20.06.1993
The journey begins
2003 10y.o.
I wanna do websites!🧒
When I first visited a programming company and saw how they create beautiful, animated websites in Macromedia Flash, I was absolutely impressed. I immediately knew that this is what I want to do in my life . Since then, I no longer wanted to be a pilot.
2007 14y.o.
Uploaded Flash website on internet
I asked my father how much a domain cost. He told me it's 1,000,000.- just to get me off his back. But I didn't want to give up on the idea of having my own website on the internet! So, I later managed to find free hosting and my first website was born. The service no longer exists and neither does that website. But it's okay, the website was terrible😅.
2008 15y.o.
Photoshop first steps
During high school, I spent my free time messing with Photoshop. I created various graphic designs such as wallpapers, banners, websites, or printed materials like CD covers, business cards, posters, and more. I even made some money from it on occasion.
2012 19y.o.
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology STU
The start of Bachelor's studies in Applied Informatics.
2012 19y.o.
Web designer at Webtec
Part time job Web design UX books
Part-time job. I designed websites in Photoshop, mostly e-commerce and business websites, and occasionally corporate identities. This is where I first learned about the concept of user experience and discovered a plethora of fantastic books about it. It was only here that I realized how little I knew about web design.
2015 22y.o.
Front-end developer & Web designer at KOLLÁR services
Part time job Web design, Front-end coding CSS, Javascript jQuery, Bootstrap 3
Part-time job during my second year at university. I designed websites in Photoshop and then created the front-end from the design. It helped me realize the limitations of CSS, so I found out that anything can be designed, but not necessarily easily styled.
Also, I started using Bootstrap 3. It was surprising how useful this framework is.
2016 23y.o.
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology STU
C, C++, Algorithms, Complexity, Big O notation Data structures, Graph algorithms Java, OOP, Design patterns Project management, UML diagrams AI, Genetic algorithms, Fuzzy logic Web technologies, SASS, Javascript SQL, PHP, Git
I finished my bachelor's degree in Applied Informatics and started my master's degree.
Tons of coding, math, and a lot of hard work. My bachelor's thesis was part of a large project consisting of seven parts.
My task was to program an online market for selling business processes represented by Petri nets. My part had to communicate with other parts via API's.
As the foundation of the system, I used an MVC framework that I developed myself.
2016 23y.o.
Full stack developer at esoul
PHP, custom framework Javascript, jQuery SQL Redis Nginx
A friend from school offered me a part-time job. Focused mainly on e-commerce solutions. A startup with great people. Our projects were successful and started to grow massively, which brought a lot of new challenges.
2018 25y.o.
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology STU
Unity Algorithms, NP problems Formal languages, Automatas, Multi-threading Software engineering Application security AI, Neural networks, Biometry Mobile applications, Android, Java Networks, OSI, Protocols Semantic Web, OWL Web technologies, Laravel, VueJS, SQL, NoSQL
I have completed my master's degree. During my studies, I came up with a project that was eventually divided into three thesis papers. The idea was to create a system that addresses typical back-office problems. Simply put, it was like combining Toggl and Jira together.
2018 25y.o.
Software engineer at esoul
PHP, custom framework, Laravel, E-commerce Selenium, Laravel Dusk Javascript, jQuery, VueJS, Webpack SQL Redis Nginx, Docker, Bitbucket Pipelines, CI/CD Google APIs, Facebook APIs
Upon completing my studies, I continued at Esoul systems as software engineer where I had the opportunity to witness the rapid growth of successful projects and the unforeseeable challenges that ensue. Even after 6 years, I continue to encounter uncharted problems that require innovative solutions.
Here I mention some use-cases I dealt with:
  • Customizable product filters
  • Elasticsearch advanced search
  • Analytics custom dashboard
  • GDPR
  • Merge Laravel individual features into custom framework
  • Structured HTML data
  • Data logging and analysis
  • UX consulting
  • Customizable payment & delivery types
  • Custom CMS
  • Code optimization & refactoring
  • SQL queries optimization & SQL settings tweaking
  • Google Page speed optimization
  • Advanced VATs
  • 3rd party integration
  • Background processing
  • Media processing
  • Back-office automation
  • Automated tests
  • 2022 Cookie policy
2023 - 2024 | 30y.o.
Software engineer at ui42
Documentation PHP, custom framework, Laravel, E-commerce Javascript, jQuery, VueJS, Gulp, Yarn SQL Redis, Memcached Apache, Docker, Jenkins, CI/CD Selenium, Feature tests, Unit tests
New journey. A good friend of mine recruited me to join their team. Again, mainly focused on e-commerce solutions. Working with wonderful people.
Here I mention some use-cases I dealt with:
  • Writing documentation
  • European Price Indication Directive (PID)
  • Automated tests
  • Data analysis
  • Creating Laravel modules
  • Data logging and analysis
  • Scalability and caching strategies
  • Code optimization & refactoring
  • Database Design and SQL queries optimization
  • Google Page speed optimization
  • API Development and Integration
  • Security measures
2024 | 30y.o.
Working on my projects
Making a break to focus on finishing my personal projects. My top priority has been working on project TANGL, where my goal was to turn a hobby into a personal brand. After that, I plan to explore new opportunities.
August 2024 | 31y.o.
Looking for a new opportunities
I'm happy to have completed most of my projects and am now ready to explore new opportunities. I'm currently based in Slovakia, but I'm open to relocation.

