Abstract
Low-code or no-code application development is a new jargon in the software development community. In response, large and medium-sized companies, are seen triggered to join the bandwagon. Existing research on why small and innovative companies, like software startups, apply this paradigm is limited. The current literature shows that software startups are different from established software companies in terms of their focus on innovation, market-driven context, limited resources, and uncertainty. Therefore, in this paper, we study and report our initial understanding of why software startups apply low-code or no-code. We studied two cases, in the first phase, to address the research question. Our preliminary results show that software startups apply this paradigm in an ad-hoc manner and use it for experimentation, prototyping, and idea validation. On the flip side, large companies enjoy a stable workflow of low-code or no-code development. The motivations include achieving rapid product development, fast feedback, and empowering business users. These results provide a good starting point for discussion and demand for further research. Including additional data, particularly, more cases, therefore, is our essential next step to get a deeper understanding and report final results.