Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Overview

Matthew Poulter
Development and Marketing Manager
4 years management
7 years marketing & design
11 years web development
Personal information
- Full name
- Matthew David Poulter
- Date of birth
- 28 Feb 1996 (age 25)
- Nationality
- South Africa
- Current location
- Cape Town, South Africa
- EU work permit
- Visa sponsorship required
- Languages
- English, Afrikaans, Dutch (basic)
Experience
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Development and Marketing Manager
Kiddiwinks
2018 – present
Kiddiwinks is a family business that grew from a passion for everything LEGO® related. The family in question happens to be my own, and I have therefore quite literally grown up with Kiddiwinks.
After working as a part-time consultant, I moved to a full-time management position and, for the past 4 years, have worked to help develop and improve our customer experiences.
My responsibilities include managing the design and development of the Kiddiwinks digital infrastructure and website (used by both customers and staff members). A large part of this involved upgrading and migrating several legacy systems. During this time, I was also able to introduce a customer loyalty programme which has seen great success in the 2 years that it has been running.
My other main role at Kiddiwinks is heading up the marketing efforts, both digital and physical. This includes everything from creating campaign plans to writing and designing the weekly newsletters and regular social media posts.
In addition to these responsibilities, I am involved in shop floor planning, general staff management, and financial record-keeping. I also step in as a sales assistant when the occasional need arises.
During my time at Kiddiwinks, the business has seen strong growth, despite the economic conditions (including a 25% increase in consumer sales from 2019 to 2020). Due to this growth, as well as my work on improving the digital infrastructure, Kiddiwinks is now in a strong, self-sustaining position.
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Freelance Web Developer and Editor
Simple Squid
2010 – present
I founded Simple Squid in 2010 as the business behind my freelance web development work. Since then, I have developed websites and web applications for various businesses and individuals.
My freelancing hasn’t only been limited to web development and has extended to graphic design and video editing (amongst other things).
I have also been actively involved in the open-source community and I maintain a few PHP packages myself.
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Robotics Teacher
Forres Preparatory School
2016 – 2020
My extended involvement with the FIRST LEGO League robotics competition led to my appointment as the LEGO robotics teacher and coach at Forres Preparatory School. I taught lessons on two or three afternoons every week to kids aged 9 to 13, teaching the basics of coding and engineering by building and programming LEGO robots.
In the second half of each year, the focus of the lessons shifted to preparing for the FIRST LEGO League competition. Each year I took three Forres teams to the regional competition and twice was able to take one of the school teams to the national competition in Johannesburg.
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Development and Marketing Consultant
Kiddiwinks
2015 – 2017
My official involvement with Kiddiwinks started in 2015 as I began consulting part-time with the day-to-day operations of the business. This included assisting with the development of existing systems and helping to create marketing plans, newsletters, and social media posts.
I also assisted with the ordering and managing of stock, teaching robotics classes, organising LEGO children’s parties, and the planning and opening of a new Kiddiwinks shop in 2017.
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Research Assistant
Rondebosch Boys’ High School
2015
At Rondebosch, I worked on and initiated a variety of projects aimed at finding ways to help teachers and students at the school, predominantly using technology. This included setting up the school’s virtual learning environment and creating a teacher peer-review system using recorded lessons.
Key skills
Teamwork and team leadership
I have strong teamwork and leadership abilities, and I communicate and work well with team members, customers, employees, and managers.
- Good communication (verbal and non-verbal)
- Vision, ideation, and creativity
- Helpfulness and commitment
- Willingness to learn
- Empathy and respect
Full stack web development
My preferred development stack consists of Laravel, Vue.js, Inertia.js, and Tailwind CSS (or VILT for short).
- PHP
- Laravel
- HTML and CSS
- Tailwind CSS
- JavaScript
- Vue.js
- Inertia.js
- Livewire
- Alpine.js
- Statamic
- MySQL and PostgreSQL
- Nginx and Apache
- Git and GitHub (version control)
- Laravel Forge and Vapor (deployment)
- JetBrains PhpStorm (IDE)
- Docker (development)
- AWS and Digital Ocean (hosting)
- Tinkerwell and Ray (debugging)
- Pest and Cypress (testing)
- Figma (design)
Marketing, design, and content creation
I have several years of experience in planning and executing marketing campaigns, writing newsletters and social media copy, and designing graphics for both digital and print media. I am also an experienced videographer and editor.