My stack

These are the main technologies that I work with. I use most of them on a daily basis in my professional work. A few of them I use occasionally when developing personal projects in my free time.

My experience with these technologies is expressed by various dimensions of corresponding logos.

I work as a full-stack software engineer, primarily focusing on back-end development tasks.

Daily

Technologies I use on a daily basis.

Best PHP framework imo.
Still best DB option for me
Cannot live without Git
Amazed how JS has evolved
Enjoying PHP since v5
Useful caching tool. Well integrated into Laravel framework
Adding more programmatic features to CSS
I'm amazed how progressive Photoshop was back in the days
Using Bootstrap since v3. Not perfect, but still no.1

Often

These are technologies I've been using, but they are not my main domain.

Strong engine. Using it in e-commerce appliactions
Using VueJS 2 & 3 for complicated JS features
Nginx or Apache, my first-choice for Web server
Facebook API is not what used to be
Using Docker for easier deployment
Using Webpack and Laravel mix for compiling assets
Control website programatically? Hell yeah
A lot of changes last years. Annoying to cope with

Free time

I use these mainly in my personal projects, not at work.

Answer how to combine real world data and applications
Alternative to relational DB
Love styling mobile Apps with CSS
Well made engine. Easy to start, but robust
My PHP alternative when playing with ML

Free time projects

Here are some of my personal projects that I would like to share with you. Not all of them made it to this list, to be honest. Preparing all this content can be pretty exhausting, so some of them weren't worth mentioning, and others I prefer to keep private 🕵️.

I attempted to describe the ideas and purposes behind these projects to showcase my thought process.

Feel free to contact me with any feedback about your experience :)

published

TANGL🧵

Portraits made with thread.

I kept this project a secret for over two years.

I’ve always wanted to create something of my own, but after a full day of work, I found it difficult to find the energy to continue programming on personal projects. I needed a break from coding. I’ve always been fascinated by geometric animal designs, so I decided to try my hand at it. However, it proved to be far more challenging than it seemed. Overcoming the numerous obstacles along the way took considerable time and effort, but I was determined to see this project through to completion. Take a closer look with me.

Stack:
unity

???

A multiplayer game in Unity. Available soon.

More details soon
destroyed in progress v2
Stack:
arduino

AutoCAT

Mrs. Kitty was a very playful feline, often even more so than I could handle. As a solution, I decided to build her a toy that would keep her entertained even in my absence.

v1
Stack:
php laravel mysql vue docker webpack

Integral CMS

I was in search of an open-source CMS that would be highly customizable and adaptable to my specific requirements.

Despite my search, I could not find a truly exceptional one that met my needs, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and build my own. While it is not yet an exceptional CMS, there is still much work to be done, I have utilized all of my expertise and knowledge to create a robust foundation for all of my current and future projects.

running
Stack:
php laravel mysql docker webpack purgecss

xkovacikmarek.sk

My brother required an online portfolio, so we developed a minimalist website to showcase some of his recent projects.

in progress
Stack:
rn android

Písmeno?! A word game

I wanted to explore the world of React Native, as I believe it's a viable alternative for app development. Thus, I embarked on creating a mobile trivia game with word puzzles inspired by my first JavaScript project, which was unfortunately lost due to accidental deletion of source files.

Although the project is not yet complete and requires more content, I intend to continue working on it in the future, with the goal of releasing a minimum viable product.

running fresh data
Stack:
selenium php laravel mysql docker

Fantasy football lazy transfers

Fantasy football can be enjoyable for a while, but it can also become repetitive and less rewarding over time. However, since I had already invested some resources into it, I did not want to let it go to waste. That's how Hooked model works.

To keep the game interesting for myself, I created a small helper application that could help me avoid the tedious aspect of the game - monitoring the transfer market - so that I could focus more on the enjoyable parts, such as managing my squad and finding new recruits to make my team as strong as possible.

Click Show more for futher details.

inactive
Stack:
selenium php laravel mysql docker

Deals suggester

The project aimed to provide suggestions for discounted items from various e-commerce websites.

