be part of every detail?
this question has an easy out: "it depends" and... that's because it really does.
every entrepreneur is different... and they are going to have different strengths and weaknesses. some will find it liberating to use a #nocode tool... and you can build some really impressive stuff very quickly!
but that might not be of interest to some folk who'd rather partner or find someone to help them technically (and they have the financial means or can use equity as payment).
...
but...... ...... ....
if i was sitting across the table from any entrepreneur... i'd challenge them first to build something themselves. this would force them to really encounter the problem space and it would also force them to creatively think through solutions. it saves time and you learn a ton in the process. i wouldn't trade this learning opportunity for anything in the world!
another vantage: i've been a software engineer for 22-years... and it's frustrating to meet someone who hasn't attempted anything at all but wants me to build everything for them, INCLUDING all of the assumptions baked in!
much more interesting to work with folks who have tried things, know the space intimately and empirically, and have discovered that getting some technical help is the absolute best (and last) solution that they've tried. that motivates me because it tells me that this person gives a serious fuck about figuring this out and will do anything they can to get there. scrappy af.
every fucking detail.
+1000 to what @8bit said.
Outsourcing to a dev shop doesn't mean you outsource thinking about the big hairy challenges of your business.
If you outsource the "figuring out most things," then it's no longer your business.
omg. what a great comment. yes.
I would go down the no code route if it was just myself, I did it with my last business and got to £400k per year until it got a bit too painful (and the no code tools that we have today weren't available).
you learn a ton in the process! yaaaaaaas!