Building and Selling Software Companies Without Coding Experience

Executive overview

Most people assume software is too technical or expensive to start. Kieran O'Brien sold two software companies in 18 months — neither requiring him to write a line of code. Both were productized APIs wrapped in clean UIs, built to solve problems he personally experienced.

The playbook: find an underserved segment around an existing API, validate with surveys before building, launch an MVP fast, and build distribution before you need it.

You don't need to code to build a software company — you need to understand a problem better than anyone else.

The productized API model

• All three of Kieran's companies were existing APIs wrapped in a clean user interface
• MediaKits.com pulled social platform APIs to create a live, shareable influencer analytics page
• Agency Reporting pulled a CRM's API to give marketing agencies a consolidated dashboard
• New venture: AI-powered vertical SaaS for the auto repair industry using POS software APIs
• Software defensibility comes from brand and distribution, not the code itself
• Anyone can replicate the code; relationships and channels are the real moat

Validating before building

• MediaKits started as a Figma clickable prototype sent to influencers via DM
• A Typeform survey with branching logic gathered pricing, use case, and objection data
• ~400 survey responses helped set the $29/month price point
• Agency Reporting was validated in a CRM vendor's Facebook group overnight — 400 waitlist signups in a day
• Define your MVP as the most stripped-down version that delivers the core outcome, not the full vision
• Launch far earlier than feels comfortable; waiting for a polished product is the most common first-time mistake

Raising money strategically

• MediaKits raised $1.5M at a $5M valuation with no revenue — only mockups
• Took 350 one-on-one calls over 9 months; 30 investors said yes
• Strategic investors (Wiz Khalifa, Josh Richards) opened doors money alone couldn't buy
• Investors are capital allocators by profession — reframe fundraising as giving them an opportunity, not asking for help
• For most founders: bootstrap first, raise only from investors who bring strategic value beyond cash
• Recommended resource: Fundraising by Ryan Breslow

Growth without a paid marketing budget

• MediaKits spent only $40,000 on paid marketing across its entire lifetime
• Product-led growth (PLG): users shared their media kit links publicly, driving organic signups
• Went from 5–6 signups/day to 500/day after one TikTok video (posted by investor Josh Richards)
• Second viral wave hit the Twitch streamer community on Twitter, which triggered a new integration build
• New venture built a Facebook group of thousands of small business owners before launching the product
• Distribution channel (community) built before the product; customers now promote the software inside the group

Selling the companies

• MediaKits sold after ~18 months; acquisition offer and a new funding round at 8-figure valuation were both on the table
• Chose to sell partly because Meta and YouTube were building competing native tools
• Agency Reporting sold to Iman Gadzhi directly via text message — 30-minute Zoom, one-week wire transfer
• Could have sold on Acquire.com (had active offers); direct relationship made it faster and fee-free
• Micro-acquisitions are a real market: people build and sell simple API-wrapper SaaS products on Acquire.com routinely

The framework for starting a SaaS company in 2023

• Find a niche, unsexy problem in an industry you know from the inside
• Take an existing API (social platform, CRM, POS software, LLM) and build a clean UI around it
• Add contextual data and guardrails to a large language model to make it industry-specific
• Use no-code tools (Bubble, Make.com) — barrier to entry has never been lower
• Build distribution before product: community, channel partners, or owned audiences
• First business should be a service business; earn the cash and industry knowledge, then move to software

Common founder mistakes

• Building in private too long before launching; ship the MVP and iterate with real users
• Focusing on product features over distribution — second-time founders flip this priority
• Hiring developers without even a baseline understanding of how software is built
• Treating headcount or funds raised as success metrics instead of revenue, EBITDA, or revenue per employee
• Letting feature scope expand before the core product is validated