About

Who I am

I'm a multidisciplinary developer, photographer, and builder based in Portugal. I write code, I take pictures, I make music (amateur, but getting there), and I design elegant systems that work. Not just software systems - whole systems, from hardware to interface to the human experience around them.

Before going independent, I worked at Capgemini and then at a startup where I helped build the operational backbone - infrastructure, development environment, AI tooling, team workflows, email systems, and marketing automations - while co-developing the core application with a small team. I carried a lot of the weight across the full stack. That experience is why I trust myself to build Abicoca² - I know what it takes to make something real from nothing.

I'm neurodivergent, and I've concluded that that is a strength, not a bug. Where other people see unrelated disciplines, I see connections. Where other people see an impossible problem, I see a challenge worth taking seriously. I've built a career around saying "I don't know how to do that yet" - and then learning.

What I believe

The era of AI and accessible tooling has changed the game. The hard part is no longer building. The hard part is choosing what to build. The tools exist to turn ideas into prototypes in hours, not months. What matters now is taste, judgment, and the willingness to experiment.

I intend to use every tool at my disposal - AI-assisted development, rapid prototyping, generative design - to try things, break things, and ship things. Some will work. Some won't. The point is to keep moving.

My best fuel is: working with people within a healthy social relationship, and where the problem/frustration is shared.

What I'm building

Abicoca² is where all of this comes together. It's an innovation lab based in Portugal - a place where open-source technology meets real community needs. The first product is the Open Jukebox: a self-hosted, venue-owned music system for bars, cafes, and community spaces, built on open standards and designed with care.

It's a small thing that represents a big idea: that cutting-edge digital innovation doesn't need over-complicating.

Abicoca² is rooted in rural Portugal, Penalva de Alva.

How I work

I solve problems. I don't care what discipline the solution lives in - if the project needs hardware research, I'll learn about DACs and amplifiers. If it needs EU policy analysis, I'll search to understand the bureaucracy. If it needs a brand identity, I'll design one.

The thread that runs through everything is the same: take something that feels broken or inaccessible, strip it down to what's essential, and rebuild it in a way that respects the people who'll use it.

Get in touch

If any of this resonates - whether you're a venue owner, a municipality, a fellow builder, or just curious - I'd like to hear from you.