---
title: "CTO · Founder · technical director - José DA COSTA"
description: "Software publishing company managing 260 multilingual websites across 15 languages and 5 countries. Monetized through SEO and affiliate marketing, generating 500K EUR net profit. Started at age 18."
locale: "en"
canonical: "https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/journey/cto-founder-technical-director-celiane"
source: "https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/journey/cto-founder-technical-director-celiane.md"
html_source: "https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/journey/cto-founder-technical-director-celiane"
author: "José DA COSTA"
type: "journey"
slug: "cto-founder-technical-director-celiane"
generated_at: "2026-06-02T15:37:42.038Z"
---

# CTO · Founder · technical director

**Organization:** Celiane  
**Period:** January 1999 - December 2007  
**Type:** entrepreneurship  
**Status:** Entrepreneur  
**Role:** CTO & Founder

## Company vision

Celiane was **my school as an entrepreneur and self-taught technician**. For 9 years, alone at the helm, I learned everything through practice: web development, system administration, SEO, affiliate marketing, project management, offshore collaboration. This is where I built my ability to **absorb a heavy workload** and deliver concrete results without a structured team. Reverse engineering search engine algorithms taught me advanced statistical analysis, test and learn methodology, behavioral analysis of search engines, ranking signal analysis, vulnerability detection, and rigor in experimentation. The adventure ended in 2006-2007 when Google penalized content farms, making the business model obsolete. This experience taught me above all that **technical success without market adaptation is not enough**, and that **the ability to pivot is just as important as the ability to build**.

## Overview

Software publishing company managing 260 multilingual websites across 15 languages and 5 countries. Monetized through SEO and affiliate marketing, generating 500K EUR net profit. Started at age 18.

- 260 websites, 15 languages, top 5 affiliate by monthly revenue
- Built a custom CMS generating millions of web pages
- Reverse-engineered search engine ranking algorithms for SEO

## Related skills (12)

- **[Leadership & Team Management](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/leadership-team-management.md)** (confidence 2/5) _(soft)_: Managing entrepreneurial activity, coordinating occasional subcontractors.
- **[Strategic Vision & Technical Direction](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/strategic-vision-tech-direction.md)** (confidence 4/5) _(soft)_: Launching and growing a web services business, commercial positioning. - Company financial management, invoicing and payment tracking.. Basic analysis of traffic statistics and commercial results.
- **[Project Piloting & Agile Methodologies](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/project-piloting-agile.md)** (confidence 1/5) _(soft)_: End-to-end client project management, estimation, delivery, and support.. Direct client interaction, requirements gathering and expectation management.
- **[Problem Solving & Adaptability](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/problem-solving-adaptability.md)** (confidence 3/5) _(soft)_: Self-taught technical problem solving, learning by doing., Self-taught web development learning, steady progression over 8 years.
- **[Communication & Collaboration](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/pedagogy-communication-collaboration.md)** (confidence 2/5) _(soft)_: Client communication, presenting technical solutions in plain language.
- **[Software & System Architecture](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/system-architecture-design.md)** (confidence 2/5) _(technical)_: Designed the WSG (Web Site Generator) architecture capable of generating millions of pages, scraping systems, SEO analysis databases and automated submission tools.
- **[Fullstack Development](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/fullstack-development.md)** (confidence 3/5) _(technical)_: Built and maintained 260 websites from scratch in PHP/HTML/CSS/MySQL, including a custom CMS (WSG), scraping algorithms, automated content generation and e-commerce modules (MaxiCoffee). - JavaScript for interactivity across the 260-website network, form validation, DOM manipulation for affiliate modules., First automation scripts, basic crontab usage.
- **[Data, AI & Machine Learning](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/data-ai-machine-learning.md)** (confidence 2/5) _(technical)_: MySQL database design, SQL queries, basic administration.
- **[Application Security & Compliance](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/application-security-compliance.md)** (confidence 1/5) _(technical)_: Network security basics, SSL certificates, basic firewall configuration.
- **[SEO & Growth Hacking](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/seo-growth-hacking.md)** (confidence 5/5) _(technical)_: SEO, SEM and SERP analysis. France TOP 10 Carpediem affiliates, PageRank 5-6/10, 0.1-1% conversion rate. Organic search strategies across 260 multilingual websites (15 languages, 5 countries).
- **[Reverse Engineering & Algorithms](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/reverse-engineering-algorithms.md)** (confidence 4/5) _(technical)_: Reverse engineering of Google, MSN and Voila.fr ranking algorithms. Custom algorithms to analyze the weight of each HTML element in SERP ranking. Advanced statistical analysis of ranking signals and algorithmic vulnerability detection., Scraping algorithms, captcha cracking by pattern recognition and automated content generation (spinning).
- **[Tech & Field Versatility](https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/skills/tech-field-versatility.md)** (confidence 2/5) _(technical)_: Web server administration, Apache configuration, hosting management. - Basic network configuration, domain name and hosting management.