- Mailchimp
- Adobe Photoshop
- Facebook Business and Ads Managers
- Google My Business
- Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Audition
- DaVinci Resolve
- OBS Studio
- YouTube Studio
- Microsoft Office and OneDrive
- Trello
Education
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Bachelor of Science Honours specialising in Computer Science
University of Cape Town
2019 – 2020
I completed my Bachelor of Science Honours degree specialising in Computer Science in mid-2020, although my graduation was postponed to July 2021.
I found this to be the hardest year of my studies due to several personal reasons as well as my becoming more actively involved at Kiddiwinks. In fact, I failed one of my final courses in 2019 and had to learn the hard lessons of resilience and perseverance as I took another course the following year to complete my degree.
My course results were:
Course Mark Honours Research Project 75 Research & Innovation 79 Functional Programming 80 Compilers 1 76 Compilers 2 87 Big Data 80 Network Security 79 High-Performance Computing 70 Mathematics: Cryptography F Human Computer Interaction 83 -
Fellowship Programme
Allan Gray Orbis Foundation
2017 – 2019
I was selected to join the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation's Fellowship Programme in 2017. In addition to funding three years of my university fees, this was an exciting and eye-opening experience for me as I was mentored and guided towards life as a high-impact, responsible entrepreneur.
I attended many entrepreneurship workshops, master classes, mentorship sessions, and festivals organised by the Foundation. I have since graduated from the Fellowship Programme and am now an Allan Gray Fellow.
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Bachelor of Commerce specialising in Information Systems & Computer Science
University of Cape Town
2016 – 2018
I graduated with my Bachelor of Commerce degree specialising in Information Systems & Computer Science in April 2019. I enjoyed my time studying, and, as a result, found myself picking up several extra courses along the way.
Skills wise, I learned how to work under pressure, I gained a strong understanding of business, and I improved my verbal and written communication skills.
I was grateful to be placed on the Dean’s Merit List as well as being awarded a Commerce Faculty Scholarship.
My course results were:
First year:
Course Mark Financial Accounting 86 Financial Reporting I 83 Evidence-based Management 70 Computer Science 1015 95 Computer Science 1016 88 Microeconomics 81 Macroeconomics 57 Mathematics 1010 98 Mathematics 1012 95 Introductory Statistics 94 Second year:
Course Mark Management Accounting I 66 Business Law I 55 Computer Science 2001 80 Computer Science 2002 66 Systems Analysis 61 Systems Design & Development 69 Mathematics 2000 52 Business Ethics 57 Third year:
Course Mark Professional Communication 78 Computer Science 3002 67 Computer Science 3003 67 I.T. Project Management 68 BPM & Enterprise Systems 57 Electronic Commerce 67 -
National Senior Certificate
Rondebosch Boys’ High School
2010 – 2014
During my time at Rondebosch, I was amongst the top academics as well as being heavily involved in music and community service.
I held many positions of leadership, including being a school prefect, a member of the Representative Council of Learners, and the leader of several of the school’s music ensembles and bands.
Skills that I acquired at school were time management, creative leadership, and compassion.
I was grateful to attain the following achievements and awards whilst at school:
3rd in the Western Cape for Information Technology in Matric (2014)
The Mike Reeler “Altius et Latius” Award for allroundership (2014)
Distinction Awards for Academics, Music, and Service (2013, 2014)
The GH Broster Trophy for outstanding service (2013)
Subject prizes in Mathematics, AP Mathematics, and Information Technology (2013, 2014)
Selected for the Standard Bank National Schools’ Big Band (2011, 2013, 2014)
Finalist (top 17) in the South African Programming Olympiad (2014)
Gold certificate (top 10) in the UCT Mathematics Competition (2012, 2013)
2nd Place in the FIRST LEGO League South African National Championships (2010, 2012)
My final National Senior Certificate results were:
Course Mark English Home Language 88 Afrikaans First Additional Language 76 Mathematics 98 Advanced Programme Mathematics 91 Physical Sciences 90 Information Technology 96 Music 83 Life Orientation 91
Timeline and portfolio
Timeline
You can view my timeline/personal changelog of what I’ve been up to recently on Polywork. I've found Polywork to be great at representing myself online.
