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How Dickie Bush Built a $15M Business With Just 7 No-Code Tools

From ConvertKit to Carrd, here’s the ultra-lean stack powering millions in revenue—and the 3 tools he recommends if you're starting from zero.

Author

Mark Delaney
June 04, 2025

✨Hey there, tech stackers! 🚀

🧠 Stack Spotlight: How Dickie Bush Built a $15M Business with Just 7 No-Code Tools

In 2020, Dickie Bush was working at BlackRock, earning $180K a year but feeling boxed in. Fast-forward to today, he’s built a writing education business that’s done $15 million in revenue—with a lean tech stack and no-code tools.

And here’s the kicker: it all runs on just $8,215/month.

(Remember, that is where Dickie is at for scale right now. Many of these are pay-for-use.) 

Below is a breakdown of the 7 tools that powered it all, plus the 3 tools he’d use if he were starting again from zero 👇

1. 📨 Kit – $1,179/month

Function: Email marketing + CRM

Dickie calls this the heart of the entire operation. Kit powers automations, broadcasts, and list management for 125K+ subscribers.

"One of the most important tools in our arsenal."

2. 💳 Stripe – 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction

Function: Payment processing

Over $15M has flowed through Stripe without issue. Reliable, scalable, and essential from day one.

"For beginners, this is essential—start collecting payments from day one."

3. 🌐 Carrd – $19/year

Function: Landing pages

Every landing page began on Carrd. It got Dickie to $1M in revenue before they ever needed to switch.

"Cheap, fast, clean. No coding required."

4. 🧠 Airtable – $1,134/month

Function: Internal CRM + data brain

If ConvertKit is the heart, Airtable is the brain. It stores every product, lead, and customer across the business.

5. ⚙️ Zapier – ~$749/month

Function: Automation engine

Connects Stripe → Airtable → ConvertKit and automates 100K+ tasks/month. Zapier replaced 5 full-time admin assistants.

"This is how we scale without hiring an army."

6. 🤖 ChatGPT – $20/month

Function: AI writing assistant

Used daily across the team for:

  • Brainstorming

  • Research

  • Outlining and editing

"My best thought partner that I constantly spar with."

7. ✍️ Substack – Free or 10% of paid subs

Function: Newsletter publishing + growth

Hosts both his personal newsletter and Write with AI (~$400K/year).

Why it works:

  • Built-in referral engine

  • Clean interface

  • Monetization-ready

"Perfect platform for beginners."

🧰 Dickie’s “Zero to One” Starter Stack

If you’re just starting out, here’s his stripped-down version:

  1. ConvertKit – Email list & automation

  2. Carrd – Landing pages

  3. Stripe – Collect payments

"Make your first $1. Everything else comes after that."

🧠 Takeaway:

"At scale, seemingly expensive tools become incredibly cheap relative to the revenue they generate."

The real cost? Time wasted on broken systems and manual workflows.

Dickie Bush’s story is proof that:

  • No-code works

  • Simplicity scales

  • $15M businesses can run lean

Always remember,

Explore broadly

Not just SaaS or tech, but multiple disciplines.

Share ideas selflessly

Be willing to share your knowledge. Keep giving and it will come back to you.

Your stack is not going to save you

You are. So just build.

Go crush it,

Mark

Tech Stacks is human-compiled, edited, and designed.

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