Turns out, predicting the future can offend people. In 2017, I asserted in an article in Quartz that, Learning to code will eventually be as useful as learning Ancient Greek. I argued that later this century coding as we know it would become irrelevant for most purposes. Meanwhile, learning to code is being over-promised as a silver bullet for long-term career success.

A couple of Greek gods chat... likely in Ancient Greek. As the No Code Movement advances, later this ... [+] century knowing how to code will eventually become like knowing Ancient Greek.

Many of the tech industrys best minds agreed. (Shoutout to Vivek Wadhwa!) Others hated the notion. In addition to some well-reasoned pushback and caveats, I received a few foul retorts to my LinkedIn re-post of the article. (A reliable metric of success.)

One response for which Im grateful came from Gary Hoberman. Youre right on, and were doing exactly that, stated his out-of-the-blue LinkedIn message. Turns out provocative statements about the future also provoke the people who are creating it.

Gary Hoberman soon after founding Unqork. The smile on his face reflects his approach to life... ... [+] curious, engaged and eager to make life better.

In 2017, Hoberman had just departed his role as CIO of MetLife and founded Unqork. At that time, Unqork was just a vision of what has today become a completely visual, no-code application platform that helps large enterprises build complex custom software faster, with higher quality and lower costs all without a single line of code. (My emphasis.)

Thats right enterprise quality applications without writing any code. Hoberman and team were launching the No Code Movement alongside pioneers such as iRise and Webflow. (See my interview with iRise founder Emmet Keeffe, now a partner with global venture firm Insight Partners.)

Unqork hit the Zeitgeist. Since founding in 2017, theyve raised nearly $160 million from investors such as Goldman Sachs and Alphabet investment fund CapitalG, with revenues up 320% in Q1 2020 alone. Then the pandemic accelerated digital transformation initiatives economy-wide.

Mark my words Unqork will be a unicorn IPO of the next couple of years. (Solely my prediction... no indications from Unqork leadership.)

Last month, Hoberman and I caught up via a pandemic-inspired Zoom call.

Unqorks purpose, he told me, is not to displace engineers but to render software invisible and seamless. To enable software engineers to do what they really aspire to do. Unqork seeks to enable the art and practice. Many coders get into the game out of fascination regarding what they can create with technology. Instead, they often end up turning cranks in virtual sweatshops.

Hoberman reframes the role of software engineers. Im an engineer. Its a skill. Its an art form. If you look at engineers as chefs, right now many of them are flipping burgers instead of creating Michelin-star meals.

Unqork's Halloween Party, 2019. Hoberman is the one in the front without a costume... riding the ... [+] unicorn.

Visions Faster To Reality

Indeed, we are all at an inflection point. If we re-envision our roles with respect to technology not just users or victims we see the promise of platforms like Unqorks and visions like Hobermans.

The No Code Movement promises to bring anyones ideas closer to reality. Individuals with little to no coding experience will increasingly be able to manifest their ideas via IT systems without the time, cost, complexity and layers of miscommunication that often arise during traditional software development. Imagine generating new workflows supported by software in a matter of days.

Hobermans approach at Unqork is to render app development and business workflows as seamless as possible, without touching code at all. Coding melts into the background.

Platforms like Unqork might help us and not just software engineers level up from short order cooks to sous chefs.

Software In Days Rapid Covid-19 Response

Covid-19 hit New York hard in early 2020. Unqork had already been working with the City of New York on automating workflows, so the City asked Unqork if they could help. Within 72 hours, the company provided the NYC Covid-19 Engagement Portal. Theyve since rolled out other systems to help with donations of medical supplies and food to at risk populations all within the first month of the crisis.

A dashboard from New York City's pandemic response Food Services Delivery Program created within ... [+] days by Unqork.

Compare that to traditional enterprise software development, where a month gets you a rough draft business requirements document at best and thats typically before any coding occurs.

Germaine to the moment, Hoberman and team are rolling out Unqork Forward, a philanthropic digital resilience program to support small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) battling Covid-19. Theyre offering grant recipients licenses to the Unqork platform and access to technical resources capable of helping them digitalize their operations, return employees to work and drive revenue.

While Unqorks clients are generally large corporations and governments from Goldman Sachs and Liberty Mutual Insurance to the cities of New York and Washington, D.C. Unqork Forward focuses on sectors where SMBs have been hardest hit: restaurants, for example. Restaurants must develop no-touch delivery and pickup while their workforce navigates awkward cultural battles over masks and sanitation.

Unqorks all-in approach to supporting businesses and governments with crisis response reflects an epiphany Hoberman shared with me during our chat. For years Ive looked forward to giving back in big ways, perhaps in retirement. When the crisis hit, Hoberman recalled, I realized one morning we should give back right now, when people need it most and Unqorks platform lets us do it in a big way.

Gary Hoberman with members of the Unqork team at their Union Square HQ in Manhattan, January, 2020. ... [+] He's the one in the Unqork hoodie barely visible in the middle of the photo. Leading from the front!

The right technology in the right place at the right time can be life-changing. What I want is for us as engineers to get back to Michelin-star meals instead of flipping burgers. That would be an amazing place to be.

Never Leave Serendipity To Chance

Because of entrepreneurs like Hoberman and team, our no-code future advances faster than even I predicted. While its early days, imagine the power to which well all have access in a few years. Or in a decade.

One of the reasons I publish articles is to discover others exploring the future. As we say in our innovators connective, TWIN Global, Never leave serendipity to chance. With this in mind, Hoberman and I agreed to gather a group for dinner in-person after the pandemic subsides, and hell speak for TWIN Tech 2020, Digital Rubicon, in September online, of course.

Sharing visions for the future attracts criticismsome helpful, some knee-jerk but it can also light up like minds, expand your horizons and lead who-knows where?

Hoberman will speak for TWIN Tech 2020, September 22 - 24 online, worldwide.

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2021 Unicorn IPO: Unqork, The No Code Movement & Offending People With The Future - Forbes