Trying this on for size…

“No code” isn’t a coherent category. It’s a design philosophy.

But tools built with this philosophy in mind will be the biggest winners of the next decade.

Let me explain what I mean by way of analogy.

Most software is like a linear video game.

Sure, you can make some decisions along the way, but you’re basically just going from A to B.

You upload the doc, and sign it. You import your expenses, and categorize them.

“No code” is Super Mario 64. Open world vs. linear.

You can go (almost) anywhere and do (almost) anything. You are exploring worlds, not levels.

You’re no longer just following the guardrails from A to B. You’re designing the system itself to match your specific needs.

Now, just like there will always be a place for linear video games, there will always be a market for “linear” vertical-specific software.

But once people have experienced three dimensions, it can be hard to go back to two.

Three dimensions is immersive. Three dimensions is empowering. Three dimensions is addictive.

How much more time has been spent playing open world games vs. linear games?

This is why if I were an investor, I’d be betting big on “no code” right now.

But when I say "no code" I don't mean, say, any tool with a Zapier integration.

I mean: open world software. Software designed in 3D. Software that trusts its users with the power to *build.*

A few categories that could stand to be redesigned in 3D:

-FP&A
-Data modeling

What else?

Any new "open world software" companies out there?