From Self-Taught PHP to SaaS Creator. The Artisan of the Day Is Vladimir Nikolic.
Before Laravel, Vladimir Nikolic was not a programmer. Born in Serbia, he worked in the Army, painted walls, did construction jobs, and even collected trash. But the internet kept pulling him in. His first experiments with HTML and CSS were written in Notepad, and discovering PHP 3 opened the door to something bigger.
“I didn’t speak any English at that time. I used the English dictionary to translate the documentation that I could find. I had no IT education, none whatsoever. Every step of the way was like climbing a mountain barefoot, a very rocky mountain,” he says.
Learning Laravel
When Laravel 4 launched, everything changed for Vladimir. “In 2014, I discovered Laravel 4. Laravel felt different; it felt beautiful. The documentation for the first time in my life wasn’t fighting me, it didn’t hate me. Actually, it was helping, and I could understand it,” he says.
He also calls Laracasts “the private university I could never afford or attend.” Jeffrey Way explained concepts in a way that was easy for him to understand. “Laravel didn’t just give me a framework, it gave me hope.”
Self-Taught to SaaS
Out of that foundation came real products. Vladimir went on to found Coding Wisely, a Serbian software company and digital agency dedicated to building SaaS products and Laravel-powered solutions.
Through Coding Wisely, he has launched tools such as Taskavel.com, a project and task management system, and Invoicing.to, which began as a weekend project and grew into a full SaaS application. He also started a WishfulMail.com, a project for his own kids and grandkids where they can send letters to Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and all their friends. The platform is now available to everyone totally for free, and funds itself through donations
Sharing the Laravel Knowledge
Community has been just as important. Vladimir started Laravel.rs, the Serbian Laravel community, and organizes regular meetups to foster knowledge sharing and collaboration among developers.
He also publishes technical content on the Coding Wisely blog, covering topics such as troubleshooting Livewire.js errors, integrating Vite with Laravel Filament V3, and setting up Git hooks with Laravel Sail.
Personal reflections also make an appearance, such as his post on breaking the ice at Laracon, which captures the human side of attending conferences and connecting with the community.
The Importance of Community
Vladimir emphasizes giving back. He mentors new developers, participates in meetups, and fosters learning and collaboration within the global Laravel community. “Laravel gave me freedom. It took me from laying bricks and building houses to building software. From zero confidence to being here right now with you.”
His message for fellow aspiring developers is simple: “There is no limit. Not language, not background. If I could start late with no degree, with no English knowledge, with no connections, and end up here building software, speaking to you in English, having friends all across the globe from the Laravel Community, then you can too.”
Laravel, for him, is more than PHP. It is proof that with the right tools, the right community, and persistence, you can transform your entire life.
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