Laravel Skepticism Turned into Advocacy. The Artisan of the Day Is Nick Basile.
Nick Basile’s introduction to Laravel came in 2016, during a career-defining transition. Coming off his first software development role, where he worked with a homegrown PHP framework, Nick entered a startup that promised something different.
“I remember being skeptical when they told me, ‘Don’t worry, we use Laravel in the backend. It’s not going to be anything like that nightmare soup of homegrown PHP,’” he recalls. “It sounded too good to be true.”
But once he started using it, the framework won him over completely.
Writing, Sharing, and Building a Community
By 2017, Nick was so energized by Laravel that he began writing blog posts to share what he was learning. Those early articles still resonate with developers today. “People still talk to me about those posts,” he says.
Besides expanding his technical knowledge, blogging opened unexpected doors: lasting friendships, valuable connections, and professional opportunities that continue to shape his career.
Delivering Value with Markham Square
Today, Nick leads Markham Square, where Laravel remains at the heart of the company’s work. His team recently completed a monumental project: migrating a 20+ year-old Perl backend to Laravel. The task was anything but trivial, yet Laravel’s ecosystem made it achievable.
“Every time we hit a roadblock, whether it was migrating a capability or supporting a complex feature, we could rely on the documentation, the community, or even discover that the solution was already built into Laravel,” he explains. “It’s been designed from the ground up to make developers’ lives easier, so we can focus on delivering value for clients.”
Sharing Knowledge Through YouTube
In addition to his client work, Nick shares insights with the broader developer community on his YouTube channel. There, he explores topics ranging from Laravel best practices to broader development advice, continuing his long-standing commitment to education and mentorship.
For Nick, Laravel has also been a catalyst for connection. He has found a supportive network in the Houston Laravel community and beyond. The friendships, collaborations, and opportunities sparked through the framework have shaped his career and personal growth.
“Laravel has been a career accelerator, a networking tool, and the foundation of so many meaningful experiences,” he says. “I would not be who I am or where I am today without it.”
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