Alexander Garcia
Building a full-stack social platform for tiki culture enthusiasts to share recipes, showcase mug collections, and connect through their passion for tropical escapismBuilding a full-stack social platform for tiki culture enthusiasts to share recipes, showcase mug collections, and connect through their passion for tropical escapism
Alexander Garcia is a passionate Lead Front-End Engineer who leads distributed teams in creating complex, high-performing web applications.
Alexander Garcia is an forward-thinking Front-End Engineer who builds pixel-perfect, reliable applications.
Alexander Garcia is a practical Senior Front End Javascript Developer who develops exceptional digital experiences.
Alexander Garcia is an effective Senior Software Engineer who builds cutting-edge software.
Alexander Garcia is a detail-oriented Front-End Architect who improves large-scale frontend architectures.
Full-Stack Architect
Side Hustle / SaaS
The Tiki Social Club is a passion project turned side hustlea dedicated social platform for tiki culture enthusiasts. The vision is to create a thriving community where people can share their favorite tiki cocktail recipes, showcase their prized mug collections, discover local tiki bars, and eventually engage in peer-to-peer ecommerce for rare and vintage tiki mugs.The Tiki Social Club is a passion project turned side hustlea dedicated social platform for tiki culture enthusiasts. The vision is to create a thriving community where people can share their favorite tiki cocktail recipes, showcase their prized mug collections, discover local tiki bars, and eventually engage in peer-to-peer ecommerce for rare and vintage tiki mugs.
"I wanted to create a space that celebrates tiki culture while solving a real problem: connecting collectors and enthusiasts in a meaningful way. This is both a technical challenge and a business opportunity."
Building both a modern React frontend and a robust Python backend API from scratch while ensuring scalability and maintainability.
Implementing complex social interactions including following, likes, comments, ratings, and activity feeds while maintaining performance.
Planning and architecting a peer-to-peer ecommerce system with payment processing, order management, and transaction security.
Designing complex database schemas for users, recipes, mugs, social relationships, and future marketplace transactions.
I'm building this platform iteratively, focusing on core features first while architecting for future growth. The approach prioritizes user experience, performance, and code quality from day one.I'm building this platform iteratively, focusing on core features first while architecting for future growth. The approach prioritizes user experience, performance, and code quality from day one.
Built authentication, user profiles, recipe sharing, and mug collection features with a focus on clean architecture.
Implemented following system, likes, comments, ratings, and activity feeds to drive community engagement.
Planning peer-to-peer ecommerce with Stripe integration for mug sales, creating revenue streams.
I architected a modern full-stack application with a React frontend powered by Rsbuild and a Python FastAPI backend, deployed on Railway for seamless CI/CD and scalability.I architected a modern full-stack application with a React frontend powered by Rsbuild and a Python FastAPI backend, deployed on Railway for seamless CI/CD and scalability.
Full CRUD operations for tiki cocktail recipes with ingredients, directions, garnishes, difficulty levels, and rich metadata.
Showcase tiki mug collections with detailed information including artist, manufacturer, condition, and multiple images.
Follow users, like and rate recipes/mugs, comment with threaded replies, and track engagement through activity feeds.
JWT-based auth with OAuth support, customizable user profiles with bios, avatars, and social stats.
Filter recipes by category, difficulty, base spirit, and more. Search and discover content across the platform.
Peer-to-peer mug sales with Stripe payment processing, order management, and transaction tracking.
React 19 with TypeScript for type-safe component development
Rsbuild for blazing-fast builds and modern tooling
TailwindCSS v4 for utility-first styling
React Query (TanStack) for server state management
React Hook Form + Zod for form validation
Radix UI primitives for accessible components
Python FastAPI for high-performance async REST API
PostgreSQL with SQLAlchemy ORM for robust data persistence
Alembic for database migrations and version control
JWT authentication with OAuth support (Google)
Redis for caching and session management
Stripe integration for marketplace payments
This is an ongoing side project with ambitious goals to become a sustainable side hustle. The platform is actively being developed with a clear roadmap toward monetization.This is an ongoing side project with ambitious goals to become a sustainable side hustle. The platform is actively being developed with a clear roadmap toward monetization.
Core features built and deployed, actively iterating based on early feedback
Building an engaged community of tiki enthusiasts and collectors
Next phase: enabling peer-to-peer mug sales with integrated payments
Architected and deployed full-stack application with modern CI/CD pipeline
Implemented core social features: following, likes, comments, ratings
Built recipe and mug management systems with rich metadata and filtering
Designed scalable database schema supporting future marketplace features
Phase 1: Launch peer-to-peer marketplace with Stripe integration
Phase 2: Implement premium features and subscription tiers
Phase 3: Add tiki bar directory with user reviews and ratings
Phase 4: Mobile app development for iOS and Android
Building both frontend and backend from scratch deepened my understanding of system architecture, API design, and end-to-end data flow. Making architectural decisions without constraints revealed trade-offs between developer experience and performance.
Starting with MVP features and iterating based on real usage is more valuable than building everything upfront. User feedback drives better product decisions than assumptions.
Choosing modern, well-supported tools (FastAPI, React Query, Rsbuild) accelerated development and made the codebase more maintainable. Investing in infrastructure early (CI/CD, type safety, testing) pays off as the project grows.
Get In Touch
Ready to start your next project? Let's discuss how we can work together
I'm always interested in new opportunities and exciting projects. Whether you have a specific project in mind or just want to chat about possibilities, feel free to reach out!