From Coding to No-Code Creation: Yaokai’s Entrepreneurial Journey –
Based on an interview originally shared by Paul Muller in his newsletter, Better Read Paul (December 7, 2025 edition)
In his weekly newsletter, Hong Kong–based writer Paul Muller often spotlights founders shaping their industries. Paul runs a community of 230+ entrepreneurs, builds websites at BAOHK, and writes deeply personal stories about work, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
During a recent visit to Hong Kong, Momen founder Yaokai met Paul Muller through Jens Wernborg from Startup Grind. What started as a casual rooftop meetup at Cadillac in Causeway Bay — a bar famous for its legendary happy hour — turned into a candid conversation about immigration, entrepreneurship, failure, and the journey of building a tech platform that empowers creators without code.
Below is the interview story exactly as Paul captured it, followed by reflections on why this story resonates with Momen’s mission.
The Original Story
(As shared in Paul Muller’s newsletter “Better Read Paul”)
Shoutout to Jens from Startup Grind for offering me to meet Yaokai who swung by the city for some workshops. We decided to catch up at Cadillac in Causeway Bay, the rooftop bar with a happy hour that’s nothing short of legendary.
Here is his story (after a few beers):
I’m Yaokai, I’m 36 and I run a tech company called Momen.
My story starts in China, where I lived until I was 13.
My dad moved to Italy when I was about three, and my mom joined him five years later. I stayed behind with a host family until I was old enough to join them. It’s been nearly 20 years since I left China.
My parents were entrepreneurs from the start. They met in University in 1985. Then my dad went to Italy in 1992. He worked in a factory for two years without pay — completely illegal — but eventually built a trading company importing everyday goods from China. Watching him hustle and build something from scratch made a deep impression on me. I grew up believing that entrepreneurship was the path. I never saw myself working for someone else long-term.
I ended up in the U.S. for grad school after University at Cambridge. I joined a company called Medallia just before they raised funding and eventually went public, after which I left to start my own ventures. I was good at math and computers, but I wasn’t the type to bury myself in books. I got by with decent grades and a lot of wandering.
After graduation, I settled in San Francisco. Between 2015 and 2018, I built side projects while working full-time. I realized a lot of my coding was repetitive. Around that time, I got into Bitcoin — sold miners on Amazon, dabbled in stock investing, and started exploring finance more deeply.
That led me to build things like a self-checkout system using RFID and NFC, as well as a no-code stock trading strategy backtest platform. They all failed. For the self-checkout system, I was targeting Costco/Home Depot, but I didn’t have the connections. Mom-and-pop shops would’ve probably said yes without hesitation. The backtest platform targeted family offices and advisors, but I never talked to real advisors, which caused my biggest early failure.
Reflecting on these side projects, I realized I was frustrated with writing repetitive CRUD code, handling API integrations, and dealing with CSS. I thought: “There has to be a better way to do this.” That’s how Momen was born.
I started Momen in 2020, a no-code full-stack app development platform. The difference is I talk to users and listen. They share their wins with me, and I get to see how our tools help them.
Momen started as a no-code WeChat mini program builder. Within two years, we had over 130,000 users and launched around 3,000 projects. By 2022, we expanded to the web, powered by AWS, serving users globally.
In mid-2023, we pivoted to fully self-service — no outsourcing, no free tech support. This brought steady revenue and a loyal user base. Today, we have a team of 32 and around 350,000 registered users.
One interesting pivot has been leveraging WeChat Mini-Apps, bypassing some Apple App Store limitations. I know a client running a mini-program solo who makes nearly a million dollars a year selling trading cards. He livestreams, handles inventory, APIs, shipping — all using Momen — and even fixes bugs live.
Managing a team in China while living in the U.S. means navigating cultural differences and time zones. Remote work has its quirks, and regulatory shifts in China have been challenging. But I’m committed. This journey has changed me — let’s see where it goes next.
Reference Note
This blog features the full, original interview story written by Paul Muller, published in his Substack newsletter Better Read Paul. Paul is a Hong Kong–based writer and creator of BAOHK, offering website design and development services.
