#151 Automating a coffee shop chain using self-taught coding skills with Eamonn Cottrell
The freeCodeCamp Podcast
Quincy Larson
5.0 • 549 Ratings
🗓️ 22 November 2024
⏱️ 110 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this week's episode of the podcast, freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson interviews Eamonn Cottrell. He's a software engineer who also runs a local chain of coffee shops in Knoxville. Eamonn taught himself to code using freeCodeCamp. And he's since published 37 freeCodeCamp tutorials on productivity and automation using spreadsheets.
Support for this podcast comes from a grant from Wix Studio. Wix Studio provides developers tools to rapidly build websites with everything out-of-the-box, then extend, replace, and break boundaries with code. Learn more at https://wixstudio.com
Support also comes from the 11,113 kind folks who support freeCodeCamp through a monthly donation. Join these kind folks and get involved in our mission by going to https://donate.freecodecamp.org
We talk about:
- Eamonn's love of coffee and how he bought VHS tapes to learn latte art
- How he finds time to expand his skills in between running coffee shops and ultra-marathoning
- How he used spreadsheets to automate the logistics of running coffee shops
- How he balances being a musician and writer with the practical realities of providing for a family of 6
Can you guess what song I'm playing in the intro?
Also, I want to thank the 10,993 kind people who support our charity each month, and who make this podcast possible. You can join them and support our mission at: https://www.freecodecamp.org/donate
CORRECTION: Vincent van Gogh was supported by his younger brother – not his brother in-law. van Gogh never married so he never had a brother in law. I'm not sure why I thought that. Also, he seems to have sold more than one painting in his life (as many of us were taught in school), but nowhere near enough paintings to support himself as an artist.
Links we talk about during our conversation:
Eamonn's freeCodeCamp articles: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/author/sieis/
Eamonn's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@eamonncottrell
Excel-based esports: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2QC6VQXo8U
Ultra Marathons: https://www.youtube.com/@runtired
Got Sheet: https://www.gotsheet.xyz/
Progress and Perfection: https://www.progressandperfection.com/
Eamonn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eamonncottrell/
Eamonn on Twitter: https://x.com/EamonnCottrell
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I hope I will always be a lifelong learner. |
| 0:02.5 | And we throw that term around very loosely, but I really sincerely mean it because I freaking love learning how to improve my professional self and how to go into coding and different skills and level up technically. |
| 0:16.0 | And then how to just do things smarter by nature of how I can stitch things together in my business |
| 0:22.9 | and in my personal life. |
| 0:26.8 | There was a guy. |
| 0:32.4 | An underwater guy who controlled the sea |
| 0:37.5 | got killed by 10 million pounds of slaves |
| 0:45.5 | this monk is gone to heaven |
| 0:51.4 | this monk is gone to heaven this monk is gone to heaven |
| 0:55.4 | this monk is gone to heaven |
| 0:59.4 | this monk is gone to heaven |
| 1:03.3 | welcome |
| 1:05.3 | welcome back to the Free Code Camp podcast. |
| 1:16.6 | I'm Quincy Larson, teacher and founder of Freakocamp.org. |
| 1:20.4 | Each week, we're bringing you insight from developers, founders, and ambitious people in tech. |
| 1:25.0 | This week, we're talking with Aman Cottrell. He's a software engineer |
| 1:29.2 | who also runs a local chain of coffee shops in Knoxville, Tennessee. Amon taught himself to code |
| 1:34.8 | using FreeCodeCamp, and he since published 37 FreeCodeCamp tutorials on using spreadsheets |
| 1:40.8 | for productivity and automation. |
| 1:48.8 | I also want to point out the support for this podcast comes from a grant from Wix Studio. |
| 1:54.0 | Wix Studio provides developers tools to rapidly build websites with everything out of the box, |
| 1:56.9 | then extend, replace, and break boundaries with code. |
... |
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