How to stay motivated as Non-dev

Hi all, I'm a non-dev founder with 2 small profitable Shopify Apps.

This post isn't about my business, but rather sharing some resources for fellow non-dev who are looking to break into building bootstrapped online businesses (saas especially).

Being a non-dev, the early struggle is definitely on how to build my saas product, especially MVP. I have tried looking into no-code / learning to code / hiring someone off Fiverr (My income can't afford most Upwork dev, as I am not from US / EU / developed countries).

I end up working with an ex-colleague who started on freelance basis and later become my tech partner, and it's been going well. There is no one way how you should go about this, as everyone (especially non-dev) has their own constraints, but know that it is possible. Staying motivated is probably the single most important thing for non-dev.

In the early days when I am still unsure what to build / what to do; I stay motivated by looking for podcast/article featuring non-dev founders and their experience. I recently went through my podcast list and compiled some of them (surprisingly not a lot) into the Google Sheet below:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1txEQb0SuQCBgtR31VrReI71y2VQ2cJ4XNaWz3idIBKY/edit?usp=sharing

The list is not perfect as it is meant for my own, but it fits my criteria (internet biz with recurring revenue that has nothing to do with physical goods) and answered some questions like:

• How non-dev founders go through different hoops to finally build their products
• Negotiating with tech partners
• Getting ideas
• What to do while the app is being developed, and how they work with dev

I hope this can help some of you out there. I will try my best to update the list when I found more resources like this.

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Quick takes on why these didn't end up working for me (but they might still work for you):

1) No-code

I have a specific Shopify app idea in mind, and it has to adhere to various Shopify App Store guideline + integrate with Shopify, so no-code wouldn't be able to do this.

2) Learning to code

I am savvy enough to understand many technical concepts due to my job as a project manager. But after learning to code for awhile, I simply don't see this as something I enjoy doing and I rather pass this part to someone who enjoy coding.

3) Hiring someone off Fiverr or other marketplaces

The biggest mistake I made here was I took a pretty hands-off manner expecting the freelancer to understand everything. On higher level, working with a professional freelancer means being charged by the hour for any changes / request, and this doesn't really work well with my very limited budget.