In 2016 I founded Muuser, a music marketing agency focused on the prediction that an emerging social media app called Musical.ly would become the greatest marketing opportunity in the history of the music business. By 2020, after this prediction had been abundantly validated, I set out to build a unique app to supplement our service offering. My journey into the realm of software development began with an ambitious idea: Lauunch, a global marketplace for viral TikTok trends.

Out of My League

Proof of concept came quickly. But developing the software felt like a monumental task. Before I got too far down the traditional route – hiring software developers – an employee pointed me towards Bubble.io, a no-code app-building platform that would allow me to develop the system myself. I was hooked from the start. My weeks were filled with Zoom lessons from experts around the world and a borderline unhealthy obsession with YouTube tutorials. Just seven weeks later, Lauunch was live, a testament to the power of no-code.

Drowning in Data

As Lauunch gained traction, the influx of data became overwhelming and analyzing it was crucial for delivering the best service to our clients. The same sage counsel then told me to look into Airtable. I added another layer of Zoom lessons by day and spent even more time on YouTube every night. With Lauunch’s data under control, I quickly found myself using Airtable for everything. I overhauled Muuser’s spreadsheet-based systems, created an A&R dashboard for my record label and even built a mobile app for my child’s little league draft.

An Operational Rennaissance

By the close of 2022, business was booming. Musical.ly had been rebranded to TikTok which became the household name I predicted. But there was more important work to do in this industry than chasing viral TikTok trends. Over 200 hours of private lessons and endless time spent watching YouTube tutorials, I felt I had found the answer to an even more glaring industry-wide blindspot - our lingering dependence on outdated operating processes.

By democratizing access to relational database management systems, Airtable is finally liberating non-technical people from the oppression of spreadsheets. And so, Relationl was born. A no-code development agency on a mission to establish the music industry at the forefront of this operational renaissance.

- Max