PHP Alive and Kicking Episode 14 – Dan Newns

Dan’s programming journey started in secondary school with Visual Basic—specifically building a cinema booking system. But it was university where things got real: HTML with tables (no CSS!), lots of style tags, and a very old version of PHP. If you’ve been around long enough to remember that era, you know exactly what he’s talking about. And if you haven’t? Be grateful.

Speaking Laravel and Your Language

Here’s a problem Dan noticed at previous agencies: sales teams would sell, sell, sell, and developers would end up working late nights trying to deliver something completely different from what the client expected. The disconnect was brutal. At Jump 24, they do something different—they’ve mastered the art of “client-speaking language.” Translating technical concepts without losing the client in jargon means fewer surprises, fewer miscommunications, and projects that actually match expectations. It’s not just about knowing Laravel; it’s about knowing how to explain Laravel to people who’ve never heard of it.

The 15-File Edit Problem

You know that feeling when you look at someone’s code and realize a simple change requires editing 15 different files? Dan does too, and he’s built Jump 24 around avoiding exactly that nightmare. The team has found the balance—code that’s elegant without being overcomplicated, maintainable without being overly abstracted. When your former colleague can debug your code without pulling an all-nighter, you’ve done something right.

What Being a Laravel Partner Actually Means

When Laravel launched its partner program, Dan jumped on board immediately. Why? Because he’d seen too many clients pick development teams based solely on price, only to end up with missed deadlines and terrible code. The partner program creates that first level of trust—a signal that says “these teams know what they’re doing.” Beyond the badge, it means direct communication with the Laravel core team, event sponsorship opportunities, and a level of credibility that genuinely helps the business.

The 4 PM Clock-Off That Actually Happens

Dan’s been there—working weekends, pulling all-nighters to meet deadlines at previous jobs. When he started Jump 24, he made a promise: no more of that. Sure, they have some clients with SLAs requiring evening support (and team members are properly paid for that), but the general rule is simple: clock off at 4 or 5, and actually be done. No emergency debugging sessions. No weekend work to catch up on sold features that were never properly scoped. It turns out when you don’t overcomplicate your code and you communicate well with clients, you don’t need to live at your desk.

The Content Creation Gap

Scroll through Twitch looking for PHP streams and you’ll struggle. Hunt for Laravel content on TikTok and you’ll find… not much. Meanwhile, JavaScript, Python, and Java developers are everywhere—live streaming, posting short-form content, racking up tens of thousands of views. Dan points out the uncomfortable truth: where are the PHP people? Sure, Nuno Maduro is doing incredible work (though he may not sleep), and resources like Laracasts and Laravel Daily are fantastic, but it can’t all fall on a handful of people. The PHP community needs more voices, more content, more people willing to make mistakes on stream rather than hiding behind perfectly polished videos.

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