Gaby Román once paid a traditional development agency $20,000 for a prototype that hardly worked — and vowed to never make that mistake again. After discovering Bubble, she quickly realized her passion wasn’t just in building for herself, but in helping others unlock dreams of their own through the magic of no-code.

Today, Gaby and her co-founder, Kristen, run Coaching No Code Apps, where they’ve helped hundreds of ambitious people launch and grow businesses through Bubble. In fact, Gaby was one of the first 100 Bubble-Certified Developers — so you know she’s the real deal. In our latest Developer Spotlight, Gaby shares how Bubble has changed her life, how she uses emojis in the Bubble editor to fuel efficiency, and why she believes learning no-code is such an essential skill.

Tell us your Bubble story.

Before finding Bubble, I was a post-production video editor in New York City, which is where I met Kristen, my co-founder at Coaching No Code Apps. Neither of us had programming backgrounds, but I had an idea for an app and was beginning to pursue it outside of work.

I quickly realized that I was getting myself into more than I'd bargained for after spending nearly $20,000 with an outsourced development agency. What I received on the other end was a barely working prototype!

I started looking for alternative ways to build an app. That led me to Bubble, which was in its very, very early stages at the time. Still, I was blown away by the possibilities, as well as the amazingly helpful community. 

I was hooked immediately and found that overall, I most enjoyed learning the platform. That ended up becoming more of a passion than my particular app idea at the time!

What does your career look like today?

Today, Kristen and I help folks launch apps using Bubble. We personally [guide] hundreds of entrepreneurs through an “idea to launch” process where they work directly with us. We've also had thousands of students go through our course videos, and many more leverage our content on YouTube.

It's such an awesome experience… we're constantly blown away by what folks are achieving.

How has becoming a Bubble Developer unlocked doors for your career?

Prior to turning a hobby into the business we have today, Kristen and I both lived the typical 9–5 routine, with employers, commutes, and to be honest, not much control over our day-to-day lives. Because we've been able to grow our own business, we now have flexibility, control, and so many more options. 

Bubble has always been the core no-code platform we've loved using, and it's hard to imagine living life without it. At this point, we consider it a staple — not only for our own clients, but for the tools we create for ourselves and our business, too.

How many Bubble apps have you built to date? Which one was the coolest?

We spent years building apps for others, but have focused the majority of our time overall on helping teach people to build their own apps. It's hard to play favorites because we're constantly impressed by the creative solutions people come up with — often for incredibly niche industries. To me, the coolest ones are apps that teach us about new markets, processes, and needs.

What excites you most about no-code and the future?

Over the years, we've gone from being at a stage where no-code was pretty much unheard of outside the development world, to a time when no-code started being seen as a viable solution for a multitude of industries, to now being at a point where massive companies and organizations leverage it. It's pretty much become synonymous with entrepreneurship, as well.

Overall, it's exciting to see how many problems are being solved by the right people, without them being held back due to tech-inaccessibility. 

We've seen so many people without programming backgrounds deploy solutions for their particular needs and niches that would have been completely inaccessible in the past. Previously underserved markets are now getting access to tech that enables them to expand their own growth, reach, and impact.

What’s your favorite Bubble hack or little-known tip?

While this one's small, it's something that impacts development every single day: I love that I can add emojis to everything I can label in the editor — data types, fields, workflow folders, etc. It adds another layer of organization that can make a huge difference in development efficiency, especially in big apps.

What’s it like being a woman in the no-code space?

Back in the early days, we didn't know too many other women in the [no-code] space, but now, we not only get the opportunity to learn from other ‌[women] founders, but we're also able to see more and more starting their own development journeys each day. We've seen Bubble play a conscious part in making this a reality, which has been really great to witness and take part in.

What would you say to someone who’s considering a career in no-code?

No-code has become one of those skills that should go into everyone’s toolkit. My advice for anyone considering a career in no-code is to go for it because it's a skill that can take you anywhere and everywhere. You won't be stuck in a single position or job title with no-code — you can apply it in so many scenarios and truly create your own future.