Phil Lakin - How an enterprise no-code startup went from zero to one to Zapier acquisition!

👉🏼 About the Guest:Philip Lakin is the co-founder and CEO of NoCodeOps, a community and automation management platform (Operator) dedicated to supporting operations professionals that are reimagining the future of internal innovation with no-code. He was previously the Solutions Architect for National Operations at Compass where he built the onboarding program for over 15,000 real estate agents across the United States. He has more than 8 years of experience in operations, internal system implementation, field marketing, and onboarding.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one, as well as running Founder Gigs, a resource to discover flexible gigs while building your dream business.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/This episode is brought to you by Sunset. They handle all the legal, tax, and operational burdens when shutting down — making sure founders and investors avoid penalties, reduce liabilities, and immediately move on to what's next. If you're interested in learning more, visit sunsethq.com to meet with a representative for their team. And make sure to mention the Undefeated Underdogs Podcast to get $2K off of your dissolution.👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Phil discuss how to the best nocode tools, how to sell your company, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight01:25: Shoutout to Acquire.com and Sunset04:43: Introduction to Phil Lakin - co-founder and CEO of NoCodeOps10:22: How acting led Phil to the world of no-code15:30: What Phil would tell his beginner no-code self19:30: Phil's 0 to 1 journey to building NoCodeOps and raising $5M+26:00: Why Phil loves no-code31:10: How no-code fits into today's tech stack37:10: Predictions for the future of no-code and the best no-code tools45:25: The downsides of AI and no-code52:55: The journey: going from founding NoCodeOps to being acquired by Zapier56:16: What's next for Zapier with Phil as Head of Enterprise Innovation?59:49: Advice for younger founders1:04:31: How to balance being a parent and a founder1:08:59: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Link to Sunset: https://www.sunsethq.comButternut AI: https://butternut.ai/Butternut AI Podcast Episode: https://undefeatedunderdogs.com/60👉🏼 Where to find Phil:NoCodeOps: https://www.nocodeops.com/about-usTwitter: https://x.com/philiplakinLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-lakin👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/