How? It involved scraping popular Slovak and Czech price comparison website to collect data about specific products of interest. The system would then analyze the data and send me a report of interesting deals.

But what is an interesting deal? Answer is more difficult I though. 

inactive need improvements
Stack:
keras python selenium php laravel mysql docker

Autonomous betting

Another "automatic" project.

The project was designed to place automated bets using Selenium on less popular secondary bets, which could have interesting odds. The system also analyzed these bets to determine their profitability. The goal was to make the betting process fully automated and require no human interaction.

Unfortunately, the project was not profitable and in just one month I would have lost 400€ if I had started using real money 😅.

More details soon
inactive No API
Stack:
php laravel mysql facebook

Idemevon

The project had the goal of providing publicly available data about upcoming events using the older Facebook API. The aim was to make the information accessible to people who may not necessarily search for events on Facebook, but rather use their preferred search engine which may not be able to find Facebook events.

Unfortunately, Facebook blocked access to this API following the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal.

More details soon
mathematical problem
Stack:
keras python selenium php laravel mysql

Crypto analyzer

A small school project aimed to analyze behavioral data of cryptocurrencies in the crypto market.

The project analyzed typical data, such as buy and sell transactions of specific cryptocurrencies.

The idea was to track the behavior of holders and the popularity of a cryptocurrency based on the number of transactions. As I had very limited knowledge about cryptocurrencies, I wanted to explore what experts were doing with them and possibly replicate their behavior.

During data processing, I encountered an interesting mathematical problem.

More details soon
finished
Stack:
unity

Harry Potter Triwizard Maze

Another school project. Collaborated with my 2 classmates.

Computer game developed using Unity. Goal is to find and recover the Triwizard cup in a maze. What happens next? Sadly, we all do know.

More details soon

More to come...

Personality

I took a free online personality test on www.16personalities.com, but I am unsure of its accuracy and whether it provided any valuable insights. Here are results:

Logician ( INTP-T )

Role: Analyst
68%
32%
Introvert
Extrovert
54%
46%
Intuitive
Observant
55%
45%
Thinking
Feeling
76%
24%
Prospecting
Judging
85%
15%
Turbulent
Assertive

Stuff I like

Martin Kováčik craft beer NEIPA
Martin Kováčik craft beer NEIPA 2

I make craft beer 🍺

I have developed a passion for crafting my own beer and started brewing my first batch in 2019.
Initially, I thought that home brewing would be too complex and time-consuming, but I soon realized that a basic kitchen setup was sufficient for my needs. In fact, some of my friends even brew beer outside!

My motivation for brewing my own beer grew from my love for styles such as New England IPA and Fruit IPA, which were not available in my city. By purchasing the necessary equipment and ingredients, I have been able to brew over 10 batches of my favorite beers and experiment with different flavor combinations.


My last brewed batch:

New England/Fruit IPA
Original gravity 1.065 - 16°
Final gravity 1.017
Alcohol 6.20%
Hops Citra, Galaxy
Additions Frozen cranberries

I love cats 🐱

In the picture, you can see Mrs. Kitty ( original: Pani Micka ). Mrs. Kitty cat Although she is a stray, she is a happy and content catto. She was born on the streets, and that is where she continues to live her life. She likes to greet and take a walk with fellow doggos.

Every evening, she pays us a visit at home to enjoy some delicious gravy, play with toys, and, most importantly, receive plenty of pets. Mrs. Kitty is a clingy cat, and she loves to curl up on a hooman's lap and take a good nap.

I feel incredibly lucky that Mrs. Kitty trusts me, especially since she is scared of people. And she likes me even after I took her to vet 😀. Mrs. Kitty is very special to me. She reminds me of my older cat, who passed away a few years ago. She reminds me of him every day.
Mrs. Kitty cat Mrs. Kitty cat food meow
Martin Kováčik Pho-bo soup retouched Martin Kováčik Pho-bo soup

Cooking 🧑‍🍳

Martin Kováčik Pho-bo soup I hope you can recognize the Pho in the photo, although I didn't have any more herbs at home to add to the dish.

Cooking is one of my passions, although I'm not a professional chef - I simply enjoy experimenting with fresh and high-quality ingredients. I particularly love exploring Asian, Indian and Italian cuisines, as they offer an array of flavors and ingredients that can be balanced in unique ways.

As for my favorite dish, it has remained the same throughout the years.

Favorite dish as a child? pizza🍕.

Favorite dish as an teenager? pizza🍕.

Favorite dish as an adult? still pizza🍕.

Interesting books

Feel free to say hello 🤝

If you want to know more about me, don't worry to contact me about anything.