There are a million songs about love. Zero about building apps.
Nicholas made a post on X a few days ago. He’s the founder of Mocha.
It’s messed up that there are a million songs about love but zero about building apps without knowing how to code.
— Nicholas Charriere (@nichochar) January 15, 2026
So I did something about it. I built MochaTunes – an AI song generator that creates original tracks celebrating your no-code journey. Pick a genre, tell your story, and AI composes a personalized anthem for shipping your first app, landing your first customer, or finally fixing that bug at 2 AM.
I built it in one hour. No code. Just Mocha.
And here’s the thing: that app is now marketing for Mocha itself.
Not through ads. Not through cold outreach. Through value. People use it, share it, and discover what Mocha can do.
This strategy has a name: engineering as marketing. And it might be the smartest growth hack most startups ignore.
The Problem with Paid Ads for Startups
Let’s be honest about how most startups try to grow:
| What You Do | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Run Facebook ads | $5-15 per click, 2% convert |
| Google Ads | Outbid by companies with 100x your budget |
| Sponsor newsletters | $500-2000 for one mention, then silence |
| Content marketing | 6 months before any traffic |
You’re renting attention. The moment you stop paying, the leads stop coming.
For bootstrapped founders, solopreneurs, and early-stage startups, this math doesn’t work. You need marketing that compounds – not marketing that depletes.
What is Engineering as Marketing?
Engineering as marketing is the strategy of building a free tool, app, or resource that provides value to your target audience – attracting them to your main product without paid ads.
Instead of interrupting people with ads, you help them with a tool. They use it. They share it. They remember you when they need your main product.
How It Works
- Identify a pain point adjacent to your product
- Build a simple tool that solves it (for free)
- Launch it where your audience hangs out
- Collect leads in exchange for access or results
- Let it compound as people share it
The tool does your marketing for you. Forever. While you sleep.
Real Examples That Generated Millions
This isn’t theory. The biggest growth stories in SaaS started with free tools.
HubSpot’s Website Grader
HubSpot built a free tool that grades your website’s marketing effectiveness. You enter your URL, it spits out a score with recommendations.
The result: 50,000+ leads per month. Zero ad spend. The tool became so popular that people discovered HubSpot through it – not the other way around.
Unsplash by Crew
Crew was a marketplace for freelance designers. They had a spare domain and some nice photos from a photoshoot. They threw them on a simple site and shared it on Hacker News.
The cost: ~20 and 2 hours. **The result:** 50,000 visits on day one. Unsplash eventually became so big it was acquired for reportedly \500M+.
The free tool outgrew the main product.
CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer
CoSchedule sells editorial calendar software. They built a free tool that scores your blog headlines.
The result: Every content marketer uses it. Every use = brand impression + email capture. Millions of leads over the years.
MochaTunes (Our Example)
I built an AI song generator in response to Nicholas’s tweet. Users pick a genre, share their no-code story, and get a personalized song with AI vocals. There’s even a community gallery called “Fresh Cuts” where people can listen to what others have created.
The cost: One hour, no code. The result: A working demo of Mocha’s capabilities that people actually want to use and share – and a community forming around it.
Building Tools vs. Paid Ads
Let’s compare the math:
| Factor | Build a Tool | Paid Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $0-100 | $2,000-10,000/month |
| Ongoing cost | Minimal hosting | Continuous spend required |
| Traffic type | Organic, compounding | Stops when you stop paying |
| Trust factor | High (you’re helping) | Low (you’re interrupting) |
| Long-term ROI | Compounds over time | Diminishes over time |
| Defensibility | Hard to copy (it’s YOUR tool) | Anyone can outbid you |
A well-built tool generates leads for years. Paid ads stop working the moment you stop paying.
The Compounding Effect
Month 1: You launch. 500 people try it. Month 3: Those 500 shared it. 2,000 users. Month 6: Backlinks accumulate. 5,000 users from search. Month 12: You’re the default tool for this use case. 20,000 users.
Meanwhile, the startup that chose ads spent $50K and has nothing to show for it except a customer list that cost $50 per name.
How I Built MochaTunes in One Hour
Here’s exactly how I went from Nicholas’s tweet to a working app:
The Origin
Nicholas posted: “It’s messed up that there are a million songs about love but zero about building apps without knowing how to code.”
I thought: what if I built an app that creates those songs? And what if I built it using Mocha – the very tool Nicholas created?
Meta? Yes. Effective? Also yes.