## Missions

- Design, development and management of a network of 260 multilingual websites (15 languages, 5 countries)
- Ultra-advanced SEO strategy: reverse engineering of Google, MSN and Voila.fr algorithms, with custom algorithms to analyze the weight of each HTML element in SERP ranking
- Affiliate marketing: France's TOP 10 affiliates (Carpediem and other major networks), top 5 by monthly revenue
- Internal tool development: custom CMS (generator of millions of pages), scraping algorithms, automated content generation, sector-specific SEO analysis
- Server infrastructure management: Linux/Debian administration, Apache, DNS (BIND), Postfix (SMTP), with advanced proxy distribution and IP rotation techniques
- Coordination of offshore resources (India, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania)
- Web and SEO agency activity for external clients (Cortix, Systonic, MaxiCoffee.fr and others)
- Web development and SEO training for clients and partners

## Agency Clients

#### Cortix

**Description:** SEO management of a portfolio of nearly 100 websites. Audit, technical optimization and search engine ranking monitoring.

**Name:** Cortix

#### Maxicoffee

**Description:** E-commerce module development for MaxiCoffee.fr (MaxiBay): cross-selling similar products, flash sales, promo packs, tax-free purchases, order processing, Google AdWords campaign analytics, check and bank transfer payment.

**Name:** MaxiCoffee.fr (MaxiBay)

#### Systonic

**Description:** SEO management of multiple websites. SEO strategy, on-page optimization and performance tracking.

**Name:** Systonic

#### Others

**Description:** Multiple clients across various sectors: tourism, e-commerce, services, music. Website design, SEO and digital strategy consulting.

**Name:** Other clients

**Company presentation:** Celiane was a company started in 1999 then officially created in 2001 in Mérignac (Bordeaux, France), specialized in **software publishing** and website management. The core activity was a network of **260 multilingual websites** (15 languages, 5 countries), **monetized through affiliate marketing and SEO**. The company also developed a Web and SEO agency business for external clients, as well as training services.

## Internal Projects

- WSG (Web Site Generator): custom CMS/WYSIWYG co-created with my associate Laurent, enabling the generation and management of millions of web pages
- Advanced captcha cracking algorithms using pattern recognition (statistical analysis, without neural networks)
- Automated mass SEO submission systems on search engines and directories
- Sector-specific SEO analysis databases (precursor equivalent of Semrush/Ahrefs, with algorithm weight criteria analysis)
- Large-scale scraping and data collection algorithms
- Automated content generation algorithms (rephrasing, synonyms, spinning - precursor to modern NLP)

## Positioning

Founder and director of the company, I worked alongside my salaried associate Laurent. I held **all leadership roles**: lead developer, system administrator, SEO specialist, project manager, sales and trainer. **The entire technical and strategic scope rested on my shoulders**: from website and internal tool development to server administration, through SEO strategy and affiliate management. Laurent and I co-built the internal tools, notably the **WSG (Web Site Generator)**. We collaborated with **offshore resources** (India, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania).

I considered relocating to India to reduce development costs: several trips were made to New Delhi followed by a full tour of India, but I ultimately chose to stay in France for logistical, cultural and quality of life reasons. In parallel, I developed a Web and SEO agency activity for external clients, and also provided training.

