From engines to backends
As a teenager I started coding with freeCodeCamp and YouTube courses, and later worked as a yacht technician. When an engine dies at sea, you take it apart, test, and improvise with the tools on board until it runs. Software turned out to be the same job with better tools in a more controlled environment, which made the transition feel seamless.
My way into the backend
Five years ago my love for backend processes and API connections was born, when I went full time into development through my e-commerce businesses: Python automations generating thousands of product mockups, descriptions and metadata, as well as uploading products in bulk. From there I built API and webhook middlewares connecting stores to product and logistics fulfillment partners, and moved the data from CSVs into Postgres and MySQL.
Tech lead at Saleway, and how I became an artisan
For the last three years I have been tech lead at Saleway, a Swiss startup company, owning full-stack development of their Laravel platforms. We rebuilt Audio Empire from a no-code Lovable prototype into an investor-ready, production Laravel app. Since then I have built three more live Laravel platforms, for clients and on my own account. That taught me what a solid foundation is worth: clean boilerplate, CI/CD through GitHub and Forge, queue management with Redis and Horizon, billing with Stripe via Laravel Cashier on my own products and Digistore24 on client platforms, and databases I would rather self-host than overpay for, which is why I migrated Audio Empire from Supabase onto a self-hosted Postgres setup. Every platform I build ships with a Filament admin panel, so the whole team has access to stats and configuration without asking a developer.
How I work
- Trained under a PHP dev with 20+ years in the field. Git discipline, PR reviews and weekly product syncs are my default, because without them you lose sight of the bigger picture when you are in the midst of a deep sprint.
- Less is more. Especially now that AI writes code so fast, the art is making the complex simple, not the simple complex.
- When a deadline is real I go into a deep state and ship, then surface again.
- The importance of brainstorming, bouncing ideas and staying accountable makes working in a team non negotiable.
- I am always open to learn more. A new team and new architectures bring new learnings and new opportunities.
The profit shares from the platforms I built let me relocate to Cyprus, where I run my own limited company. I am based in Paphos and after all these years of working remotely I am looking forward to local on-site work.