He built the software that runs 40% of the internet secretly at his day job. His employer waited 15 years then sent the police ๐คฏ
Meet Igor Sysoev.
> Born in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 1970. Soviet Union.
> Graduated from Bauman Moscow State Technical University.
> Got a job as a system administrator at Rambler โ Russia's biggest search portal.
> Watched Rambler's servers buckle under traffic every single day.
> Got frustrated. Started coding a fix in his spare time. At night.
> 2001 โ started building a new kind of web server from scratch.
> Kept it completely private. Just a personal project.
> 2004 โ released it publicly. Named it Nginx. Pronounced "engine-x."
> Nobody noticed at first.
> Then Rambler used it. Then other Russian sites.
> Then the rest of the internet found it.
> Netflix. Dropbox. WordPress. Airbnb.
> One man's side project was holding up the entire web. ๐
> By 2019 โ Nginx powered 40% of all websites globally.
> More than any other web server in history.
> That same year โ F5 Networks bought Nginx for $670 million.
> Three days after the deal closed.
> Russian police raided his office. ๐
> Arrested him. Interrogated him for 4 hours.
> Confiscated phones. Seized computers.
> Rambler โ his old employer โ claimed they owned Nginx.
> Said he built it during working hours. It was theirs.
> The internet exploded in outrage.
> Even Rambler's own former CEO came forward.
> Said "There were no instructions to build this. It was his personal project. This is nonsense."
> Charges dropped within days.
> Quietly retired in 2022. Handed the project to the community.
> Nginx still runs the internet. Right now. As you read this.
> Said nothing dramatic. Just kept building. That was enough.
> Built in silence. Arrested in success. Still powering the world.
Absolute legend ๐ฅ
Your portfolio has one job.
Make someone who's never met you feel like they already know exactly what kind of designer you are.
These things will help:
1. Show the work. Immediately.
I cannot tell you how many beautiful portfolios I clicked off of because I couldn't find the work. Stunning animations, incredible typography, clever interactions nut no work anywhere to found quickly. I'm hiring a designer. Show me what you design! If I have to scroll more than a few seconds to find work, I'm gone. Those hiring have thousands of these to get through. They'll appreciate the time you save them by showing your work in a respectful time.
2. Don't hide work behind rollovers.
I know it looks cool. But I'm in a hurry. If your work is hidden, I'm not finding it.
3. Three projects is not a portfolio. It's a teaser.
If you only have 3-4 projects showing, I immediately wonder what have you been doing? Where are the side projects? The experiments? The fun stuff you made at 2am just because you wanted to? Show more work! Not everything has to be a polished case study (most shouldn't tbh because no one is reading it). Throw in the logo you made for fun. The brand concept nobody hired you for. The UI exploration you did on a weekend. That's the stuff that tells me who you really are as a designer.
4. Stop repeating your name.
I clicked on your link. I know your name. The first thing I need to see is your work, not your name three times.
5. Don't make me figure out how to use your site.
If your portfolio requires instructions, it's too complicated. I don't have time. Neither does the person hiring you. Do you read instructions? Probably not either.
6. The about me section matters more than you think.
The portfolios that stopped me all had one thing in common. I felt like I knew the person. Their pets. Their hobbies. Their personality. Design is a team sport. I'm not just hiring your work. I'm hiring YOU. If it came down to two equally talented designers where one surfed and the other displayed no outside hobbies, I'm going with the person I can connect more with, the surfer since we'll have things to talk about besides work. Use this to your advantage. It's the secret tip most most.
*The portfolios that make my final list all do this:
Work visible immediately. Clear about what they do. Personality came through. Something unique that made me stop and explore.
*The ones that don't make it:
Beautiful design. No work. Or work hidden so much I gave up finding it.
Important note: With all that said, the #1 thing that gets people hired: relationships.
I'm not gonna lie. The people I already know online get looked at first. Every time. That's not fair, but it's real.
Make relationships.
Be a kind person.
Get the work.
@africatechie@Boris_Gauty Good analysis ๐
I totally abide with your pov
And never forgetting only one qualified lead is sufficient enough to break up the matrix
@PR_Paul_BIYA thanks boss
I am a fullstack developer and AI enthousiast will really appreciate if you could do something for me
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check my profile here