My journey with PHP started in 2007 when I learned how to use WordPress for the very first time.

I started using WordPress and fell in love with it. Fast forward to 2016, I got attracted to the idea of becoming an entrepreneur but I needed transport money for this part of my career journey.

Yes, I needed actual money so I started pursuing Venture Capitalists. I got to know some personally after paying $20 to buy the last ticket for attending an Investors Masterclass in 2017.

My life changed. I found myself in the place of seeking to grow a business and a coding career.

I was so worried that an old man noticed my outward appearance, approached me and asked me to make a choice. Afterwards, I ended up getting a job as a researcher in 2018.

I was very good at this but I became a threat to some colleagues who were in the company before me so I resigned before getting double-crossed.

In the next phase, I tried joining a coding academy. I triumphed! I was on my way to fine tuning how I write code in Javascript and PHP with hope to learn Python and Go.

Just before I graduated from the bootcamp, someone started an argument with me so I responded with informed answers that caused more chaos because everyone else was embarrassed. They felt I should have just shared coding knowledge privately. I was dismissed so I cried for days and weeks unending.

In 2019, I started trying to find my life again. This search led me to getting married in the year 2020.

In 2021, I started a business. Using PHP, I was able to build a CRM using a paid template that cost $600. Actually, I partnered with two co-founders who barely paid up their shares. I did coding, sales, everything!

"There he goes again!", I knew you would say that.

By August 2021, I got tired and asked them to resign. They did. In the same time, I was checking out TopTal, Turing and other sites but then I had been distracted for so long, I forgot a lot about widgets in WordPress.

I failed TopTal live coding test. I can say this easily because the end was better.

I mean, putting an end to my pursuits with PHP became a reality when I got a new, interested co-founder to take up the shares relinquished by the co-founders who resigned.

It was the relief that got me up from a sick bed after months of stress. I quit coding with PHP when I discovered Autocode. Shortly after my new co-founder came in, I started learning how to write code for serverless applications. It was and is still fun till today!!!

Weeks later, my new partner and I decided to dump our legacy PHP code and partner with Zoho Corporation because we discovered that Zoho had everything. By October 2021, we signed the deal.

Our company started selling Zoho Workplace. I started learning how to extend this product for our clients using Zoho Cliq after a breakthrough this year.

Following our first business in December 2021, we had a journey through this year then when Zoho came to Nigeria in June 2022, we met their team from Middle East & Africa and eventually started selling Zoho One.

My goal to becoming a developer and entrepreneur started forming slowly as I dived into learning Zoho Deluge then I was able to setup a Paystack integration via a custom widget I built for a Zoho Creator app I developed.

Now this is my developer story. It's been a bumpy ride but worth it. I started building a team of software engineers. Today, we have reached 3 software developers (including me) who have learned Zoho Catalyst and Zoho Creator.

I decided to write this post shortly after receiving links from my colleagues for their first test app. They built it with Zoho Catalyst and implemented IAM using Zoho provisions.

After telling them kudos, I got informed that a software engineer who saw them working asked to join us. We are not recruiting but for implementing Zoho One, we would be recruiting almost every day, contract software engineers to extend Zoho One and build custom apps for our clients.

If you're reading this, we are ready to improve your business. We would start bootcamps soon to introduce engineers who don't do coding to discover web services using no-code, low-code and pro-code.

If you're interested in building custom apps for your business, we are now ready to help using the serverless capabilities in Zoho Catalyst.

I don't know what you think about this but leaving PHP for this wasn't such a bad idea in the end.

Thanks for reading!