The Build
I opened Mocha and described what I wanted:
Marketing pages (public):
- Landing page with headline "Songs about building without code" and a "Start Creating" CTA
- "How it works" section explaining the 3-step flow
- "Fresh Cuts" gallery showing public songs from the community
App pages (authenticated):
- Compose page: genre picker (Pop, Rock, Hip Hop, Jazz, Country, House, R&B, Folk) + text area for "Your Story" where users describe their no-code journey
- "Your Collection" page listing all songs you've created with play controls, public/private toggle, copy link, and delete
- Settings page to configure your ElevenLabs API key (must be encrypted in the database for security)
Song lyrics should celebrate the joy of building without code while subtly highlighting what makes Mocha different:
- Apps that actually work and deploy (not 70% prototypes that need a developer to finish)
- No wasted credits on bug loops or token burns
- A complete platform with auth, database, and hosting built-in (not just code generation)
- Simple enough that non-technical founders can use it (no steep learning curve)
For the song generation, look up the ElevenLabs music API documentation at elevenlabs.io for the correct endpoints and parameters.
Design: warm cream background, black and coral accent colors, vinyl record imagery, serif headlines with sans-serif body text. Feel like a boutique record label – playful but polished.
Mocha built the database, UI, and logic. First version was ready in about 5 minutes.
The Secret Ingredient: AI Vocals
MochaTunes uses ElevenLabs to generate the actual singing. ElevenLabs is an AI voice platform that can create realistic speech and music vocals from text. Think of it as hiring a singer who works instantly and never needs a break.
To use it, you need an API key – basically a password that lets your app talk to ElevenLabs’ servers. You create one in your ElevenLabs dashboard, paste it into MochaTunes, and you’re ready to generate songs.
The cost:
- $22/month for ElevenLabs Starter plan (roughly 10 songs)
- ~$0.80 per additional song after that
To put that in perspective:
| Marketing Asset | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| One AI-generated song | ~$1 |
| Stock music license | $20-100 |
| Freelance blog post | $100-300 |
| Basic UGC video | $150-300 |
| Newsletter sponsorship | $200-1,000 |
| Micro-influencer post (10k-50k followers) | $100-500 |
| Mid-tier influencer post (50k-500k followers) | $500-5,000 |
| Custom jingle from a studio | $2,000-10,000 |
| Google Ads (100 clicks) | $100-500 |
| One month of Facebook ads | $500-2,000 |
For less than the cost of a single UGC video, you can generate hundreds of personalized songs. Each one is a potential viral moment that costs you almost nothing – and unlike ads, they live forever.
What Mocha Handles
ElevenLabs provides the AI voice. But building an actual app around it? That’s where Mocha comes in.
Without writing code, Mocha handled:
- Tool integration – connecting to ElevenLabs API, managing API keys securely
- Design – the vinyl aesthetic, animations, responsive layouts
- User management – sign up, login, personal collections
- Database – storing songs, user preferences, community gallery
- Security – encrypting API keys, protecting user data
- Deployment – hosting on the web with a custom domain, SSL certificates, the works
I described what I wanted. Mocha orchestrated all of it. That’s the difference between “I have an idea” and “I have a live app” – and it’s the difference Mocha is designed to eliminate.
The Refinements
I spent the rest of the hour adding polish:
- ElevenLabs API integration for AI vocals
- A personal collection to save your songs
- Public/private toggle so you can share (or keep it to yourself)
- A “Fresh Cuts” gallery for community songs
- A few iterations on a spinning vinyl animation in the hero section to give it more personality
Total time: about one hour.
The Launch
I deployed it with one click to Mocha and picked a custom subdomain: tunes.mocha.app. Shared it on X. That’s it.
No code written. No designers hired. No sprints scheduled.
How to Build Your Own (Step-by-Step)
You don’t need to build a song generator. But you do need to follow the same playbook.
Step 1: Find the Adjacent Pain Point
Your tool should solve a problem your target audience has – but NOT the same problem your main product solves.
Examples:
- HubSpot sells marketing software → Built a free website grader
- Mocha helps you build apps → Built a fun AI song generator
- A CRM company → Could build a free email template library
- A design tool → Could build a free color palette generator
Ask: What do my customers Google right before they need my product?
Step 2: Keep It Stupidly Simple
The best tools do ONE thing well. Not five things poorly.
Good scope:
- Headline analyzer (enter text → get score)
- Color palette generator (click → get colors)
- Song generator (enter topic → get lyrics)
Bad scope:
- “A full marketing suite with 12 features”
- “An AI assistant that does everything”
You can always add features later. Ship the minimal version first.
Step 3: Build It Without Code
This is 2026. You don’t need engineers for a marketing tool.
Use Mocha. Describe what you want. Let AI do the work.
If you can write a clear description of the tool, you can build it. Today.
