Not all that many years ago, programmers and coders ran the internet. They orchestrated websites, created revolutionary apps, and completely changed the way we used everything from laptops to phones and even watches and glasses.
Programmers are a key group of people who helped push advances in technology to what we know and love today. And while coders and tech-minded people are still doing wonderfully imaginative things with technology, its future is no longer just up to them.
Today, people without so much as an ounce of technical know-how are in control of the apps, software and programs we’re constantly using. They’re building complex databases for companies and solving widespread problems across the globe.
Because of the no-code platform boom over the past couple years, the average layman is now building apps with the best of them. Tools like Zapier, Bubble.is, Dropsource, and so many more are putting power into the hands of non-technical entrepreneurs, regardless of their background.
With that shift in opportunity and availability, it’s not just our technical future that’s changing anymore. Now, since programmers aren’t the only ones developing apps and software, our entire entrepreneurial future is twisting and expanding.
Non-tech people are building digital businesses and exploding their growth with apps. Not only that, they’re solving problems that previously went unaddressed. Even kids are thinking more technically-minded these days.
App development has seeped through its technical barriers, and our future is drastically changing because of it.
Here’s the effect it’s having, and why you should jump on board now.
Entrepreneurship growth
Programming knowledge is no longer necessary to build an app, which means starting a new business is far easier than it once was. In fact, in the U.S. alone, the number of entrepreneurship programs at universities grew from 180 to over 2,000 between 1990 and 2014. Not only that, 27 million Americans are starting businesses right now.
Alongside that growth in entrepreneurship is an explosion in web and mobile applications. Just last year, app revenue hit a whopping $60 billion.
Could there be a connection between the rapid growth of entrepreneurship and apps? I think so.
Related: How Startups Can Upgrade Their App Development
Business growth
I’m not just talking about a growth in the number of businesses. I’m talking about the growth of particular businesses. It’s no secret all the big companies in the world are coming out with their own apps—both for internal and external use. The reason? It helps them grow.
Apps allow businesses to:
- Stay front-of-mind with customers
- Build trust
- Grow social presences
- Personalize to individual customers
- Speed past competition
- Increase employee productivity
- Reduce data errors
It’s not just big companies benefitting from excelled growth, either.
Never before could a small mom-and-pop shop in the middle of nowhere, USA expand their reach to places like China, Chile, or Australia, if they’d like. But now, with the ability to develop apps on their own (without spending a fortune having one built for them), their businesses are becoming borderless.
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Problem solving
It’s not just businesses and startups changing alongside app development—the way in which we solve problems has morphed entirely. From business issues to personal pains, non-technical people are now looking to no-code app and website builders to create their own solutions.
Need an app to track the ongoing poker challenge you have with your friends? You can build it.
Want a system that aggregates new homes on the market for your network of realtors? You can build that, too.
In the past, you might have relied on another company to solve your problems. Now, you can simply hop on the computer and generate a remedy yourself.
Self reliance
When you were going through elementary, middle and high school, you learned regular things like science and social studies.
Do you know what kids today are learning?
Across the world, they’re being taught how to think computationally.
Computational thinking skills, as described by Digital Promise, give students “versatile approaches to problem solving.” They help students to use data to study and solve problems, and create algorithms for completing everyday processes.
Computational thinking teaches kids (and even adults in the workforce) how to solve both simple and complex problems by thinking like a coder, even if they’re not one.
Because of the advancements and changes we’ve seen in app development, methods like this are becoming the norm. People are no longer relying on others to come up with logical solutions. And with kids being taught to do the same from a young age, you can guarantee that trend will only strengthen over time.
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Are you on board?
The way app development is changing is drastically affecting the way our world looks and operates, both in the startup world and in personal life.
The question is, are you on board yet?
If your startup is in the works, and especially if you’re bootstrapping one, building an app has certainly been a topic of conversation for you—it might even encompass the entire core of your business.
If you’ve ever thought your growth or problem solving abilities were limited due to a lack of resources, though, that’s no longer the case. It’s time to live out your entrepreneurial dream, seek exponential growth and solve your technical problems in a more self-reliant way.
After all, what’s stopping you?
