How to Build a Tech Company in Singapore Without a Tech Background

Singapore is a thriving hub for startups, offering a wealth of resources for aspiring founders. But what if you want to build a tech company without a technical background? While it may seem like a disadvantage, many successful tech founders started without coding skills or deep engineering expertise. The key is knowing how to navigate the landscape, find the right people, and leverage available tools.

1. Focus on the Problem, Not the Technology

Your role as a non-technical founder is to deeply understand the problem you’re solving. Before thinking about tech stacks or hiring developers, validate your idea by talking to potential users. Ask:

• What is their biggest pain point?
• How do they solve it today?
• Would they pay for a better solution?

Singapore’s biggest startup success story, Grab, didn’t start with complex technology. Co-founders Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling weren’t engineers but focused on solving Southeast Asia’s transportation inefficiencies. They validated their idea with a simple booking system before building an app. Today, Grab is a super-app valued at over $10 billion.

🔹 Lesson: A deep understanding of the problem and strong execution matter more than tech expertise at the start.

2. Learn Enough Tech to Communicate Effectively

You don’t need to become a software engineer, but understanding basic tech concepts will make hiring, managing, and strategizing easier. Learn:

• How web applications work (frontend vs. backend)
• APIs & integrations (how software communicates)
• Agile & product development processes

Resources like Harvard’s CS50 (free on YouTube), Udemy, or Coursera can give you foundational knowledge without years of study.

Bryan Choo, the founder of TheSmartLocal, started Singapore’s top digital media company with zero tech experience. He learned the basics of SEO, WordPress, and digital marketing and built an audience before scaling the business.

🔹 Lesson: Learning the right tech skills (even if not coding) helps you build and manage your startup.

3. Use No-Code & Low-Code Tools to Build an MVP

Many tech companies today start with no-code tools before hiring developers. You can build a prototype using:

• Bubble (web apps)
• Webflow (landing pages & simple sites)
• Glide (mobile apps from Google Sheets)
• Zapier (automation & integrations)

With no-code, you can build and test your startup idea at a fraction of the cost of hiring developers early on.

Jemi, a creator monetization platform, started entirely on no-code. The founders built their first version using Webflow, Airtable, and Zapier before raising funding and hiring developers.

🔹 Lesson: You don’t need a developer to launch—no-code can get you to market fast.

4. Find the Right Technical Co-Founder or CTO

At some point, you’ll need tech expertise to scale. Here’s how to find a technical co-founder:

• Tap into tech communities (The100Club.io, SGInnovate, Startup Grind Singapore)
• Attend hackathons & networking events (Slingshot, Startup Weekend)
• Join online platforms (Indie Hackers, CoFoundersLab)
• Pitch the vision, not just the product – developers want to work on meaningful problems, not just “build an app.”

If a co-founder isn’t an option, consider hiring a freelance developer (Upwork, Toptal) or a technical advisor for guidance.

Carousell started as a hackathon project before it became a billion-dollar company. Quek Siu Rui, a non-technical founder, teamed up with Marcus Tan and Lucas Ngoo, both software engineers, to build the platform.

🔹 Lesson: Finding the right tech co-founder early on can give your startup a strong technical foundation.

5. Leverage Singapore’s Startup Ecosystem

Singapore has a strong startup support system:

• Grants & Funding: Startup SG Founder, Enterprise Singapore grants, and angel investors (AngelCentral, XA Network)
• Incubators & Accelerators: Entrepreneur First, Antler, BLOCK71
• Government Resources: IMDA’s Open Innovation Platform, SGTech

By leveraging these resources, you can get early traction without heavy initial investment.

PatSnap, a unicorn in AI-driven patent analytics, started in an incubator at NUS Enterprise. Founder Jeffrey Tiong wasn’t a deep AI expert but used Singapore’s resources, mentors, and grants to grow the company into a global SaaS leader.

🔹 Lesson: Government and university-backed startup programs can provide early support.

6. Prioritize Sales, Not Just Product Development

Many non-technical founders make the mistake of obsessing over the perfect product. But sales and customer acquisition matter more in the early days. Strategies include:

• Building an audience on LinkedIn or X (Twitter)
• Cold outreach to potential customers & partnerships
• Using landing pages & lead magnets to validate demand

Love, Bonito began as a blog selling clothes, with zero technical infrastructure. Co-founder Rachel Lim focused on community building and sales first, then invested in technology only after proving demand.

🔹 Lesson: Build traction before investing heavily in tech.

Conclusion: Focus on Execution

Ideas are easy. Execution is everything. – John Doerr

You don’t need to be a developer to build a tech company in Singapore. What you do need is a deep understanding of the problem, the ability to communicate a vision, and the resourcefulness to leverage no-code tools, talent, and Singapore’s startup ecosystem.

The best tech companies aren’t just about code—they’re about solving real problems. If you can do that, the tech will follow.

Need more accountability? Join a mastermind group or learn how to organise a mastermind session yourself.