No-Code Velocity, Strategic Pricing, and Next-Gen Retail Innovations

Welcome back to another edition of the Start-up Scale-it Newsletter!

Every week, we strive to provide you with the most actionable and relevant advice to propel your entrepreneurial journey.

Here's what we've got lined up for you this week:

• Harnessing the power of no-code for faster product development
• Strategies to optimize your SaaS pricing for growth
• Managing members and access with Memberstack
• Next-Gen Retail Experience ideas to boost creativity
• Latest funding opportunities

Whether you're at the ideation stage or rapidly scaling, my mission is to equip you with the insights and resources to turn your big ideas into thriving ventures.

Ready for another week of breakthroughs and progress? Let's dive in!

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???Startup 101

No-Code Tools to Accelerate Product Development

No-code tools are revolutionizing the way startups build products. By enabling non-technical founders to rapidly prototype and build without coding expertise, these tools significantly speed up development cycles and enable quicker validation and iteration of product visions.

In the resource-constrained world of startups, the ability to make progress independently is invaluable. Some of the top no-code options to consider include:

• Bubble:?Enables anyone to build fully customizable, interactive web products, and complex workflows. Especially popular for software/SaaS companies given robust database management and automation features.
• Webflow:?Allows designers and entrepreneurs to visually design, develop, and launch dynamic, CMS-powered websites using a drag-and-drop interface and vast library of customizable templates. Provides flexibility to build intricate animations and web apps.
• AppMaster:?Makes it possible to model backend application logic, and database schemas, integrate APIs, and automate business processes through a visual interface. It auto-generates source code for iOS, Android, and web apps.
• Glide:?Focused on enabling easy development of feature-packed mobile applications tailored for specific enterprise/industry use cases like field services, logistics, operations, etc without coding.

With the rising maturity of no-code platforms, non-technical founders can gain more independence, flexibly test prototypes, accelerate go-to-market velocity, and dedicate scarce early resources judiciously.

Ensure there is sufficient technical oversight and planning for future scaling, compliance, and robustness as adoption grows. No code does not mean no plan.

Achieving the right balance allows pre-launch and early-stage startups to progress faster during the riskiest phase.

Want to dive deeper? Check out my detailed blog post:

???Scale Up Step-by-Step

Optimize SaaS Pricing Plans with 8 Strategies

1. Test Multiple Pricing Tiers: Offer tiered pricing plans tailored to diverse customer needs, utilizing customer segmentation and willingness to pay insights for effective pricing strategies.

2. Free Trials, Freemium Models, or Discounted Entry Prices: Provide low-risk entry points with basic features to attract customers and encourage trials, expanding the user base.

3. Tie Pricing to Usage Volume or Number of Users: Align pricing with value consumption by charging based on user activity for variable usage products or the number of users for predictable usage products.

4. Volume Discounts for Annual Contracts: Incentivize long-term commitments to secure recurring revenue, reduce churn, and provide stability for both the customer and the business.

5. Bundle Value-Adds into Higher Priced Packages: Include additional features or services in higher-priced tiers, offering more value for a premium price.

6. Grandfather Early Adopters at Lower Price Points: Retain early supporters by allowing them to keep their original pricing to foster loyalty and encourage brand advocacy.

7. Continuously A/B Test Pricing Page Copy and Plan Packaging: Experiment with different pricing page layouts, plan descriptions, and pricing tiers to optimize conversion rates, gaining data-driven insights for improving pricing effectiveness.

8. Analyze Willingness to Pay and Adjust Pricing Routinely: Continuously refine pricing based on feedback, trends, and competitor analysis to ensure alignment with market conditions and customer expectations.

??Founder Approved

Founder Approved: Memberstack for Membership Experiences

For entrepreneurs, startups, and platforms needing to manage users and access, implementing a full-fledged membership system can be daunting. That's why Memberstack was built.

Memberstack seamlessly integrates membership infrastructure like authentication, access controls, subscriptions, and payments into sites built on Webflow or other no-code sites, allowing you to launch fast without engineering bottlenecks.

With Memberstack you can:

• Turn static sites into secure, members-only portals
• Manage users and access rules granularly
• Monetize offerings through flexible subscription plans and pricing tiers
• Save months of dev time and complexity

If you need robust user management and monetization for your platform or offering, Memberstack helps startups move at speed without compromising on functionality, security, or design. Check it out!

???Bright Ideas

Next-Gen Retail Experience Concepts

This week's Bright Ideas highlights innovations that deliver exceptional, tech-enabled shopping experiences blending the best of online and offline retail worlds. Explore these promising omnichannel retail concepts:

Virtual Try-On

• Description:?Allows online shoppers to visually try on clothes and assess fit using AR technology before purchasing.
• USP:?Provides an engaging, simulated try-on experience remotely.

Smart Checkout

• Description:?Enables fast, convenient self-checkout without cashiers via computer vision AI and sensor fusion technology.
• USP:?Frictionless, cashier-less autonomous retail checkout.

Automated Returns

• Description:?Streamlines processing of online order returns by automatically validating items, assessing conditions, and initiating refunds with AI.
• USP:?Rapid hassle-free returns for e-commerce purchases.

Digital Personal Stylists

• Description:?On-demand personalized style advice and outfit recommendations via real-time chat and video consultations with professional stylists.
• USP:?Instant access to personalized styling assistance.

Predictive Inventory

• Description:?Leverages historical sales data, seasonality, trends, etc. to forecast demand and optimize future inventory planning and stocking levels with AI.
• USP:?Data-driven predictive inventory optimization.

Let the ideas flow but stay focused on addressing real problems experienced by marketing professionals. Research the market landscape and tailor your concept to provide a better solution!

???Opportunities Spotlight

Deadline 11/24

Cronos Accelerator

• Offer:?A 3-month program for teams building the Internet of the future.
• Apply Here

Deadline 11/26

Bronze Valley Investment Accelerator

• Offer:?$100,000 cash investment into high-growth startups and focuses on supporting female entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color.
• Apply Here

Deadline 11/27

Goodie Nation + Lenovo: Evolve Small

• Offer:?$15,000 grant to 18 companies, a Lenovo laptop,12 months of business support, and mental health support from CWC Coaching & Therapy.
• Apply Here

Deadline 11/30

The Fifteen Percent Pledge Achievement Award

• Offer:?$200K grants available for 3 finalists.
• Apply Here

Deadline 12/1

Stacy’s Rise Project

• Offer:?$25,000 business grant, executive mentorship, increased visibility, peer network, and spotlight feature on FoundedbyHer.org
• Apply Here

Deadline 12/1

Getty Images Creative Grant

• Offer:?? One first-place recipient: $10,000; one second-place recipient: $7,000; one third-place recipient: US$3,000.
• Apply Here

Seize these golden opportunities and elevate your business to new heights! ????

???That's A Wrap!

That wraps up this week's newsletter!

I hope you found value in the carefully curated tips and resources. My goal is to provide you with that slight edge and fresh perspective to stay ahead.

Please let me know your biggest takeaway or any suggestions for future editions!

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Eager to dig deeper? Check out my blog for extended versions of articles, guides, and thought leadership content on entrepreneurship.?Visit Blog

Remember - the only way to fail is to stop taking risks. So stay curious, be bold, and continue chasing those big dreams.

Until next week,

Oluseun for Start-up Scale-it