First no-code tool ever

No-code is not a new phenomenon and this concept has existed for a long time.

However, in recent years, a concoction of ubiquitous connectivity and our great incentive for productivity has fueled the expansion of the SaaS industry ad no-code tools like never before.

The for software, coupled with advancements in technology and a growing desire to build independent, profitable businesses, has fueled the current no-code movement

It all started in 1985

Microsoft released the first version of Excel in 1985 ( for Mac), followed by the Windows version in 1987. Even though Excel’s arch-enemy, Google Sheets, has marched past it in terms of adoption by embracing the cloud, Excel expertise is a sought-after skill, especially in the fields of financial and data analysis. It's still used by millions around the world.

Excel’s power-users still use it for data manipulation, analyses, and visualization — all without writing a line of code. However, Excel is largely used offline as its online counterpart has limited functionality and doesn’t appeal to Excel nerds.

Over the past couple of years, the rise of the no-code movement has started to change the landscape of tech. Ironically, Lamdba School itself is a product of the no-code movement, building its MVP (that has served 3,000 students) using a combination of tools such as Typeform, Airtable, and Retool. The no-code movement has also been called low code or visual development. The makers of no-code platforms are still discussing the best label for the movement but for now, I will stick with ‘no/low-code’.

Which no-code have you used first?