The Reality of No-Code Development (Lessons Learned at South Summit in Spain)

🚀 Attending South Summit!

Today, I attended South Summit, a startup event co-hosted by IE Business School. This three-day event gathered startups and investors from all across Europe, offering a unique opportunity to explore cutting-edge products and tech trends.

💡 The Talk I Was Most Excited About: "The Real Limits of Vibe Coding"

One of the sessions I was most looking forward to was Álvaro Moya’s talk: "Vibe Coding: The Real Limits of No-Code".
He shared insights on building apps using natural language instructions (vibe coding), the current limitations of no-code tools, and how to use them effectively.
📌 (Key takeaways from this session are summarized at the end of this article.)

🤖 No-Code Tools Are Rapidly Evolving

Something I’ve been noticing lately is this:
The more someone is comfortable with coding, the less likely they are to try no-code tools.
That makes sense—if you already know how to code, you might not feel the need.
Still, no-code platforms have evolved incredibly fast.

Tools like Adalo, once considered a pioneer, are being overtaken by platforms like Bubble, which seems to be gaining more traction these days. I tried both—Bubble feels more powerful, but also comes with a steeper learning curve.

When it comes to vibe-coding, Lovable is currently the hot topic. I gave it a try, but when it came to making fine-grained edits, it was tough to get the prompts just right. In the end, I found myself back on Adalo for now.

🧑‍💻 A Tip from a Student I Met at the Event

After the talk, I had a great conversation with a student sitting nearby who also uses Lovable. He shared a great tip:
He boosts prompt precision by combining Claude and Task Master before feeding them into Lovable. Interesting idea—I’d love to test that out.

Moya also recommended tools like Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and Windsurf, which I plan to explore in upcoming development sprints.

🌍 Unexpected Encounters

Many startups had booths at the event, and one that caught my attention was Shaker, a Spanish platform that connects European freelancers—including developers—with new projects.
We’re planning a meeting next week to explore potential collaboration for our team.

🔜 What’s Next

Inspired by what I learned at South Summit, I’ll continue building the MVP for FIT4U.
I'm looking forward to connecting with more people with no-code development & data analytics! Connecting with people who bring fresh skills and ideas is always energizing—and I’m excited to see where these conversations lead.

Next week, I’m stepping a bit out of my comfort zone: I plan to attend a Bubble user meetup in Madrid.
I even signed up for the open mic session (yes, a little nervous 😅), but I’m looking forward to sharing my experience and learning from others in return.

📌 Key Takeaways from Moya’s Talk

🛠️ What I Learned About Using No-Code Tools Like Bubble

⚡ The Allure of No-Code Tools (and Where They Work Best)

No-code tools like Bubble often generate a lot of excitement—especially among non-technical founders looking to quickly bring ideas to life. And for good reason:

• Great for MVPs: Solo founders or small teams can use no-code platforms to rapidly test and validate ideas.
• Ideal for certain use cases:
• • Landing pages (static content)
  • Interactive prototypes or mockups
  • Microapps for internal workflows
  • Simple data processing tools like time trackers or feedback forms

⚙️ The Rise of “Vibe-Coding” Tools

Sitting somewhere between no-code and full-code, a new class of “vibe-coding” tools is emerging—combining speed with greater flexibility for developers. Notable examples include:

• Lovable
• Replit
• Vercel (VIZ)
• Firebase
• Bolt

These tools let users give natural language instructions or lightweight code inputs to generate functional software quickly.

⚠️ The Hidden Risks and Limitations of No-Code

While no-code tools shine in the early stages, scaling a product built on them comes with real risks:

• Security & scalability issues: Most non-technical users don’t account for cybersecurity, edge cases, or backend optimization.
• Lack of version control: Many platforms don’t offer proper rollback features, making bug fixing hard.
• Tool limitations: Once you need complex integrations or advanced performance, tools like Bubble hit hard constraints.
• Scaling dangers: Apps that work fine at 100 users may crash (or expose vulnerabilities) at 1,000+ requests per minute.

🧩 As Startups Grow, Software Complexity Increases

To scale a product responsibly, founders must eventually consider areas like:

• Frontend & backend development
• Database design
• Cloud infrastructure
• Cybersecurity
• Testing & QA
• Performance optimization
• Monitoring & alerting
• 3rd-party integrations

No-code tools typically don’t handle all of this well—at least not without technical oversight.

💡 Best Practices & Strategic Advice

• Early-stage? Use no-code.
  No-code is perfect for building MVPs and testing assumptions fast.
• Growth stage? Bring in pros.
• • Hire experienced engineers to ensure scalability, performance, and solid architecture.
  • Even if you stay with no-code, work with developers who understand its strengths and limits.
  • Use AI tools like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or Windsurf to support development—but don’t skip foundational engineering practices.

🔮 The Future of Development

A few notable industry quotes:

• “The future of coding is no coding at all.” — GitHub CEO (2017)
• “Our job is to make programming obsolete; language should be human.” — Jason Huang
• Sam Altman predicts OpenAI’s dev tools may soon outperform the best engineers.

The takeaway?
AI and no-code tools will be powerful enablers—but only when guided by people who understand software deeply.

✅ Final Takeaway

Start with no-code to move fast, iterate quickly, and validate your ideas.
But if you’re serious about scaling, invest early in experienced technical talent—especially to address security, performance, and architecture from the ground up.