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Ilia Zolas

Ilia

Zolas

FULL STACK DEV | MARKETER

Full Stack Developer,

Digital Marketer and Creative.

Over 10 years experience in building websites, webapps, 360° marketing strategies and digital content.

Webapp Development

UI | UX

Analytics

E-Commerce

Sustainability

Crypto

Blockchain

Artificial Intelligence

Product Development

Entrepreneurship

Virtual Reality

Story Telling

Gaming

Music

A TECH ODYSSEY,

DREAM MAKER,

DIGITAL POLYIST

AND CREATIVE

ENTHUSIAST

ABOUT ME

Focused on delivering beautiful web applications and digital strategies

My detailed experience enables me to engage with diverse teams in delivering complex webapps and running detailed communication strategies.

Years of

Experience

Full Stack Developer

Full stack developer with a passion for web applications that solve problems simply and stylishly. Also an alumni of Le Wagon and occassional teacher at Le Wagon Bootcamps and external events.

Digital Marketing Expert

Managed digital marketing activities of over 40 SMEs in South Africa, UK, Singapore and Bali. Proven experience in Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimisation, Media Buying, Targeted Ads, Analytics and more.

Content Creator

Certified photographer interested in both photo and video media. Proven experience with the Adobe Suite. Passionate about sound and music, using DAWs like Logic Pro X, Reason and Ableton. Create content professionally and privately.

Employment

Full Stack Developer

Emerald Stay

emeraldstay.com

A luxury property management and booking company that lets users book their accommodation in luxury apartments, chalets and homes around the globe.

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Software Engineer

Audacia

www.audacia.co

Software Engineer working within the Ventures department of Audacia focusing on creating a broad spectrum of web applications.

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Web and Digital Marketing Specialist

LS Instruments

www.lsinstruments.ch

Responsible for 360 degree digital marketing activities while maintaining and developing company sites, online products, content and best practices with a focus on closed-loop analytics and sales, based in Fribourg.

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Teaching Assistant

Le Wagon

www.lewagon.com

Taught at the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne as a Teaching Assistant for the popular coding bootcamp Le Wagon. We taught students the basics of frontend development as well as UI, UX and prototyping through tools like Figma.

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Founder | Digital Marketing Specialist

The Digital Marketing Collaboration

dmc.iliazolas.com

Founder and director of digital marketing agency since 2013 providing a range of services to build or improve SMEs online presence with a focus on delivering conversions through sales or qualified leads.

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Marketing Manager

180 Degrees Catering and Confectionery

www.180degrees.co.za

Employed during the company startup phase, I was responsible for establishing a marketing department that focused on digital marketing while handling multiple office and factory duties.

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Marketing Coordinator

T.E. Trade Events

www.probeauty.co.za

Reporting to the Marketing Manager and Director, I created and implemented online strategies for multiple subsidiary brands in Professional Beauty, Hair, Aesthetics and Facilities Management.

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Assistant Brand Manager

Guitar Excellence

www.guitarexcellence.co.za

Reporting to the Founder and CEO of GE, I developed online lesson material, introduced business management practices and assisted in digital marketing and content strategies.

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Portfolio

Black Market Ramen

blackmarketramen.com

I have been doing part time shifts at BMR in the kitchen because I absolutely love ramen. They knew that I was a creative and asked if I would do a photoshoot of their new menu which I gladly accepted.

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Alliance Française

www.afdubai.org

Alliance Français is a major provider of official french tuition within the middle east. They needed operational expertise regarding Google Analytics, GA4 and conversion tracking using Google Tag Manager to accurately record their online sales performance.

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Ramen Cookbook

ramen-crazy.com

It's not pretty yet, but this little cookbook is a full stack MERN application using railway.app for hosting. Follow the link to see it and come back soon to take a look at its updated style.

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DMC Analytics

dmc-frontend-production.up.railway.app

The homepage of what will soon be a web analytics web app that houses a stunning UI as well as integrates with most services while showing all the most relevant metrics in beautiful graphs and more.

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Learn Guitar

learnguitar.iliazolas.com/

A lead generation site to help me acquire new guitar students as a side hustle. Lessons are catered for beginner, intermediate and advanced students in the domain of guitar dexterity, improvisation and composition.

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Ilia Zolas

iliazolas.herokuapp.com/

The site you are currently viewing serves as my personal CMS, blog and online CV. I use it to give recruiters a better picture of myself as well as share articles regarding my experience as a dev, digital marketer and ex business owner.

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IZ Photo

photo.iliazolas.com/

My personal site to showcase my photography which has been a passion of mine for over 10 years now.

