Magic Finger: Keep growing against all odds

This is how it all started.

Marvelous Solomon

Jun 3, 2023 — 4 min read

Lot's of people have asked how i got started with tech and coding:

It has been quite a journey thus far! I remember when my dad got a computer for himself based on a recommendation from his profession as a secondary school teacher. My elder brother and I would sneak in to use the computer while he was away. 😄 Funny, but that's how we learned to use it, with no formal IT training. We discovered and learned a lot during that time (too much to even think or write about! 🤣)

My favourite apps were Microsoft Encarta (the free encyclopedia), the Microsoft Office 2003, Typing Master, Mavis Beacon, Frogger2, and Chicken Invaders game. I learned so much from Microsoft Encarta; it sparked my curiosity and love for learning and reading. I even went as far as purchasing msdos & windows98 from a software store in the nearby village for 150 Naira just to explore what i saw online about command lines. Yes we walked a distance to get the software almost getting to the nearby village on foot to buy these disks.

🤣 I felt like a dummy in secondary school as I couldn't perform as well as my elder brother. But i think i had a new best friend (Our Computer) So i didn't mind.

I realised that people learn differently, and the way I consume and share knowledge was unique. If I didn't understand something in detail, I wouldn't talk about it. My elder brother became a source of inspiration as he always shared what he learned with me while I was in school.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the computer only had 5GB storage and 256MB RAM. When I think about it now, it felt faster than my MacBook! 🤣

I enjoyed writing macros through Microsoft Word and Excel, and that's how I got hooked on VB6 and coding. I didn't know I was coding; I just found it fun.

Over time, my dad realised we were using the computer quite well, so he got another one to reduce the competition between my brother and me. This created a competitive mindset, and we started competing in typing speed for a bottle of Coca-Cola. We would show off our dominance by typing without looking at the keyboard. 🤣

We were already building websites, unpacking JAR files, and doing all sorts of hacks with my elder brother. We started our first company, with students learning from us. My first student was in his late 40s, learning how to use the computer for word processing. I was his primary instructor at around age 11.

We literally started a small business called Amtech Solutions (from our names, "Akporowho Mark or Marv Technologies"). We didn't really care about the meaning of the "M"; it just sounded cool! 😄

Our education progressed rapidly. I finished secondary school at age 13 and got admission into the polytechnic to study computer science at age 14.

While in school, I worked at the school market square, typing for students and lecturers to earn some cash. I enjoyed showing off my typing skills and was given the title "Magic Finger" because I could type on two keyboards connected to a single computer without looking at the keys. 😎

I started writing VB macro scripts at 8 years old, but I consider my professional coding career to have started at 14 when I began working on real coding projects, from web apps to VB.net, ASP.net, and C# Win Forms.

Looking back, I realise how important these moments were. I'm older now I sometimes feel like a 40 year old in a younger body 🤣 This shows how much we learn from experiences, people and relationships with older folks. I learned a lot and i'm still learning everyday.

Learning, Building and Coding are always fun to me, having a great team to work with and to the wonderful personalities and teams i've had the pleasure to meet and work with in the past 13 years, i say a big thank you for the lessons because they made me who i am today.

A big thank you to everyone who has been a part of my journey. Let me know if you want to know more. It's indeed a long story, and I'll continue it upon your request.

How i got into Linux, school life, etc.
(Let me know in the comments if you need to other part by next weekend)