Nikonomics - The Economics of Small Business

176 - AI SERIES: 16 - The Non-Coder's Guide to AI App Building with Billy Howell

May 22, 2025

Billy Howell, the innovative builder of apps and tools with a focus on AI, shares his journey from government consulting to founding agency OX Labs. He discusses how non-coders can harness tools like OpenAI 4.0 and Replit to develop AI apps. Billy emphasizes leveraging AI for small businesses to automate tasks and create tailored solutions that might replace costly SaaS. He also tackles the challenges of finishing AI projects, managing technical debt, and advocates for simplicity and practical action in app development.

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ANECDOTE

Moving Company Saves with Automation

A moving company owner built an app automation to replace their Salesforce, saving $200,000 yearly on seats.
The app helped them visualize and automate their quoting process, making Salesforce redundant.

INSIGHT

Humans Complement AI Creativity

AI excels at executing ideas but lacks novel creativity.
Human industry knowledge combined with AI yields better app results than AI alone.

ADVICE

Start Visual with Make.com or N8N

If intimidated by code, start with visual drag-and-drop tools like make.com or N8N.
These tools help build simple automations by connecting APIs without coding extensively.

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Join me, Nik (https://x.com/CoFoundersNik), as I interview Billy Howell (https://x.com/billyjhowell). I was excited to have Billy on because he's prolific at building apps and tools using AI, despite not having a technical background. We dive into his journey from government consulting and TPS reports to starting agencies like OX Labs and Stupid Simple Apps, now focused on building AI-powered internal tools for startups.

Billy shares his go-to AI models like OpenAI 4.0 (ChatGPT) and how he uses tools like Replit, Cursor, Claude, Make.com, N8n, and V0.dev to build apps quickly. We discuss how small business owners can leverage AI to automate processes, build useful internal tools, and even potentially replace expensive SaaS solutions by creating simple wrappers around a prompt.

We also tackle the challenge of finishing AI-built apps, managing technical debt, and the importance of being disciplined with rollback using tools like Git. Billy gives practical advice on keeping things stupid simple and even advocates for running towards things that don't scale initially.

Questions This Episode Answers:

How can someone with no technical background build useful apps using AI tools?

What are the best AI models and platforms like Replit or Lovable for non-technical users to start building apps?

How can small businesses use AI to automate processes and build custom internal tools?

What does it mean to build an app by creating a "wrapper" around an AI prompt?

How do you handle the debugging and finishing steps when AI builds most of the code for your app?

Enjoy the conversation!

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This week we covered:

00:00 Introduction to Automation and AI Tools

03:00 The Journey from Non-Technical to Coding

05:48 Building Apps for Business Needs

09:03 Leveraging AI for Small Business Solutions

11:54 Creating Processes through Automation

14:47 The Future of CRM and AI Integration

18:08 Overcoming Challenges in App Development

20:59 Final Thoughts on Building Simple Apps