## Business sectors

- Software publishing
- Affiliate & digital marketing
- E-commerce
- Travel ticketing
- Hotel booking
- Casino & online gambling
- Mobile ringtones
- Radio streaming
- Tourism
- Music
- Adult entertainment
- Food & beverage (coffee)
- Web hosting
- Services & consulting
- Web & SEO training

**Vision:** This entrepreneurial adventure started at age 18 shaped me as a developer, system architect and business leader. Managing 260 websites, dedicated servers and advanced algorithms alone gave me a technical mastery and autonomy that few traditional professional experiences could have provided at that age.

## Key numbers

- **260** - Websites
- **75K** - Visitors/day (unique IPs)
- **500K€** - Cumulative net profit
- **28K€** - Monthly net record
- **6/10** - PageRank (sites at 5 and 6/10)
- **15** - Languages

## Historical context: the Internet in 1999

- **No cloud**: AWS would not exist until 2006. Everything relied on physical dedicated servers configured by hand.
- **No frameworks**: No Symfony (2005), no Rails (2004), no Django (2005). Code was written from scratch in raw PHP.
- **No Stack Overflow**: The site would not launch until 2008. The only resources: PHP.net manuals, forums, and experimentation.
- **No CI/CD**: Deployments were done via FTP. No Git (2005), no GitHub (2008), no automated pipelines.
- **No Google as we know it**: Google had just been founded (1998). Dominant search engines were AltaVista, Voilà.fr, Lycos, and MSN Search.
- **56K modem Internet**: ADSL only became widespread from 2002-2003 in France. Pages had to be ultra-lightweight.

## Key highlights

**I was 18 years old when I started this company in 1999, and 26 when it ended in 2007.** At a time when the Internet was barely starting in France, I designed, developed, and administered nearly the entire technical infrastructure alone: 260 websites, 15 languages, 5 countries, all hosted on dedicated servers I configured and maintained myself (Apache, DNS, SMTP, FTP, MySQL, Debian).

The financial results were exceptional for a single person in charge at that age: a **cumulative net profit of 500K€**, with **monthly net records reaching 28K€** (184,000 FRF). For perspective, the average net salary in France in 2003 was about 1,770 €/month - a monthly net record of 28K€ represented roughly **16x the average salary**, generated by a single 22-year-old individual.

Multiple internal sites reached a **PageRank of 5/10 to 6/10** - exceptional for the era, only institutional sites like Orange reached this level. I ranked in the **TOP 10 in France** among affiliates of major affiliate networks (Carpediem), with a conversion rate of 0.1% to 1% and a bounce rate of 20%.

Our sites also stood out for their **UI design, far ahead of the era**. While most of the web was limited to basic HTML table layouts, we produced visually polished interfaces and highly dynamic PHP and JavaScript sites.

This entrepreneurial adventure also allowed me to travel to **over 25 countries**: Latvia, Lithuania, India, Nepal, Saint Martin, Italy, among others.

## Technology stack

- **Languages & Frameworks**: PHP 2 / 3 / 4 / 5, JavaScript, HTML 4, CSS
- **Databases**: MySQL 3 / 4 / 5
- **Servers & Infrastructure**: Apache HTTP Server, Debian, BIND (DNS), Postfix (SMTP), PureFTPd
- **Tools**: phpMyAdmin, HTML Tidy

## Why this matters today

This experience as a founder at 18 forged the exact skills of an early-stage CTO - long before knowing the title.

- **Tech / business trade-offs**: Every technical decision directly served profitability. No tech for tech's sake.
- **Scaling under constraints**: 260 sites, 15 languages, 75K visitors/day - managed almost alone. Constraint drives architectural creativity.
- **Leadership under pressure**: Offshore team coordination (India, Romania, Latvia), server crisis management, fast decisions.
- **From founder to Engineering Manager**: 8 years of entrepreneurship that laid the foundation for 20+ years in tech: architecture, management, product strategy.

Full interactive version with timeline navigation: https://portfolio.josedacosta.net/en/journey/cto-founder-technical-director-celiane