About me

The 80s

At the age of 9, I was given a Commodore VC 20 instead of the Atari 2600 games console I wanted. I got my first insight into the world of computers. Playing games quickly became too boring and so I started to learn my first programming language, BASIC.

In BASIC I found access to the solution of simple as well as complex topics and dealt with the development of simple role-playing games as well as graphics and sound programming. After more than a year, I was lucky enough to get my first Commodore C64. This one was to be followed by a few more over the years, as I had expanded my interests to tinkering with hardware. My new field of activity resulted in a few setbacks that smelled of burnt circuit boards and roasted electronic components, which led to the expansion of my collection of defective hardware and spare parts.

In the area of software development, I reached the limits of what was possible with the C64 by doing graphics programming. This brought me into contact with my second programming language, Assembler. This new development with superpowers made everything possible that a young programmer's heart desired and gave me access to the maximum use of the resources of my computer and the highest possible optimization of code and performance of my programs. Reading compiled machine code also ushered in the era of reverse engineering, which would not receive my full attention until later.

The 90s

After a few years, the time of the Amiga 500 had arrived. The incredible new possibilities in graphics and sound made me briefly dive back into the world of computer games, but my passion for software development, reverse engineering and hardware quickly regained my full attention. Unfortunately, a few Amigas fell victim to my hardware experiments over the course of time, as well.

Time passed and, as in previous years, I was once again given a discarded computer as payment for IT support in my circle of acquaintances. My first PC, a run-down box with an 8088 Intel processor and a hard disk with an insanely large capacity of 20MB, acted like a turbocharger for my interests. After a while, I was even able to call a 286 my own through further work. Through a classmate I came across Turbo Pascal. The simple syntax and the speed of the compiled code enabled me to find new ways of solving problems.

I returned to reverse engineering and immersed myself in the security analysis of systems and the analysis and development of malicious code. I also became interested in software that required license keys as I was very interested in circumventing these precautions. Initially, it was enough for me to directly dive into running code to skip licensing measures, but I quickly wanted more and so I extracted the algorithms for calculating license keys with the help of disassemblers and hex editors. I then used another programming language I had learned - Delphi - to package these into small key generators with a graphical interface that could generate any license key for the “cracked” software. I only wrote my key generators for my own pleasure and never put them into circulation.

The creation of websites became a topic and so I became involved with HTML, PHP and Javascript, which was invented some time later and initially had very negative connotations. Through the programming of websites and displaying of graphical content, I also took a detour into ray tracing. I often dialed into a number of BBS', chatted with like-minded people and eagerly gathered information about my interests. In order to being able to program with both hands all day, while talking to friends on the phone, I built myself a headset from a cheap mini telephone, a capsule earpiece from a clear-out, an insane amount of cable and a straw.

The 2000s

At some point, I got a 386 and through my small collection of computers, I devoted my time to the new and exciting area of network security and hacking. I received more discarded computers and after a while there were four loudly buzzing, blinking boxes under my table and two notebooks and two CRT monitors on the table. My ages of Linux had begun and the Internet gave me access to the largest library in the world. For me, as a former bookworm who spent a lot of time in libraries, it was like being on cloud 9.

With my small, local network, I recreated countless security scenarios and learned how to circumvent them and exploit vulnerabilities to gain access to remote systems and cover my tracks. cover my tracks. I was quickly confronted with security-related requests of all kinds and was able to apply my skills I had learned by securing systems, analyzing hacked systems and performing penetration tests.

With Linux, the programming languages C and C++ came into my life. Today often decried as “programming on all fours”, C made it possible for me to customize kernels and develop kernel modules, which brought unprecedented possibilities to light, especially in the area of security.

The years went by and I developed more and more software and websites for others, secured systems and provided first aid after hacks. As a student at a vocational college, I then set up my own business with a friend. We built computers, provided IT support and created websites. With SQL and Actionscript, new languages and tools came into my life, some of which are still with me today. After a while, my business partner and I went our separate ways.

After finishing vocational high school, I began studying computer science at the Georg Simon Ohm University of Applied Sciences in Nuremberg. During this time I learned Prolog and Java and was taught other interesting ways of thinking and working in the field of IT. Almost five years later, I decided to put my studies on hold and devote myself more to working life, as I received more and more interesting requests and projects that I couldn't resist.

2010 till today

Over the years, I learned a lot of other programming languages and how to use countless tools, which I was able to apply to many projects. I developed ever more complex and larger systems and led successful teams. Due to frequent customer requests for crawling, I expanded my repertoire to include the programming language Python, which also gave me fantastic results when I needed tools for server administration and, especially today, when I deal with the development of AI.

In 2007 and 2008, I developed the websites for the real-time visualization of the positions and rankings of participants of New York Marathon, Chicago Marathon and London Marathon.

In 2010, I founded the word-of-mouth agency “Buzzienda” together with a partner. We brought together bloggers and product testers and used web campaigns to help make products better known and provided web surveys to promote the optimization of these products. In 2012, my business partner fell ill and I could neither find a new partner nor was I able to take care of sales on my own. For this reason, I recommended that all members sign up with a competing Austrian agency, with which I got along well and ended the period of Buzzienda.

In 2013, I started planning a recruitment agency for freelancers, together with four colleagues. After a year of preparation, calculation and software development, we founded 4freelance e.G., in which I was Chairman of the Supervisory Board. In 2022, the first board member and I finally left the cooperative, which still exists today.

In 2016, I founded a company together with the then first board member of 4freelance. The company's main project was AMZSTARS, a launching platform for Amazon retailers. I was mainly responsible for our servers and the development of our software, which also included managing an international team of developers. We successfully sold the project in 2020 and went our separate ways.

Not a day goes by when there is nothing new to discover and with the hype around AI, I also started using AI applications, development of LLMs and the study of reinforcement learning. The field of AI fascinates me extraordinarily, as it can be quite complex and opens up an incredible amount of new perspectives.

To date, I have been involved in hundreds of projects and many startups and I am always delighted when customers turn to me with their problems and visions where I can demonstrate my skills. I am very grateful that back then I didn't get the games console I wanted, but that box, labeled “Commodore VC 20”.

Unfortunately, due to some strange circumstances, all the items from my childhood were lost. A few years ago, however, I opened an old chest that used to stand around in my parents' house and its content moved me to tears. There was only a single item in the chest:

IT remains exciting! Contact me and tell me about your ideas and problems. Let's tackle your next projects and implement them successfully! I am passionate about the complicated and unpredictable aspects of my craft.