In our latest episode of El Periscopio, the Lúcid podcast, we talk with Alex Bernardo, founder of No Code Hackersthe largest No Code community in Spanish.
With him, we dive into this world without code, explore in depth the No Code movement, its benefits for digital product design and reflect on fascinating topics such as product culture, the power of tools in the design process, team management and much more.
As usual, we have prepared this summary article highlighting the key moments of the conversation between Alex and our Digital Director, Guillermo Lucini.
"No Code is a movement that allows diverse profiles to turn ideas into reality."
We started the conversation with an introductory question in which we asked Alex to define No Code. He had a clear answer: "It doesn't matter what No Code is, but who it is aimed at".
According to Alex, "No Code is for people who have no idea how to program, but have the ability to execute ideas and shape them easily". At the same time, it is also a movement for developers, as it allows them to work on ideas faster to make them a reality.
Alex recognizes that No Code is still emerging and is relatively unknown in the product design world. Its evolution depends on the community behind it. He cites the example of the Webflow community, one of the largest in the movement, explaining how the platform thrives on the collective effort of users documenting and sharing their knowledge.
The tool changes the way we design
"The tool changes the way we design." Alex quotes Maximo Gavete to illustrate the impact No Code tools have on the design process. "These tools are designed for and from the product, which makes the design process more efficient and simplified."
Alex classifies the tools into three main groups: web product design, highlighting Webflow and major websites such as Mango and Iberia, both designed with this platform; application design, where he recommends Glide, BravoStudio and Flutterflow; and a third category he calls operations, where he suggests Bubble, Software and automation tools such as Zapier and Notion, which he defines as a productivity tool.
Essential for the early stages of design
In the early stages, it is crucial to have flexibility for iteration, and No Code tools provide speed and efficiency to achieve product objectives without wasting excessive time and resources.
"In 90% of the early design phases, No Code should be essential because the speed of iteration it offers is incredible," recommends Alex.
"Product culture means rewarding failure."
This reflection on iteration led to another key topic: product culture, a term used frequently by our Director of Digital, who asked Alex how he understood the concept. Again, Alex was clear: "Product culture means rewarding failure."
"Starting from the premise that we don't know anything, testing and always relying on data to make decisions is having a product culture," Alex says.
"That doesn't mean betting the whole company on every experiment," Alex continued, "but giving departments like Marketing and Product independence to run experiments without development is a turning point."
Limitations that are not a decisive factor
When asked about the limitations of No Code, Alex mentioned the native restrictions of certain tools. However, he explained that each tool offers its own solutions and emphasized the importance of the community in overcoming challenges, as the collective knowledge within the community helps to solve difficulties.
The absence of code as a paradigm shift
Looking ahead, Alex anticipates that No Code will become an important standard in companies. Specifically, he describes a two-way transition between marketing and product teams.
"No Code represents a paradigm shift in many ways. Among other things, it directly impacts business models and work processes," concludes Alex.
