Building Townhouses.nz with No-Code: A Founder’s Success Story

Townhouses.nz was born out of a need to streamline the process of finding, listing, and purchasing townhouses in New Zealand. Alex Siale, the founder, saw a gap in the market—while the real estate industry had many players, there was a lack of specialized platforms that focused on townhouses, a segment with unique buyer needs. With limited technical expertise, building a digital platform seemed daunting, but the goal was clear: create a user-friendly, intuitive space that connected buyers with townhouse listings directly.

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The Challenges

When starting Townhouses.nz, Alex faced several challenges:

• Technical Knowledge: Coming from a non-technical background, the idea of building a fully functional website seemed out of reach.
• Marketplace Complexity: Creating a platform that balanced the needs of both buyers and sellers was challenging. Alex needed a way to automate communication between the two sides while providing a seamless experience.
• Resource Limitations: As a bootstrapped project, investing in custom development or hiring a full-time developer wasn’t an option. Alex needed a cost-effective solution to get the platform up and running.

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The MVMP Approach

The MVMP program provided the structured guidance needed to bring Townhouses.nz to life. Through the program, Alex learned how to leverage no-code tools to create an MVP that didn’t require a huge upfront investment. Key aspects of the program that made a difference included:

• No-Code Playbooks: These playbooks provided step-by-step instructions on using tools like Webflow for building a custom front end, Airtable for managing listings, and Make.com for automating workflows.
• Community Feedback: By sharing progress within the MVMP community, Alex received feedback and insights from other marketplace builders. This helped refine the user experience and avoid common pitfalls.
• Customized Roadmaps: The MVMP program offered a tailored approach, breaking down complex marketplace-building steps into manageable tasks, such as setting up seller portals and creating buyer-friendly search functionalities.

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Building the MVP

With the guidance of the MVMP program, Alex was able to turn the vision of Townhouses.nz into a reality. Here’s how the process unfolded:

• Creating the Front-End with Webflow: Using Webflow, Alex built a sleek, responsive website that served as the public-facing side of Townhouses.nz. The ability to create custom layouts without writing code was a game-changer.
• Managing Listings with Airtable: Airtable served as the backbone for managing townhouse listings. Alex set up a database that could store listing details, images, and seller information, making it easy to update the site with new properties.
• Automating Processes with Make.com: Automation was key to minimizing manual work. Make.com was used to automatically send out notifications to sellers when a buyer expressed interest in a listing and to keep the database updated in real-time.

The entire build was completed in just eight weeks—something that would have taken months with traditional development methods.

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Results & Impact

The impact of Townhouses.nz was immediate:

• User Growth: Within the first three months of launch, Townhouses.nz attracted over 500 active users, both buyers and sellers, without any paid marketing campaigns.
• Seamless Transactions: Thanks to automated processes, buyers and sellers could communicate quickly, leading to a 20% faster closing time on properties compared to traditional methods.
• Cost Savings: By leveraging no-code tools, Alex saved over $10,000 in initial development costs, allowing for investment in growth and user acquisition.

One of the early users commented, “I was impressed with how easy it was to find townhouses that fit my criteria on Townhouses.nz. It’s much more tailored than larger platforms.”

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What’s Next for Townhouses.nz?

With the MVP successfully launched, Alex is focused on the next phase of growth. Plans include:

• Adding More Advanced Search Features: To help buyers find properties even faster, Alex is working on implementing custom search filters using the Airtable API.
• Expanding Beyond Townhouses: While the focus remains on townhouses, there is potential to expand into other types of residential properties as user demand grows.
• Continuous Iteration: With ongoing support from the MVMP program, Alex continues to iterate on features, gathering feedback from users and making improvements to keep the platform user-centric.