Trend #005 - 🔥Nocode + ChatGPT = The New Power Couple...

Hey,

Every other Friday, I will send you a trend alert to make you the smartest person in the room about all things startup.

Today, we are going to break down the race to make startups leaner and faster.

What you will learn:

• The ONE industry most impacted by the No Code + AI power couple.

• Which month is the most popular month for launching a startup MVP?

• 3 ways Lean Startup 2.0 is different to the original version

• How to sell to cash-strapped founders - 4 pricing models to try

• Who used ChatGPT to build an app from scratch?

• Finally, a Web3 idea to disrupt the startup industry

• What I will be doing on the 6th of February

💌 Psst, want a free mention in this newsletter?

We are launching our referral program! Share this newsletter on Twitter, your newsletter (or anywhere!) and send me a screenshot or a link. I will link to you in the next issue! And if you don't know what to say, just write about a cool idea you found down below.

Let's get back to today's topic 👇

🤓So which industry are we diving into today?

The industry of "Startups" itself!

Specifically, we are talking about the mini-industry of Lean Startup, and the ecosystem around it - i.e. the venture capital investors, advisors, consultants, product teams and innovators.

🔎 What is Lean Startup?

But first, what’s lean startup?

Lean Startup is a no-nonsense approach to launching a new business or product. It's all about getting your MVP (minimum viable product) out there as fast as possible, gathering data, and using that data to make smart, strategic decisions. No wasted time, no wasted money - just straight-up hustle to turn your ideas into a real business.

👀 Trend spotted

Everyone in startup industry loves talking about building an MVP. Although the search volume for the term "MVP" isn't trending up necessarily, we can spot an interesting annual pattern 👀

There is HUGE spike every year in early February. That, my friend, is the effect of our collective New Year's resolution. 🥳Everyone wants to start a business at the beginning of the year... but fizzles out the following month.

DON'T be part of the statistic.

→ p/s: If you want some accountability, hit reply with what you plan to achieve and I will make you do it! (yes, for real).

Let's get back on topic.

🤔Why Silicon Valley loves lean startup?

Because it focuses on rapid iteration and experimentation. This means entrepreneurs can quickly identify and pivot away from bad ideas and double down on the good ones. It’s also data-driven (or at least it tries to be 🤓), which VCs love.

This is where No code + AI comes in.

😵 What's changed?

Lean Startup is all about being FAST. And new tools in the no-code and AI space are making the startup process ever FASTER:

• No Code tools: It is now easier, faster and cheaper to just build using tools like Softr (my current favourite), Typedream, and Airtable

• AI: Now anyone can (kinda) code something that’s good enough for an MVP beta (ChatGPT), recreate a bunch of assets for their website quickly (Read the Generative AI issue here), or even use ChatGPT as the backend.

• Platforms with better UX: Most people can try to set up a business to sell anything, just by creating an account. The learning curve to “start” is very low (getting sales is a different issue!)

Spencer used ChatGPT to build a prototype app:

🔥 Opportunities 

Whenever we talk about startups, we think about the founders. But there is a huge ecosystem around the startup industry that will be impacted by the latest startup tools. This includes the incubators, accelerators, product & innovation departments, and anyone working with startups as consultants and advisors.

With that in mind, let's brainstorm some opportunities:

1️⃣ Set up an innovation agency using newer tools.

It’s ironic that many innovation departments have standardized (read: OLD) processes and workflows for innovation.

So if you set up an innovation agency today with no-code tools you can spend less time on the building process and differentiate yourself by focusing more on other stuff, like creating an early adopter community for your client (another big trend we will cover in a future issue).

2️⃣ Lean Startup 2.0 Bootcamps

The first hackathon I participated in was in 2008. Every startup was heavily reliant on having its own tech expertise. Everyone fought hard for dev talents because otherwise, nothing could be built.

Now, we have plenty of no-code bootcamps that can bring almost any idea to life without tech.

For example:

 100 Days of No Code by Max Haining

Want to build with me?

🥳I am participating in the NoCode MVP Bootcamp starting February 6th👆

Hit me up if you want to join me. I have a $200 off code to share. 🤩

3️⃣ New pricing model for services (like marketing)

Most marketing services are still priced like they were 10 years ago ($ retainer per month). Startups NEED marketing advice but cannot typically afford to pay for retainers.

Demand > Supply = Opportunity Gap 🔥

There’s an opportunity to create more affordable marketing services for startups. And you can use creative pricing strategies so it does not have to be a race to the bottom.

• 💎You can charge based on performance fee or equity share like Jeremy:

• 💎Build it on Web3

Here’s a conversation I had with a VC friend of mine. Essentially, you’d build a tokenized platform where startups gain access to service providers who would be paid in tokens in lieu of fiat currencies like USD.

FoundershipHQ is a Web3 cohort-based program that is attempting this. Read their "How It Works" documentation.

→ If you are interested in tokenomics, don't listen to me. Check out Yehoshua's Designing Tokenomics 101 from First Principles instead.

- 💎 Create checklists, cheatsheets & challenges to help founders

Another way to help the growing number of bootstrapped entrepreneurs? DIY options.

Package your knowledge into bite-sized content and let your clients can do the work themselves. The game here is to help 1000s of businesses for $100 instead of 10 businesses for $1,000.

A newsletter marketing example: 30 days to 1000 subscribers by Anthony Castrio 

- 💎 New pricing model for services (professional services):

For highly skilled services like lawyers, accountants, high-level marketers, you can either:

• Productise your service to lower your servicing costs - Juni (All-in-one E-commerce finance).

• Fractional everything - Fractional CMO (MarketerHire), Fractional CFO (TopTal), Fractional COO…

But remember WHY you're doing this - it isn't to devalue your services, but rather, to create a new offering for a new category of bootstrapped entrepreneurs.

💀 Risks  

• Ever-changing tool-stack - The no-code industry is moving fast. Keeping on top of the latest tools makes scaling your product / service difficult.

• High-churn on the lower end - Most startups fail. Working with early-stage businesses has its own risks. Price your offering accordingly.

• Web3 & tokenomics - Beware of over-complicating the simplest of tasks when incorporating token payments into your business model.

Was this email useful?

My entire purpose in creating these emails are to highlight unusual opportunities for you to find your next big business idea.

I hope it's doing that. If it is, let me know by replying.

Until the next one,

Hazel

❤️ If you like What The Hype and want to support my work

• Share What The Hype with a friend and invite them to subscribe here. I am offering a free mention for every referral you make. 🙌

• Book an ad in What The Hype (check out our factsheet).

• Check out my Financial Runway Calculator for Solopreneurs. The calculator helps you figure out whether you should go all in on your business. I am looking for beta testers for this tool, just email me for a 50% off early user code.