Kiddiwinks website
At Kiddiwinks, I am responsible for designing and developing the digital infrastructure and website. Much of this is not public, so please get in touch if you’d like to see more.
Kiddiwinks marketing
My other main role at Kiddiwinks is heading up the marketing efforts, both digital and physical. You can view recent newsletters which I designed and wrote here.
Rondebosch Old Boys’ Big Band
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I edited several virtual recordings for different music ensembles. Here is a video I edited and performed in.
Contact me
I’m currently looking for new opportunities and experiences, specifically job opportunities in and around Maastricht in the Netherlands.
I'm also always excited to hear about new projects and ideas, so feel free to get in touch!
Send me a message
Personal information
- Full name
- Matthew David Poulter
- Date of birth
- 28 Feb 1996 (age 25)
- Nationality
- South Africa
- Current location
- Cape Town, South Africa
- EU work permit
- Visa sponsorship required
- Languages
- English, Afrikaans, Dutch (basic)
Achievements
-
25% annual consumer sales growth
This growth at Kiddiwinks in 2020 was largely due to my marketing and customer service initiatives.
-
Virtual recording aired on national radio
One of the virtual choir recordings I edited was aired on Fine Music Radio, South Africa in 2020.
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More than 47k in open-source downloads
As the title says, my open-source packages have been downloaded more than 47k times.
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Exponential Black Friday growth at Kiddiwinks
I was responsible for project managing Kiddiwinks' biggest sales day of the year from 2017 to 2021.
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Introduction of a customer loyalty programme
I implemented a very successful, omni-channel customer loyalty programme at Kiddiwinks.
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Successful navigation of COVID-19 regulations
My recent work at Kiddiwinks included applying the various COVID-19 government regulations.
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Migrated legacy point-of-sale system
During my time at Kiddiwinks, I managed the migration of 4 shops to Vend POS systems.
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Coached and chaperoned teams to FLL Nationals
I took teams of kids aged 9-16 to the FIRST LEGO League Nationals every year from 2015 to 2020.
Timeline and portfolio
Timeline
You can view my timeline/personal changelog of what I’ve been up to recently on Polywork. I've found Polywork to be great at representing myself online.
Kiddiwinks website
At Kiddiwinks, I am responsible for designing and developing the digital infrastructure and website. Much of this is not public, so please get in touch if you’d like to see more.
Kiddiwinks marketing
My other main role at Kiddiwinks is heading up the marketing efforts, both digital and physical. You can view recent newsletters which I designed and wrote here.
Rondebosch Old Boys’ Big Band
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I edited several virtual recordings for different music ensembles. Here is a video I edited and performed in.
Interesting (and fun) facts about me
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I am a parkrun addict (and tourist).
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I’m a massive fan of Doctor Who, the Lord of the Rings, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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I love to listen to podcasts on my commutes.
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I play the trombone and sing in two Cape Town choirs.
References
Please feel free to request contact details for any of my references.
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Bryony Poulter
Owner of Kiddiwinks
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Lilavan Gangen
Founder of Vidhya Productions
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Tracy Starke
Teacher at Rondebosch Boys' High School
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Taryn Bijl
Teacher at Forres Preparatory School
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Patrick Cordery
Choirmaster of True Voices, Cape Town
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Alison Claassen
Former Head of Children’s Ministry at Christ Church Kenilworth
Contact me
I’m currently looking for new opportunities and experiences, specifically job opportunities in and around Maastricht in the Netherlands.
I'm also always excited to hear about new projects and ideas, so feel free to get in touch!