AppLab

So you're building your first app and keep hearing words like "backend" and "runtime," but not sure what the hell those are? You're not alone! Ethan Rodriguez-Torrent is the creator behind Wreck Havoc, a virtual team-building game that uses an AppGyver web app in gameplay. He tells us how he overcame jargon barriers to teach himself no-code, and offers a few tips for beginners on entering the world of game development.

We'd also like to correct the statement made about saunas in Finland: the estimate is actually 1 sauna per household, not 1 per person because that would be crazy (even for Finland).

Let's be honest--we've all been held back by fear of failure, or just being too scared to ask questions at some point. Today Bryony Harrower tells us exactly how she plans to change that with a new made-in-AppGyver app called Starhatch. A SaaS product manager by day and aspiring physicist by night, Bryony is on a mission with Starhatch to build a space where people can take on learning journeys of any kind, and with the right kind of motivation.

Erin Wagner is the founder of Gomigo, which has a clearcut goal: curing loneliness and making your social lives more fun. Erin shares some of the epic saga of Gomigo's many iterations, some insider tips for getting your apps production-ready, and how growing up in a family with autism has given her unexpected superpowers in app development.

Today we’re deep-diving into developer topics with Tim Neutkens, who leads Next.js team at Vercel and is proof that you don’t need to know everything to create something awesome! Tim tells us what kept him motivated to keep going on a self-taught developer journey, how curiosity and productivity led to his dream job, and how open source can be a valuable resource in learning. He also gives some practical tips on how to get projects seen and recognized on GitHub.

Why are digital communities an essential part of developing great software? What should be the key metric to keep in mind when shipping a new product? And what kind of app could Kevin McCallister from Home Alone use to make sure those awful parents of his never abandon him again? We get into all of this and more in our chat with Lacey Kesler, expert in online communities and no-code education.

What can no-code do for Africa? Nadia Mutoni is the founder and program coordinator at NoCode Campus in Kigali, Rwanda. She shares what motivated her to return to her home country and some of the challenges in starting the free training program. Nadia also tells why she sees the no-code movement and application development as a huge opportunity for innovation and positive change in Africa.

Welcome to AppLab Episode 1! We meet Akseli Virtanen, Head of Developer Inspiration at AppGyver. Akseli shares his thoughts on the no-code movement, why making software is 99% failure (but also kind of like playing the guitar), and how thinking like an 8-year-old kid can benefit you throughout the learning journey. Bonus geek content: Akseli invents an "app on the spot" for Star Wars characters, and we speculate on whether tech is headed towards the way of Star Trek (spoiler alert: it is!).