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Susewi

www.susewi.life

With a team of experts situated in multiple locations around the world, Susewi produces algae based solutions for the food market with a current interest in fish feed substitutes. They needed a modern site that would emulate their values.

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Beyond Menus

www.beyondmenus.com

Based in Bali, Beyond Menus is a long time hotel gifting and accessories company. The site now boasts a subscription service for customers of the Beyond Menus brand where they can easily view the companies product line.

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Food Ventures

www.foodventures.com.sg

Food Ventures is a Singaporean based company that invests in food science and technology startups. They required a website that would communicate their professional interests in asian food solutions in a modern way.

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Munchachos

www.munchachos.com

A London based startup, I reported to the CEO and Founder as well as managed the digital marketing activities and site of the brand; a food subscription box delivered weekly to families who want a healthy alternative to snacking for children.

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Jacfest

www.jacfest.com

Jacfest are a team of music event organisers and artists based in Cambridge, UK. They needed a website that looked alive that could also issue tickets, accept payments easily and check-in guests to upcoming events.

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180 Degrees Catering and Confectionery

www.180degrees.co.za

180 is a food service provider in South Africa specialising in catering and confectionery. They are also highly recongised for their line of catalogue and speciality cakes. I currently manage the 180 site as well as their digital marketing.

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K+A Architecture

www.koenarch.co.za

Architect Brodwen Koen owns an Architecture Firm in South Africa that has been involved in over 100 projects ranging in construction costs from R2.5m to R1.32 billion. I created the K+A website as well as managed their digital marketing activities.

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Projects

GigHub

bit.ly/478m8hk

FIGMA - If you are a musician, it turns out its pretty vague when it comes to booking shows. Also, venues don't have an easy way to make their performance spaces available without having to use multiple tools. In comes GigHub, a band and venue booking application which I currently have prototyped using Figma.

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Dream Maker Corp

bit.ly/3Rv7SKN

FIGMA - My fantasy software development house inspired by Cyberpunk 2077. Currently developing this project using React, Node, Express and Payload CMS.

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MERNT Boilerplate

github.com/IliaZolas/mernt-boilerplate

A MERN boilerplate rigged with TypeScript.

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MERN Boilerplate

github.com/IliaZolas/mern-boilerplate

I created this MongoDB, Express, React and Node boilerplate to allow me and other developers to skip the setup process and pay more attention to realising their application goals.

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Foos Games

github.com/IliaZolas/FoosGames

A basic MERN foosball app that tracks player progress.

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Ramen Cookbook

github.com/IliaZolas/Ramen-Cookbook

A MERN stack application where users can login and add their own ramen recipes to a growing library.

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BandFeels

github.com/IliaZolas/bandfeels

A ruby on rails music streaming subscription service based on mood.

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AirStudio

github.com/IliaZolas/rails-AirStudio

A ruby on rails app that allows music studio owners to list their studios and receive bookings.

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Mister Cocktail

github.com/IliaZolas/rails-mister-cocktail

A simple ruby on rails app allowing users to create and add cocktails to a growing list of cocktails.

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Guitar Coach

github.com/IliaZolas/learn-guitar

A ruby on rails app that provides guitar resources and tracks your progress.

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Anything Goes

github.com/IliaZolas/anything-goes

A ruby on rails job marketplace where users can create and apply to job listings.

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Blogposts

#16 - Your Digital Freelancer

Reporting for Duty

2024-01-10

It's 2024 and I am opening myself up to freelancing gigs around the world! This wouldn't be my first rodeo as a...

#15 - React, Angular or Vue?

Which one should I use?

2024-01-09

Choosing the right JavaScript library or framework for a web development project is a crucial decision. React, Angular, and Vue are three...

#14 - A Digital Marketing Odyssey

A Decade in Review (2012-2023)

2024-01-07

Greetings, digital trailblazers! Today, let's embark on a journey through the evolution of digital marketing from 2012 to the present day. 1....

#13 - useState vs Redux

State Management in React

2023-12-15

Hello, coding comrades! Today, we talk about state management in React. useState: Simplicity in Local State Mastery `useState` is a React Hook...

#12 - MySQL vs. NoSQL

What's the difference?

2023-12-13

Greetings reader! Today, let's talk about the difference between MySQL and NoSQL databases. MySQL: The Relational Workhorse Definition: MySQL is a relational...

#11 - Node & Express

Unleashing Power with Node.js and Express

2023-12-07

Hello fellow developers and coding aficionados! Today, let's dive into the dynamic duo that's transforming the backend game—Node.js and Express. If you're...

#10 - What is Web3?

