Ask HN: How have you solved other people's problems without writing code?

When I have an idea for a solution to someone's problem--particularly a solution that could generate income--I worry that I jump to "let's start coding" too soon.

I see many posts on Hacker News about successful 24-hour projects that make a few bucks and don't involve the creator writing any code, or very little code, and coughing up pocket change for the resources. These posts often come with a helpful explanation of how the project was put together from disparate pre-existing resources, frameworks, engines & tools.

For example, many of the "pieces-parts" I have read about take the shape of CMSes, website templates & designs with free or cheap licenses, payment processors, shopping carts, scripts & libraries, APIs, phone systems, and so forth.

What are some of the tools you use to create or prototype working solutions without spending a lot of time & money? What are some solutions you have created in this way, and how did they succeed or fail?