The Startup That Changed Everything

Years ago, I co-founded a digital startup with a friend in my city. It wasn't exactly a tech hub. Finding good developers was a real struggle. I was the product person: I knew the technical terms, I understood what we needed to build, I could talk to developers. But I couldn't write a single line of code myself.

For our first app, we hired a third-party development team. We handed them high-fidelity designs: every screen, every component, every detail. What came back was something else entirely.

The fonts were inconsistent. The paddings and margins were all over the place. Some UI elements looked like they were copy-pasted straight from someone else's tutorial without being adjusted to match our design system. The website felt like it was built by three different people who never talked to each other.

And the pace was agonizing. Every small change took days. Iterating quickly is the whole point of early-stage development. We couldn't do it.

Eventually, the startup failed.

I remember sitting with that failure and thinking: if only I could build this myself. Not because I wanted to replace developers, but because I wanted to understand what was actually happening inside the product I was supposed to be leading.

The Nocode Chapter

After the startup, I started job hunting. That's when I stumbled into nocode development, and honestly it changed a lot for me.

As someone who'd spent years standing at the intersection of business, design, and development, I could pick up nocode tools faster than most. I understood what needed to be built, I could communicate with clients, and I could execute. Projects moved quickly. My career grew rapidly, even at a small agency. I became the person colleagues came to for advice, the one who could bridge gaps that others couldn't.

For a while, that felt like enough.

The AI Era Changed the Rules

Then AI arrived. Fast.

Suddenly, everyone could "build" things. Vibe coding became a real workflow. I tried it myself on my first proper project: I described what I wanted, let the AI write the code, and tested the output without fully understanding what was underneath.

It worked. Sort of.

But there was a quiet anxiety building. What happens when a bug appears and I can't read the code? What happens when the AI makes an architectural decision I don't understand and can't evaluate? What happens when a client asks me why something works a certain way?

I realized the problem: I was using AI as a crutch instead of as a tool. And the difference between those two things is whether you understand the fundamentals underneath.

I already knew what HTML and CSS were. I'd worked with them loosely for years. But JavaScript? TypeScript? React? The actual frameworks the AI was generating? I was completely in the dark.

I needed to actually learn to code.

The First Attempt: freeCodeCamp

I started with freeCodeCamp. It's free, it's structured, and it has a strong reputation. The first few modules went fine.

Then it got harder.

When the challenges arrived, I'd stare at the blank editor and feel completely blank myself. What am I supposed to write here? Where do I even start? The content made sense while I was reading it, but the moment I had to apply it independently, the knowledge just... evaporated.

I wasn't retaining things. I was following along, not learning.

Finding Scrimba

Frustrated, I started browsing the freeCodeCamp YouTube channel looking for a different angle on the material. That's where I first heard about Scrimba.

I almost scrolled past it.

I visited the website, tried the JavaScript course, and boom. It completely changed how I think about learning online.

It's not just video. You watch the instructor code, and then the platform hands control to you (same environment, same file) and you complete the challenge right there, without switching tools or losing context.

That difference sounds small. It's not.

With a regular tutorial, there's always a gap between watching and doing. You watch, you feel like you understand, you close the video, you open your editor, and suddenly you're alone. With Scrimba, the transition from "watching" to "doing" is almost invisible. It's like having a tutor who demonstrates something and then immediately passes you the pen.

The JavaScript beginner course clicked in a way that freeCodeCamp hadn't. I finished it.

How I Actually Do the Challenges

Here's my workflow for anyone in a similar situation, especially if you're a free user.

When a challenge comes up on Scrimba, I download the project locally and open it in VSCode. Then I run:

npm install
npm run dev

And I work through it in my own environment. This is actually useful beyond just the challenge. It gets you comfortable with real local development workflows, which is what you'll be doing professionally.

The other thing I do: when I write a piece of code, I ask the AI to explain it to me like I'm a beginner. Not just what it does, but why it's written that way. Why do we use a callback here? Why does this need to return a value? Why is this outside the function?

That habit, asking "why" instead of just copying, is what's actually building the mental model. It's slow. But it sticks.

What My Product Background Actually Gives Me

Here's something I don't see beginners talk about enough: the product background is an advantage, not just a fun backstory.

When I learn about state management, I already know why it matters. I've watched apps break from exactly that problem. Same with component reusability: I've seen what happens when nobody builds a proper design system and everyone just copy-pastes UI elements around. API error handling? I was in the room when a payment flow broke silently and nobody caught it for hours.

Most beginners learn what things are. I already knew why they mattered. I just didn't know how to build them. That gap is much easier to close than the reverse.

If you're a PM, designer, or nocode developer on the fence about learning to code: your context is a superpower. Use it.

Where I'm Going Next

Right now I'm working through Scrimba's React course and building small things on the side to test what I'm learning. The goal is to finish it, including the advanced modules, so I can actually read, review, and direct AI-generated code instead of just hoping it's correct.

I'm not trying to become a senior engineer. I just want to understand what I'm actually building. And honestly, it's starting to make sense, which a month ago I wasn't sure it would.

If you're on the same path, drop a comment. I'm curious how others are handling it, especially people coming from product or nocode backgrounds. Or connect with me on LinkedIn.

I'm also available for helping your project Portfolio.

And if you're just getting started with coding, Scrimba is genuinely one of the best places to begin: https://scrimba.com/?via=community