Become a web developer with me, a digital agency CEO and experienced coder

Learn more about Tom

• Can you tell us about your first experience using a computer?

  We got our first family computer when I was a child, and I remember it was a big Dell desktop PC. It came with a load of demo discs for games like Quake and Doom, which I remember playing. I only had a limited amount of time on the PC every night, that was one of our family rules. When I was older I inherited this family PC into my bedroom, and remember being fascinated by all of the options to customise it and make it my own. This was probably the start of my love for computers.

• What is the technological evolution that has marked you most and what will be, in your eyes, a turning point in this field?

  The Internet becoming a mainstream thing in the 2000s was huge, and I was going through my teenage years then. Growing up as the internet was also maturing was really influential on me, my sense of curiosity, my optimism about the world, even my sense of humour. Sadly I believe the turning point has been in the monopolisation of the Internet, with most of the content that people see being curated by a handful of huge companies, which I feel has lost a bit of the magic for me.

• Explain your expertise, your interest in it and, more broadly, its importance in the computer world.

  I specialise in web development. In other words, building things for the web. I was always interested in both making things, and computers, and I think I was attracted to web development specifically because I love the idea of democracy with the Internet. I loved that anyone could learn HTML, make a webpage and put it online using free hosting services. Equally, anyone can then access that webpage for free, without any special software. I found that very inspirational and still believe that is the true power of the Internet even now.

• Do so-called 'visionaries', such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg inspire you or do you have other role models?

  My role models were the pioneers of web development as we know it - Dan Cederholm, Eric Meyer, Lea Verou, and others. I followed these web designers and their blogs in the early 2000s, and I was fascinated by the work they were doing exploring web development, HTML, CSS and Javascript, and helping to shape the future of web design.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  Starting a business helped me to realise that nothing is ever 100% finished. With coding, you can spend a lot of time optimising and refining code, improving it here and there, when in reality the code was perfectly good enough hours ago. Naturally this is very important in the business world (time is money!) but it is also true with anything creative like coding - learning when to consider something finished and move on is a skill as important as any other.

• What would you say to an uncomfortable person in front of a screen who says that "IT is too complicated"?

  Computers are dumb, and are only able to do what you tell them. You are much smarter than a computer - even if you speak different languages. To become a masterful coder is to become fluent in a computer's language, but even if you never become fluent, through learning to code you will still pick up enough to be able to better understand computers, how they work, and what they're trying to tell you.

• What are your other passions, related or non-related to computers?

  I love playing piano and guitar, and listening to music. My passion for making things extends beyond the screen and I am very into arts, crafts and cooking.

• What makes you a Superprof in IT?

  Not only am I passionate about what I do, and teaching others, but I have a track record of turning my passion into a freelance position, successful career, and now my own business. I can help you to turn your passion into something that you do for a living, so you can do what you love every day.