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Clarity

Jorge Colon

Orlando, Florida Area

Available for advice on software development implementation, evaluating technology against business goals, and consultation. Web Engineer Veteran w/ 14+ years of professional experience. Knowledgeable in PHP, Python, Ruby, Node, jQuery, HTML/CSS, AJAX, Drupal, Wordpress, Linux administration for web development, several MVC frameworks for custom web applications (Zend Framework, Symfony, Laravel, Rails, Django, and others), MySQL, Microsoft SQL, Oracle, CouchDB, Redis, and MongoDB.

Have worked on medium to large corporate web applications, as well as startup projects.

$4.17/min

21 Calls

11 Reviews

36 minutes
Avg. call

Web development PHP front-end development Software Architectural Design PHP Frameworks

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Technical Strategy

I've been building applications for 14 years. Some from scratch, some already built, some were legacy systems, others were using the latest frameworks and technology. I've worked as a code monkey and as lead architect. From requirements analyst to designer to front end developer.

I understand the full stack from servers, to browsers, to databases, to MVC frameworks, usability, business and user needs, and best practices like unit testing, self-documenting code, design patterns, and performance tuning.

With the breadth of my knowledge and experience I'm able to make decisions based on many factors, not just a few. I can view a problem from a higher perspective as well at a very low perspective predicting problems before they happen and building for the future as well as the present.

Technical Advice for Non Technical Startup Founders

You already have an idea and you want to make it a reality, but you really don't know where to start and want to avoid making costly mistake of going down the wrong technical path. Technology fascinates you, but also stresses you out. You may have already spent a good amount of money and you still don't know if you're going in the right direction. You're looking to get technical advice from someone that could speak in terms that you can understand. Perhaps you might have even hired the wrong people especially offshore and wasted time. I have helped scores of startups get clear in all of those areas.

How to Find the Right Technical Talent

You have a mobile app or web app you want to build. You're background isn't technology and you're in need of acquiring technical talent now but you're not exactly sure what to look for or how to evaluate talent. All I need is to hear your needs and I'll let you know everything you need to know to acquire the right talent.

Answers 2
Reviews 11

Answers

Jorge Colon answered

What is the best tutorial to get started with CakePHP?

The Cake cookbook is pretty good: http://book.cakephp.org/2.0/en/index.html. Nothing's better then getting your hands dirty after learning the concepts, especially MVC is general. Cake is very opinionated, clunky and bulky, which means you have to do things "the Cake way" which depending on your needs may or may not be great. I'd stay away from CakePHP unless you have to work on a project that's already using it.

If you're new to MVC, I'd recommend FuelPHP first, then Laravel. CodeIgniter is definitely easy to use and the documentation is great, but it's aging and has many old concepts which other frameworks have improved over the years. If you need help jump-starting your learning on MVC frameworks book a call with me. I can get you up and running in 1-3 hours so you could focus on coding.

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PHP

CakePHP

Jorge Colon answered

How do you get your first customers for a consulting business?

Back when I started LinkedIn wasn't as huge as it is now. I wish it was. I didn't have a large network and those networking sessions NEVER brought me any clients. I used to go to all sorts of them hoping to get clients. There were a couple of nibbles here and there, but never anything serious. The only thing that helped was reaching out DIRECTLY to people in my target market. That meant cold calls and cold emails. I'd sell myself while thinking about their needs. Once I got a few bites I'd build good rapport by keeping in touch, asking questions, repeating back what they were saying so that they knew I was on the same page and kept my promises. If I said I'd call them back next Tuesday at 2:15 I'd do so. Eventually I built trust with them without having a network, or an insane amount of experience.

Oh and the most important thing about consulting is to LISTEN. When those first clients notice that you're truly listening and you're not selling the cookie cutter solutions everyone else is trying to sell them that's when you got them hooked. You start to understand their problems, fears, and see through their eyes and not just yours.

A network will help, but in the beginning just good 'ol salesmanship will get the ball rolling.

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Business Development

Startup Consulting

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Reviews

Appreciated Jorge's expertise and agnostic approach to helping define a tech stack / dev path for a new project.

Jeff Swaim Source: Clarity

Jorge was very informative on what technical details I should look into and what to look out for as we expand and scale our business. Would certainly reach out to him again for technical advice in the future.

Rajesh Bhusal Source: Clarity

Very thorough and experienced!

Steve West Source: Clarity

Jorge was very helpful, he tried really hard to translate his technical knowledge into a common language for me as a non-tech guy to understand. He also requested brief background info regarding the subject matter to prepare himself before the call, and provided additional helpful info after the call.

jab dunn Source: Clarity

Jorge did a great job helping me understand the coding issue with my website.

Kirsten Martenson Source: Clarity

I got some very valuable advice about the best and most economical way to forge ahead with deepening the system we use to manage our business. Thanks Jorge!

Zev Averbach Source: Clarity

Jorge really helped me understand the issues that I was having in regards to a website build. His clear direction and website expertise helped me with a new project.

Kirsten Martenson Source: Clarity

Jorge is extremely knowledgeable.

His unique role in an enterprise environment really helped me out in making some key decisions regarding app development.

p.s. He is a really nice guy too!

Tom Masiero Source: Clarity

Jorge was super responsive. He answered my request in record time and was willing to speak to me that night. Jorge is the man - he was thoughtful and detailed in his responses. He not only answered the questions thoughtfully but offered up smart suggestions. He's a great resource for any tech-related questions.

Jason Thai Source: Clarity

George is certainly a well-versed in web application development. I came to him with a vision for an application and without any prior experience or knowledge of web development. After speaking with him, I felt much more confident about the steps I needed to take to complete my ambitious project. He's guidance enabled me to create a thorough project proposal that included an estimated budget, talent acquisition strategy, and timeline projection.

James Joseph Source: Clarity

Jorge is a strong worker with an eye for making developing technologies work well.

Chris Chubb Source: LinkedIn

Member since August 2012