Step 4: Launch Where Your Audience Lives
Don’t just tweet it and hope. Go where your people are:
| Audience | Where to Launch |
|---|---|
| Developers | Hacker News, Reddit (r/programming, r/webdev) |
| Founders | Indie Hackers, r/startups, X |
| Marketers | Product Hunt, r/marketing, LinkedIn |
| Designers | Dribbble, Designer News, Threads |
Post it. Respond to comments. Iterate based on feedback.
Step 5: Capture the Value
Your tool should feed your main business:
- Email capture: “Enter your email to save your results”
- Product mention: “Built with [Your Product]”
- Soft CTA: “Like this? See what else you can build”
- Shareable moments: When users complete something (generate a result, hit a milestone), make it easy to share. Offer a perk – free credits, extended access, or unlocked features – if they post it. Their share becomes your ad.
Don’t be aggressive. Be helpful first.
When Should You Use This Strategy?
Building marketing tools works best when:
- You have a clearly defined target audience. You know exactly who you’re building for.
- You can identify an adjacent pain point. Something they Google that’s related to (but not the same as) your product.
- You have limited budget but can invest time. Or you can use no-code tools to minimize both.
- You want compounding growth. Not quick hits that disappear.
- Your audience shares tools. Developers, marketers, and founders share useful resources constantly.
When It’s NOT the Right Move
- You need immediate results. This is a long-term play. If you need leads this week, run ads.
- Your audience doesn’t share tools online. Some B2B verticals (healthcare, government) don’t have sharing cultures.
- You’re in a heavily regulated industry. Free tools in fintech or healthcare can create liability issues.
- You already have product-market fit and budget. At some point, paid acquisition is just faster. Use this strategy when you’re scrappy.
20 Ideas for Your Marketing Tool
Stuck on what to build? Here are ideas by industry:
For SaaS Companies
- ROI calculator for your product category
- Benchmark data tool (“How does your [metric] compare?”)
- Template library (emails, docs, workflows)
- Free audit tool (website grader, SEO checker, security scanner)
- Comparison chart generator
For Agencies
- Pricing calculator
- Brief/RFP template generator
- Portfolio inspiration gallery
- Project timeline estimator
- Contract template library
For Developer Tools
- Code formatter/linter
- API request tester
- Regex builder/tester
- Documentation template
- Boilerplate generator
For E-commerce
- Profit margin calculator
- Product description generator
- Shipping cost estimator
- Return policy template
- Supplier directory
Pick one. Build it this weekend.
The Bottom Line
The smartest startups don’t just run ads. They build tools.
Engineering as marketing is how HubSpot generates 50K leads a month for free. It’s how a $20 photo site became a $500M acquisition. It’s how a tweet about missing songs became a working app in one hour.
The playbook is simple:
- Find an adjacent pain point
- Build a simple tool that solves it
- Launch where your audience lives
- Let it compound while you sleep
You don’t need a big budget. You don’t need engineers. You need a clear idea and a few hours.
The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing. It feels like help.
Try It Yourself
- Pick one idea from the list above (or invent your own)
- Spend 30 minutes writing a clear description of what it should do
- Build it with Mocha – start free
- Launch it on one channel this week
Your tool could be your best marketing channel. But only if you ship it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is engineering as marketing?
Engineering as marketing is the strategy of building a free tool, app, or resource that provides value to your target audience – attracting them to your main product without paid ads. Famous examples include HubSpot’s Website Grader (50,000+ leads/month) and Unsplash (50,000 visits on day one).
How do I build a marketing tool without coding?
Use a no-code app builder like Mocha to create a functional tool in hours. Define a problem your audience has, describe the solution in plain language, and let AI build it. You can deploy a working tool the same day.
What’s better: building tools or paid ads?
For early-stage startups with limited budgets, building tools often provides better ROI. A well-built tool generates leads for years with minimal ongoing cost. Paid ads stop working the moment you stop paying. However, if you need immediate results or have budget to scale quickly, paid ads have their place.
How long does it take to build a marketing tool?
With no-code tools, you can build a simple tool in a few hours. MochaTunes took about one hour from idea to deployed app. More complex tools might take a weekend. The key is keeping scope small and shipping fast.
What makes a good marketing tool?
The best marketing tools: (1) solve ONE specific problem, (2) are adjacent to your main product (not the same problem), (3) provide immediate value, (4) are easy to share, and (5) naturally lead users toward your main offering.
Can non-technical founders build marketing tools?
Absolutely. No-code tools like Mocha have made it possible for anyone to build functional web apps. If you can write a clear description of what you want to build, you can build it without writing code.