After 17 years of running marketing companies and building websites to help businesses grow, Justin Handley, President and Founder of Web Mission Control, needed help with building an app with a technology he wasn’t too familiar with. What started out from just needing to consult an expert, the collaboration between Justin and a Codementor eventually lead to building a web app that is now the foundation of a rapidly growing company. But what proved to be the greatest benefit of Codementor to Justin is that he was able to pick up enough expertise and confidence in other programming languages and a variety of frameworks to start taking on other projects and help more businesses take off.
The Challenge
About a year ago, I was looking to build a new app and was trying to decide between React.js and Angular. I wanted to talk to someone with deep experience with both applications and that’s when I first came to Codementor.
I found a mentor who was more talented than I had ever hoped for. Through a series of sessions, we not only decided on the platform, but I also learned how to code the application in React (the platform we decided on). I previously had been a PHP programmer and had done some Java, but other than simple tweaks on WordPress sites, I’d never done any serious JavaScript programming.
High-value learning while building real-world applications with Codementor
With the help of my mentor over several sessions, I began to build an application that I continued working on over the next several months. Every time I got stuck, I’d return for another session, and in this way, I learned an incredible amount.
I picked up how to set up Node, how to work with Firebase, how to write in ES6, among others. I also learned many JavaScript libraries deeply like Moment and Redux that enabled me to build the application I wanted.
With Codementor, I was able to get an application live in a language I’d never written a single line of code in, in under six months.
And even when my mentor had to leave town due to some family issues, I opened a new request, and have found many talented freelancers available to help me with issues as I need them. In this fashion, I built a web app that is now the foundation of a rapidly growing company. With Codementor, I was able to get an application live in a language I’d never written a single line of code in, in under six months. You can see the result at http://scaleapp.rocks
I love the approach, as I fully understand every line of code in my application — so I’m not at the mercy of a freelancer who wrote code that is way over my head. When I need code to be written that goes beyond my skill level, now instead of hiring it out, I watch someone write it and have them explain it to me in real-time so that my knowledge base constantly grows.
I get to feel confident in taking on a job because I know if I’m stuck, I am just a click away from getting the help I need.
At this point, I’ve started writing JavaScript applications for several clients who love my work, and I get to feel confident in taking on a job because I know if I’m stuck, I am just a click away from getting the help I need.
