All It Took Was a $300/Month No-Code Stack to Scale a SaaS Marketplace to 10,000+ Users

Hi! My name is Maksym Kunytskyi, CTO at Microns. I’d like to share my personal experience of building a marketplace based on low-code/no-code technologies.

Below I’ll talk a bit about the challenges we faced, why this model works, and why it’s worth considering for anyone building digital products — especially with a limited budget.

For almost two years now, I’ve been working as CTO on a project called Microns.io — a marketplace that connects startup owners with businesses valued up to $1 million to buyers who are interested in acquiring them. The platform now has over 10,000 users and continues to scale and grow. But it wasn’t always this way.

How It All Started

Microns started as a simple MVP built with Webflow and a few external services like Memberstack. It was cheap, fast, and good enough to test the hypothesis and gather the first users. That’s exactly why the founder, Illia, chose the low-code approach: cost-effectiveness, fast development, and an already-familiar environment that allowed for rapid changes without needing a full development team.

Like most MVPs, it was very raw. Essentially, it was a website with basic paid access via Memberstack, minimal page protection, a few plugins, and manually updated content. But it worked — we saw real demand.

I joined the team when the product had already gathered some traction and it was time to scale. We all understood: the longer we stuck with the old stack, the more we were turning it into a Frankenstein — where each new feature was a patch on top of another. So we had to decide: rewrite everything using a traditional stack or take the risk of building a scalable platform still within the low-code paradigm.

We decided to take the risk — and we didn’t regret it.

The Transition Strategy: Choosing the Stack

I suggested the following stack:

• Webflow — for layout and UI
• Wized — for frontend logic
• Xano — for the backend, database, and API

This setup allowed us to avoid hiring a full-stack team in the early stages and stay as flexible as possible.

Webflow

Webflow is more than just a website builder, as it’s often referred to. It’s a full environment for creating UI/UX. You control every pixel, you can build any design, create CMS collections, use animations, and — if something’s missing — embed custom JS directly into elements. I have a lot of experience with this platform, I’m practically an ambassador for it, so the decision was obvious.

Frontend work was the easiest part for me. My background as a Webflow developer allowed me to build out the whole app interface quickly.

Wized

Wized allows you to connect Webflow to the backend and add full frontend logic without writing code. It acts as a layer that handles requests, rendering, authentication, user states, dynamic routes, cookies, localization, and more.

When we started in the summer of 2023, it was still quite raw. But I had already used products from the Finsweet team and trusted them. After testing alternatives (there were almost none), I realized — it’s either Wized or a custom frontend. We chose Wized despite its limitations — and we don’t regret it.

As part of my research, I created a prototype using Wized and realized: it’s time to launch and build.

Wized pros:

• Easy integration
• Fast to get started
• Full integration with Webflow
• Can implement complex logic without JS

Wized cons:

• Was unstable in the early stages (no longer a current issue, but worth mentioning)
• Limited documentation (though manageable for JS developers — I struggled because I’m not a JS dev)

Wized Interface:

Xano

Xano is the king (or queen) of no-code backend platforms. It’s an API-first environment where you can build a database, API endpoints, trigger-based logic, error handlers, conditions, filters, caching, and much more. It supports relational data, nested structures, server-side auth, and even CRON tasks.

I compared it to Supabase and Firebase, but Xano allowed us to start quickly and scale gradually. I drafted the first version of our database — and everything just flowed.

Really flexible database management in Xano: Xano pros:

• Full-featured API infrastructure
• Highly flexible
• Great documentation and community support

Xano cons:

• Steep learning curve if you don’t have prior backend experience You can really manage your data models flexibly in Xano. Here’s how the set of functions, variables, and requests looks. And a clear diagram of Xano’s role in our architecture.

This is what the set of functions looks like: It contains functions, variables and queries: Scalability and PerformanceXano’s architecture enables it to handle large volumes of requests. As our user count grew, we set up automatic server scaling. During critical load events (like traffic spikes or DDoS), Xano can temporarily scale beyond plan limits.

Xano also allows you to:

• Set up database purges by condition (e.g., delete old logs)
• Scale storage as needed (SSD customization)
• Integrate with external third-party services
• For an early-stage SaaS product — this is ideal.

This is an illustration of Xano’s interaction points in architecture.

Personal Challanges

At first, I took the “do everything at once” approach: I designed, thought through the logic, and wrote API requests — all in parallel. It was exhausting. Now I work differently:

• I design each feature separately
• I model the database for it
• I connect everything via Wized and APIs

This avoids chaos and allows for easier refactoring. The whole architecture now feels like modular building blocks.

Real-Time Chat

I implemented chat using Ably — a real-time platform that supports sockets, rooms, presence tracking, etc. But since Wized didn’t support WebSockets back then, I had to write JS manually. The design was done in Webflow; the logic — in custom code.

It’s one of the few modules where we stepped outside the no-code paradigm. But overall, the decision paid off. Now I’m considering migrating the chat fully to Wized (since new features have been added).

If you’ve worked with platforms like Ably or others — share your experience in the comments. I’d love to compare different approaches.

Business Value

After launching, we encountered a typical set of bugs and user feedback — but I realized we were on the right track.

Changing the database structure no longer caused painful issues. The system handled decent loads, and when spikes occurred — Xano dynamically scaled resources beyond the base tier. Overall, implementing new features or improving existing functionality wasn’t a problem.

We’ve been able to build the platform while skipping the “monolithic monster” stage.

When our user base grows significantly, we’ll be able to switch to a microservice architecture — which Xano also supports.

For businesses, I believe it’s crucial to implement changes quickly and with minimal bugs.

Architecture Budget

• Xano — $100/month
• Webflow — $40/month
• Wized — $150/month

Total: under $300/month for a full SaaS stack that’s scalable.

Future Outlook

Low-code is no longer just for frontends. It’s a full-fledged alternative to traditional development — for certain types of projects.

You can build a mid-complexity SaaS in two months of full-time work by a single developer. The key is choosing the right stack — and not being afraid to explore new tools.

The market is just beginning, and there aren’t many specialists who can combine these tools.

Thanks for reading to the end! In my next article, I’ll share how I implemented key features like filtering, listings, authentication, security, and more. In the meantime — feel free to drop comments, questions, or just a “+” if you found it useful.

P.S. If you’re a founder thinking about building an MVP — message me, I’ll be happy to help with advice or stack selection.