Interview With Metaranx Co-Founder And CEO Samantha Lloyd
Interview with Metaranx CEO Samantha Lloyd: insights on the no-code industry, Metaranx updates, and advice for entrepreneurs
TABLE OF CONTENTS
💼 Business questions
Can you describe what it is about the no-code industry that you like?
The no-code community is a really standout group of entrepreneurs and enthusiastic early adopters. They are not afraid to try new platforms and provide honest feedback. As a startup founder, you need customer input to iterate your product to successfully create something people want and need to use regularly.
The no-code community has really allowed us to build Metaranx in a way that’s valuable to them and I’m so appreciative of that. The no-code market is expected to hit 53B by 2024 - it’s here to stay!
Can you describe your company/platform in the length of a tweet? (140 characters)
"Metaranx is a no code AI builder. Use and build AI applications on our software platform!", - said Samantha Lloyd
Can you share any exciting updates or developments that are planned for Metaranx in the next 12 months?
We recently released our new Twitter Analyzer which allows you to search Tweets from any handle, keyword, or combination of the two and then run them through sentiment analysis in a couple of clicks. You can see our quick video walkthrough here.
Our next steps include moving into open beta and adding new language AI tools, such as text extraction and labeling. We announce everything on our social channels so stay tuned!
What do you believe will be the biggest trend in no-code in the next 5 years?
Currently, COVID-19 is driving demand for low and no-code applications. I believe these applications will be needed to help businesses manage remote work and teams and scale those operations with ease.
Many companies have claimed they will remain remote for a long period of time or potentially indefinitely, post-COVID. No code applications allow anyone to build what they need with ease - so HR or product or marketing teams could create what they need to operate their part of a business without having to involve development or IT resources. I can see a lot of no-code applications being created by human resources departments for remote work onboarding, learning, culture, and more.
Any advice for non-technical entrepreneurs with an idea for an online business who are put off by limited technical skills?
No code platforms make it possible to create anything so you can validate your idea. You can create websites, email newsletters, phone and web applications, and artificial intelligence applications without needing to understand programming.
I really believe anything is possible with no code but even if these options aren’t scalable for you in the long term, they can provide you validation and traction in your ideation stage so you can know if it’s right to move into the development phase.
🧔 Personal questions
Did you always know that you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
A lot of people ask if I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur but I’m not sure it’s the right question. I always knew I wanted to lead something and as a kid, I would come up with ideas and businesses and plans, but I didn’t know I wanted to be an entrepreneur specifically.
I’m not even sure I was aware of that word until I started watching Dragon’s Den. I just love having an idea, putting it out there, and seeing if people respond well to it. There’s so much satisfaction in sharing what you want to build, creating it, and having people actually use it and provide feedback (whether positive or negative!).
Entrepreneurship is full of ups and downs and hard work and throwing away that hard work. Every day is different with a new project that requires creative thinking and tough decisions and I believe that’s what I was always looking for.
What are some of the obstacles you have faced growing your company and how did you overcome them?
We try to share a lot of our process on our blog with regards to product iteration. I think it’s a challenge for any person to completely scrap what they’ve built to build something different based on the feedback received. What we had built in the early days did not resonate with our target audience, so we started again from scratch.
Product iteration is a process of continually speaking with users and building a product that both solves a problem and is a great user experience. We’re still in that phase (though I’d argue you never really leave it!) and are always making changes to achieve that.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
I wasn’t given the advice specifically, but on our podcast, a guest said something interesting that made me reassess my perceived risk. We were discussing risk versus reward and he said something about the risk not being as much as you perceive it to be for the reward.
This made me think about how rewarding it can be to take a chance. I always push for a calculated risk - save your money, budget effectively for a proper runway, and know what you’re getting yourself into and what you are willing to sacrifice in order to achieve your goals.
🤪 Fun questions - quickfire
12 start-ups in 12 months vs 1 start-up in 1 year?
One startup in one year.
Investment vs bootstrapping?
Bootstrapping.
Zoom vs Google meets?
Google meets.
Design vs Development?
They go hand-in-hand - you can’t have one without the other.
Ideation stage vs Development stage?
Development all the way - get out of ideation as fast as possible.