#MadeWithBravo: A talk with the creators of a no-code football app with +1000 downloads

Fernando Sosa and Juanjo Espada are huge football fans who, a couple of months ago, had an app idea. They saw a necessity among other football fans in Extremadura, Spain and decided to act upon it. There was no platform, app or website that offered updated data on all the players, teams and matches in Extremadura football so they decided to create Nuestra Champions. 

Juanjo has worked on some brief design projects as a journalist but isn’t a designer and Fernando didn’t even know what backend was before beginning to develop Nuestra Champions. They discovered Bravo Studio thanks to the No Code Hackers newsletter and when they read they could turn your Figma or Adobe XD files into a real app they were intrigued. 

They began using Bravo with zero tech knowledge so they used tutorials, ebooks, online courses, videos and podcasts to find their way. We talked with Juanjo and Fernando about their no-code app building journey. 

First, could you introduce Nuestra Champions? 

Yes! Nuestra Champions is a free mobile app and the first interactive guide to Extremadura football. In it you will find the match results of the main categories of our football,  tokens with data of each player (age, height, foot, boundaries, trajectory), the most complete analysis of each team, all the data for each team: stadium, coach, players by position and more. 

How did you discover the no-code world? 

We weren’t developers or designers. We are journalists that have had some little experience related with design but have never heard about an API. In May, we discovered Bravo Studio because we were subscribed to the NoCode Hackers newsletter. Fernando had an idea, creating an Extremadura football app. I was immersed in the no-code world so everything matched. We began reading blog articles, talking with the no-code community, watching tutorials and videos and trying to learn everything as fast as we could to create Nuestra Champions. 

What made you choose Bravo Studio instead of other no-code tools? 

We needed design flexibility. We didn’t want to use templates or pre-designed screens. We wanted to create our own brand and user flow. Also, Bravo had the integrations we needed for the backend and seemed like a robust tool to create all the functionalities we had in mind. 

What was the biggest challenge or stopper while creating Nuestra Champions? 

The hardest thing was the backend. Creating filters in the database and finding a way to structure all that information correctly was really tough. We needed to define categories, teams, players and associate each entry. There is a learning curve but once you are there developing your own app you really want to finish it. Fernando had deposited a lot of confidence in me and I couldn’t let the project down so I kept on searching and it worked! 

How did you manage to keep working while building your own app? 

Nuestra Champions was our side project. It demanded a lot of time but it was worth it. We worked over the weekends and in the afternoons and nights. We were stuck with our phones updating data, sending notifications and alerts. Today the app has more than 1000 downloads and it keeps growing so I am really glad we are doing this. 

How do you plan to grow your user base? 

 We are currently working on a marketing strategy. We were absolutely stocked with adding more and more features during these past few months and didn’t have the time to think about marketing. Plus, you released Bravo 3.0 and a lot of features that weren’t possible before became doable so we decided to work on a couple more features. Now we are thinking about a marketing strategy to get to more people. We have a Twitter account and a Telegram channel where we update results and invite people to download our app. We are also talking with football players for them to be brand ambassadors. We are definitely trying to boost Nuestra Champions and increase downloads and sponsorships. 

https://twitter.com/NtraChampions/status/1465742593564753923?s=20

What would you recommend to somebody who wants to build their own app? 

Go for it. Our journey has been great, we have learned a lot and would do it again. No doubt about it. Define the audience you want to tackle, think about what they need and how you can help to make things work and get going! There’s a huge no-code community that will definitely help you out when you are stuck with a certain wireframe, feature or integration. There is a learning curve but you’ll definitely solve any doubt our problem you have. 

The app is available for Android and iOS and has already exceeded 1000 downloads. Download it and get to know everything about Extremadura football and enjoy the power of no-code apps! 

No-code. Yes, design.