What's your personal background? What motivated you to start your own company? 

So my first few business ventures were kinda ok. I started selling old vintage Louis Vuitton bags that I got from Japan. Bags were old but authentic so I could make a profit on this.

I always knew that business was the only option for me because I had no choice. I was in the national sports teams all my teens years. So I had to figure out how to make money without a 9-5 as I was spending one week in the city and one week on a training camp. This led to me starting and running my own lead generation agency. Over the past few years, I’ve helped generate $1.5M in pipeline for agencies, Y Combinator startups and software companies.

At some point, I was also an SDR as I wanted to try to go the corporate route. Didn’t enjoy it but I realised that many sales reps (like me) like to hustle in their free time. So this is how the Orapa was born - “side hustle for sales reps”.

What no code tools did you use to build Orapa and what purpose did each play in the final product?

I used Webflow CMS to be a frontend of the platform. This is a way I display data and gather information for users. As a backend, I use Airtable and automate everything via Zapier. To take payments, manage users and upsells I use Memberstack. I also get notifications from Slack on any major event on the platform.

My inspiration for this was UnicornFactory as the founder posted this cool tutorial.

What were the initial costs to get Orapa off the ground?

Since I had my agency tool for outreach like Apollo.io ($99/mo) and G Suite account ($6/mo), I need only to pay $20/mo for the Webflow CMS plan.

What was the process of building your product from idea to launching?

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I always try to sell the idea first. So I ask potential users if this would be valuable for them. If I get enough of yeses, I build a simple landing page and start sending out cold emails. Goal is to sell it first to 3 customers. Then you can build.

Tip: launch fast and often. And launching doesn’t mean releasing a product that users can use but (for me) it means selling your product and seeing that $ in your stripe account.

How do you attract customers?

As you may have guessed - cold email. Posting on forums also works.

What are the biggest challenges you've overcome building Orapa?

My biggest challenge is making sure that everyone is happy on the platform. The way I solve this challenge is by building a personal relationship with members.

What's your advice for non-technical people who want to start a company? 

Sell it first. I know that this advice won’t apply to everyone but to ones that are willing to learn the skill of sales. Don’t start a project that you can’t sell first. Having something to show for is a nice-to-have but not must-to-have. It will be harder to sell but if you succeed in sales you are on the right track.

What are your future plans for Orapa?

I don’t need outside capital right now as the revenues are high and we’re very profitable but I’m leaning towards going the VC route. Plus my biggest dream is to be able to participate in Y Combinator so I’d love to take Orapa there.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Just. Start. Selling. Learn how to sell and your venture won’t die. Work like your livelihood depends on it.