Martin Tokman

Technology Enthusiast and Data Specialist

About me

Since I was young, I’ve always had a compulsion for technology. I grew up in a middle-class family with my younger sister and my older brother. My father worked in his own cars accessories company while my mother took care of us, helping with all the necessary things that a family requires to function.

We’ve got our first computer when I was 13 years old, one day my father came home with the new (at that time) computer called Commodore 64, my brother and I were fascinated trying to comprehend how this thing worked, so we plugged that new super machine to the TV and the first time we turned on I realized that it was the future for my life and my work.

I’ve started playing games as all the people do, at that time the way of storing software was on a cassette tape. The lack of resources on the Commodore added to the slow speed of the Datasette made it necessary to program a kind of “intro” that was played while the games loaded. In a short time, i started to study and play on the code of those intros, that was the start of my journey with programming, a lot of graphics displayed using ASCII and simple instructions to do basic tasks like text animations, changing backgrounds and things like that 😃.

In a short period of time I was programming in Basic language, we passed from Datasette to floppy disks and in a matter of few years we bought our first PC.

The transition from Commodore to PC with DOS wasn’t straightforward, it took me some time to understand the new architecture and how the system worked, but when I got the knowledge I started to do the same as I did with my old computer, I was working with code doing automation tasks and trying to hack the system as much as I could.

By the time I was on my last years of school, my skills with computers were strong enough to work with all kinds of hardware and software. I started to build Pc’s from scratch, buying hardware parts and assembling new machines for selling to people like friends and family who knew about my computer’s passion.

I’ve got my first job when I was 17 years old. My catechism teacher helped me to enter one of the two major institutes of computer education. I started to tech Windows basics to children on primary for about a year, then I’ve got promoted to teach on adults for Windows and Office careers. A few years later I was teaching networking, programming languages, databases, and hardware in general for company employees. My job as a teacher lasted about 8 years. When I was 20 years old, I was hired by a computer shop to work as a technician, repairing and assembling new computers. Two years later I had my first offer to work for a company as a freelancer attending their network infrastructure, so I left my computer shop job and started my own company in 1997.

I started to study all aspects of computer networks and different kinds of software, from office tools to graphics design and 3D rendering. I’ve got my first Microsoft MCP certification in 2002 and learned all I could about windows servers. By that time, I was selling professional infrastructure administration services to small and middle size local companies. I worked on Windows domain and SQL servers, lan’s, Internet connectivity and tech support. I also worked on some system migrations in big companies like Techint and structured cabling on datacenters and common offices on Toshiba. My scope of work was the administration of middle size computer networks of between 30 and 160 computers working on both physical and cloud platforms.

By 2010 I started to learn HTML and CSS and sell basic static websites to small businesses. A few years later I added PHP to my background and worked as a freelance programmer making dynamic content for web, administration panels, MySQL databases and webhosting administration. I worked on internet programming for about 8 years.

As time passed, in 2020, I closed my company, bidding farewell to my last client. They were the first company to hire me as a professional IT provider back in 1997, and I had the privilege of working with them for over 23 years, supporting their technological development and progress in various aspects of infrastructure and software.

Now, as I navigate the ever-evolving landscape of technology, my journey takes an exciting turn into the realms of data analysis, business intelligence (BI), and Python development. The roots of my passion for technology, planted in the early days of the 64 bits computers, have grown into a tree of diverse skills and experiences.

As I bid adieu to the chapter of running my own IT company, a chapter that spanned over two decades, I embark on a new adventure. The narratives of programming intros on cassette tapes and diving into the intricacies of DOS have seamlessly transitioned into the dynamic fields of data analysis and business intelligence.

Much like the days of coding automation tasks and system hacking, I am now delving into the world of extracting meaningful insights from data. The art of crafting narratives from numbers and transforming raw information into strategic decisions has become the focal point of my passion. It’s a journey fueled by the same curiosity that led me to plug the Commodore into the TV for the very first time.

My pursuit of knowledge has led me to embrace Python development—a language that encapsulates the essence of my tech-infused journey. It’s a language that echoes the spirit of those early days when every line of code was a step into the unknown.

In the data-rich landscape of the present, I am not merely deciphering code; I am unraveling the stories hidden within datasets. The transition from selling professional infrastructure services to now shaping narratives through data is a testament to the adaptability and curiosity that has fueled my journey.

As I continue to learn and explore the vast realms of data analysis, business intelligence, and Python development, I am excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. The journey, much like a well-crafted line of code, unfolds with every challenge and discovery, and I am ready to script the next chapter of my technological odyssey 💪 .