We white-labeled a no-code platform, started pitching real businesses, and turned it into a training ground for HTML, CSS, and human connection.
Not every project in the Age of Robots needs to be AI-powered.
Sometimes, the most valuable thing you can build is a bridge between learning and earning — a space where someone can practice, fail, adjust, and grow.
That’s what we’re doing with Lost Tie — a website builder designed for small businesses, powered by a white-labeled backend, and fronted by a 13-year-old learning HTML, CSS, and how to talk to real humans about their websites.
This isn’t just a tech project. It’s a business apprenticeship in disguise.
Let me show you how it works — and why I think every kid should learn how to sell something as soon as possible.
🪄 What Is Lost Tie?
Lost Tie is a white-labeled version of Brizy Cloud, a visual website builder with a dead-simple editor, fast hosting, and mobile-ready templates.
Here’s the short version:
- Small business owners want websites that work
- My kid wants to learn to code and start a business
- I want him to learn sales, service, and systems — not just syntax
So we built a bridge.
He builds demo sites for local businesses (using Lost Tie templates), then learns how to approach, pitch, and support those businesses without dragging me into a support nightmare.
⚙️ The Stack: White-Label Brizy + Code Training on the Side
We opted for Brizy Cloud because:
- It has clean UI/UX for beginners
- It’s fast out of the box (CDN + optimized)
- It supports custom domains, forms, and even popups
- It supports white labeling (custom dashboard, branding, domain)
- It has team collaboration, so I can review or assist without micromanaging
This gives us the best of both worlds:
- Visual editing for quick demos and onboarding
- Manual code injection (HTML/CSS) for training moments
- Custom templates to streamline builds
He’s learning:
- Basic layout with HTML
- Styling with CSS + Tailwind (introduced gradually)
- Design logic: margins, spacing, CTA structure
- Why mobile-first matters
- How web tools actually connect (DNS, forms, domains)
And honestly? He’s picking it up faster than I expected.
🧪 The “Project-Based Learning” Flow
Here’s how the Lost Tie sales + training system works:
- Pick a real business
- Local restaurant, contractor, or non-profit
- Bonus if they have a bad or outdated website
- Research the business
- Find logos, hours, photos, reviews, etc.
- Build a mood board or layout plan
- Build a demo
- Use a pre-built template and swap in their content
- Customize copy (he gets help from ChatGPT for this part)
- Add 1–2 features: contact form, menu, reviews, etc.
- Prepare the pitch
- Why their current site is underperforming
- How this new version can help (mobile-ready, better SEO, modern design)
- Pricing: usually flat monthly or one-time with hosting
- Make contact
- Walk in, call, or email
- Use respectful, non-pushy script
- Show the live demo link in real-time
- Handle objections
- “We already have a guy” → “Cool, just showing what’s possible”
- “How much?” → Clear, simple pricing ($X/month)
- “Can we change it later?” → Yes, easily editable
- If they say yes?
- Set them up with Stripe subscription
- Connect their domain
- Transfer ownership + add editor access
- If they say no?
- Log what happened
- Learn and move on
🧠 Why Sales > Just Coding
I love that my kid is learning CSS.
But I love even more that he’s learning:
- How to talk to business owners
- How to explain value
- How to handle awkward silence
- How to offer help without sounding like a scam
- How to hear “no” and not melt
Because sales isn’t just about selling — it’s about confidence, communication, and empathy. It’s learning to translate skill into value. And that’s a skill most devs never learn.
With Lost Tie, we’re learning early.
🤖 Building in the Age of Robots… Without Code
So where does this fit into the broader “Age of Robots” ethos?
It’s simple:
We’re using the tools the robots gave us — so we can focus on human growth.
Brizy Cloud, AI copy helpers, Stripe for billing, and a whitelabel backend allow us to bypass the boilerplate and get straight to learning, launching, and iterating.
We didn’t have to:
- Build a CMS
- Set up a hosting pipeline
- Write a site editor from scratch
- Or figure out DNS for the 100th time
That means we spend time:
- Talking to real people
- Learning what they want
- Delivering it fast
- Getting feedback
It’s project-based education in the best way.
📬 What’s Next for Lost Tie?
We’re keeping it lean.
Currently live:
- 2 small businesses
- 1 non-profit
- 3 more demos in progress
Next steps:
- Set up a referral system
- Build 5 “go-to” templates for popular industries
- Create a leave-behind flyer + outreach email
- Experiment with postcard-style local mailers
- Add Stripe Connect for automated payout splits (future)
We’re also building a dashboard that lets him track:
- Leads contacted
- Sites built
- Demos delivered
- Conversions
- Income
Because that’s the real SaaS experience — sales, fulfillment, and customer success.
🎉 Final Thoughts
Lost Tie isn’t revolutionary.
But it is real.
And it’s working.
My son is building actual websites.
He’s talking to actual clients.
He’s getting rejected.
He’s learning to follow up.
He’s figuring out what it means to deliver something useful.
That’s more important than any coding bootcamp.
In the Age of Robots, this is the kind of education I want for my kids:
- Real tools
- Real problems
- Real people
- Real outcomes
