Co-Founder & Lead Engineer
EKORU
Overview
As Co-Founder and Lead Engineer at EKORU, I'm building a sustainable marketplace platform from scratch that connects eco-conscious consumers with environmentally responsible vendors. The platform focuses on promoting sustainable products while providing a seamless shopping experience.
Currently architecting the entire technical infrastructure as sole technical developer (alongside 2 business co-founders) using modern microservices architecture with GraphQL Federation, ensuring scalability and maintainability as the platform grows. The system is designed to support multiple languages and markets from day one.
Current Stage: Building MVP for beta launch in April 2026 with core features (catalog, vendor onboarding, environmental scoring). Full e-commerce functionality (payments, orders) planned for production launch in October 2026. Visit our landing page to learn more about the vision.
Features Completed & In Development
Multi-language Catalog System
Building comprehensive product catalog with i18n infrastructure supporting multiple languages (Spanish, English, French). Designed for easy expansion to additional markets without code changes
Vendor Management Platform
Developing vendor and admin portals with inventory tracking, product management, and analytics dashboard (in progress)
GraphQL Federation Gateway
Architected federated GraphQL API enabling seamless communication between microservices with type-safe schema stitching
Authentication & Authorization
Implemented JWT-based authentication system with role-based access control for users, vendors, and administrators
Product Catalog Service
Built microservice handling product CRUD operations, category management, and multi-language content with PostgreSQL
Environmental Impact Tracking
Designed hierarchical database system calculating measurable environmental metrics (carbon footprint, water usage, recyclability) across 15+ product categories with category-specific factors
Roadmap & In Progress
Payment Integration
PlannedSecure payment processing with Chilean providers (Transbank, Mercado Pago)
Order Management System
PlannedEnd-to-end order processing with status tracking and notifications
Vendor Dashboard
In progressComplete vendor portal for inventory and sales management
Kubernetes Orchestration
PlannedMigration from Docker Compose to Kubernetes for production scaling
Technical Achievements
- ▸Architected complete microservices ecosystem from scratch
- ▸Implemented GraphQL Federation for seamless service communication
- ▸Designed hierarchical environmental impact scoring system with PostgreSQL recursive CTEs
- ▸Built category-specific sustainability metrics for 15+ product types
- ▸Designed environmental score calculation system with on-demand computation
- ▸Built multi-language infrastructure supporting Spanish, English, and French (expandable)
- ▸Established DevOps practices with Docker containerization
- ▸Designed database schema handling complex product relationships and environmental data
- ▸Set up CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions for automated testing and deployment
- ▸Implementing vendor and admin portal for collecting sustainability data
Tech Stack
System Architecture
Microservices Design
Building independent services for catalog, authentication, and future services (orders, payments, vendors), each with its own database and API. Services communicate through GraphQL Federation, enabling independent scaling and deployment.
Database Strategy
Using PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM for type-safe database access. Designed schema to handle complex product relationships, multi-language content, hierarchical categories, and environmental data with efficient querying using recursive CTEs.
DevOps & Infrastructure
Containerized all services with Docker and Docker Compose for development and staging environments. Implemented CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions for automated testing and deployment. Kubernetes orchestration planned for production scaling.
Frontend Architecture
Next.js application with server-side rendering for optimal SEO and performance. Internationalization (i18n) infrastructure supporting Spanish, English, and French with easy expansion to additional languages.
Environmental Impact Tracking System
Measurable Environmental Impact
Designed and implemented a comprehensive environmental impact scoring system that quantifies the sustainability of products across multiple categories. The system uses a hierarchical database structure with PostgreSQL recursive CTEs to track and calculate environmental metrics at product, subcategory, and category levels.
Technical Implementation
Database Schema:
Category
↳ environmental_impact_factors (JSON)
↳ sustainability_metrics (JSON)
SubCategory
↳ inherits parent category factors (via recursive CTE)
↳ category-specific overrides available
Product
↳ computed_impact_score (0-100, calculated on-demand)
↳ impact_breakdown (detailed metrics)
💡 What is Recursive CTE?
A Common Table Expression (CTE) that references itself to traverse hierarchical data. In EKORU, when a product is in "Android Smartphones", a recursive CTE walks up the tree (Android → Smartphones → Electronics → Root) to inherit environmental factors from parent categories, with optional overrides at each level.
Impact Calculation:
- ▸Carbon Footprint: Calculated based on product materials, production process, and transportation distance
- ▸Water Usage: Estimated water consumption during manufacturing and product lifecycle
- ▸Recyclability Score: Product materials recyclability percentage and end-of-life disposal impact
User-Facing Impact Dashboard (Planned)
Planning interactive dashboard allowing users to:
- ▸Compare Products: Side-by-side environmental impact comparison within the same category
- ▸Track Personal Impact: Cumulative environmental savings based on sustainable purchases vs. conventional alternatives
- ▸Filter by Sustainability: Search and filter products based on specific environmental criteria
- ▸Educational Tooltips: Contextual explanations of each environmental metric
Technical Challenges Solved
Hierarchical Data Inheritance with Recursive CTEs
Implemented efficient PostgreSQL queries with recursive Common Table Expressions to inherit environmental factors from parent categories while allowing subcategory-specific overrides. Optimized query performance with proper indexing on category hierarchy and materialized paths.
Multi-language Data Architecture
Architected internationalization (i18n) system for environmental impact descriptions, category names, and tooltips. Currently supporting Spanish, English, and French (using AI translation tools for French) with infrastructure designed for easy expansion to additional languages without database schema changes.
Scalable Microservices with GraphQL Federation
Architected federated GraphQL schema allowing independent microservices to expose their own types and resolvers. Each service owns its domain (catalog, auth, future: orders, payments) and can be developed, tested, and deployed independently without affecting others. When adding a new service, only the gateway configuration requires updating - existing services remain untouched. This separation enables parallel development and reduces deployment risk.
Target Metrics (Beta Launch)
500+
Products with impact scores for beta
15+
Product categories with custom environmental metrics
3
Languages supported (ES, EN, FR)
Project Status & Timeline
Beta Launch - April 2026
Minimum Viable Product with core functionality: product catalog, vendor onboarding, environmental impact scoring, and basic search/filtering. Focus on validating market fit and gathering user feedback.
Beta Features: Catalog browsing, vendor listings, sustainability scores, multi-language support, user accounts (no payments yet)
📍 Visit www.ekoru.cl to learn more about our mission and vision
Full Production Launch - October 2026 (Target)
Complete e-commerce platform with payment processing, order management, vendor dashboards, and enhanced security features. Migration to Kubernetes for production-grade orchestration.
Additional Features: Transbank/Mercado Pago integration, order tracking, vendor analytics, customer reviews, advanced admin tools