Syntax, DApps, and Getting Started

2023-12-03

Hey there, tech enthusiasts and aspiring developers! Today, we're embarking on a chat about Web3. If you're interested in decentralized applications (DApps),...

#09 - My time at EHL with Le Wagon

Teaching students how to code

2023-11-08

Hello again reader, My colleague, Morgan Fula, and I had the incredible opportunity to impart our knowledge under the Le Wagon banner...

#08 - I am on Youtube!

Teaching you how to code

2023-11-06

Hi there reader, Guess what, you no longer have to rely on reading my blogposts because now, I am uploading content to...

#07 - Frontend Gold

Make everything beautiful

2023-10-26

Hello reader, With the ever-evolving web landscape, the role of a frontend developer has expanded beyond merely displaying information. Today, it's about...

#06 - What is TypeScript?

A better way to avoid errors

2023-07-12

Hello again reader, I hope you enjoyed my previous blogpost where I help you to build a MERN stack application. If you...

#05 - Building a MERN stack app

Part 2 - UI and CRUD

2023-06-10

Hello again reader, In part 2 of building a MERN app, we will be working on the frontend UI and CRUD features....

#04 - Building a MERN stack app

Part 1 - Setup

2023-01-15

Hello reader, Today I will be helping you along with what should be a fairly straightforward tutorial to get a basic MERN...

#03 - 3 Guidelines for Junior Devs

Cause we all want to get better!

2023-01-01

Hello reader, After having spent almost 3 years coding full time, I wanted to talk about 3 guidelines which have helped me...

#02 - Bootcamps and Careers

Time to join a bootcamp?

2022-06-14

Hello readers, A lot has happened since my last post... But let's cut to the chase! As it's my second post...

#01 - I Made a CMS!

The beginning of everything

2021-11-01

Hello reader, Welcome to my corner of the web! Thank you for making your way here. I created this content management system to...

Webmaster

CHF 3'000 per month

Neglecting your web product or site can mean deprecated dependancies or breaking changes in frameworks and libraries will result in downtime or complete failure requiring immediate support. This service includes continuous monitoring of your website or application and running the necessary updates to ensure smooth performance and predictable feature implementation.

Full Stack Web Apps

CHF 10'000

You have an idea and you want to see it come to life on the web? Most web products are full stack applications that are tailored to meet the requirements of the product spec. My process of building a full stack application includes user stories, product mockup, development, responsiveness, hosting solutions, Github version control, authentication, validation and marketing add-ons.

Prototypes

CHF 3'000

Prototypes are visual references that simulate a working application. Before beginning the actual development of an application or website, a prototype is usually created to establish a user flow that can be agreed upon and followed during the development process. This service includes colour scheme proposals, typeface suggestions, pages and components and linked triggers that simulate the app or websites behaviour.

Digital Marketing Strategy

CHF 10'000

A 360° Digital Marketing Strategy is formulated and presented to you in a document serving as your brands personal roadmap towards online visibility and engagement. This service includes defined strategies regarding SEO & SEM, Online Advertising, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, Affiliate Marketing and more.

Social Media Manager

CHF 3'000 per month

Being alive on social media does not suit all brands, but for most it is a necessary component to interact with your customers. Managing social media effectively is about delivering engaging content, responding to your customers, and gathering insightful metrics to allow you to measure the market perception about your brand. This service includes Content Creation, Content Scheduling Suite, Customer Engagement and Analytics Reporting.

Email Marketing Specialist

CHF 3'000 per month

Email Marketing is really a customer relationship management activity and involves sending emails to customers that are intended to provide rare value to the reader. This includes content like price discounts, freebies, account information, events and more. This service includes an email client like Mailchimp, Email Design, Email Scheduling and Analytics Reporting.

Content Creator

CHF 3'000 per month

Content is king when it comes to brand perceptions and engagement. High quality, relevant and well thought-out content will greatly benefit your business and the way your customers interact with you. This service includes creating content using photo, video and generative A.I. as well as tools from the Adobe Suite collection.

Product Manager

CHF 3000 per month

I manage tech teams in understanding the project vision and delivering functioning applications through relationship and project management. I seek to automate communication through project management tools and integrations with version control systems, leading to optimised product delivery.

Company Website

CHF 4000

For most businesses, having a custom built full stack application is overkill. Instead, business websites serve as information portals regarding your business and may even be paired with e-commerce systems like WooCommerce. This service includes a website mockup, a WordPress / Shopify / Drupal / SquareSpace installation, no-code building add-ons, SEO add-ons, hosting platform, and an e-commerce plugin if required.