Freelance · Solutions Architecture · Full-Stack Engineering

Frank Michel

I build complex web applications from concept to delivery – combining two decades of full-stack engineering with a background in UX and graphic design.

Get in touch →︎ View projects

20+

Years Experience

Full-Stack

End-to-End Delivery

SaaS

Application Expert

AI-powered

Agentic Development

About

I'm a German-born web professional based in Haarlem, The Netherlands. With a classical education in graphic design and a university degree in information architecture, I combine design thinking with decades of experience in web development. Thinking as a designer has always made me a better developer.

I specialize in complex web applications – from internal tooling to multi-tenant SaaS products. I've built and scaled products from scratch, raised investment, hired teams and sold a company. Now I bring that experience to a select set of clients while continuing to develop new SaaS products.

I apply agentic AI development to increase productivity, while making sure that the architecture is solid and the code stays maintainable. I implement AI tools across projects, including MCP servers, LLM integrations & agentic workflows.

Featured projects

SaaS · Solo build · Early Access

Sportstudio

All-in-one platform for yoga & pilates studios – members, scheduling, waitlists, push notifications, studio insights.

sportstudio.app ↗

Role & contribution

100% solo – concept, design, full-stack development, mobile app, MCP server integration, infrastructure and go-to-market.

Stack

LaravelVue.jsInertia.jsTailwindMySQL

App · Solo build · Live

BKKPR

Clean, focused bookkeeping web application for freelancers and small businesses. Simple, fast, no nonsense.

bkkpr.app ↗

Role & contribution

100% solo – full-stack, UX, deployment and ongoing maintenance.

Stack

LaravelVue.jsQuasarSCSSREST APIMySQL

SaaS · Startup · Exit

ONDURO

Employee scheduling & time registration SaaS. Web, iOS and Android. Thousands of active users across the Dutch market.

onduro.com ↗

Role & contribution

Single founder. Designed and built the entire product from scratch. Raised two investment rounds, hired and led a team, grew to thousands of users, successfully sold the company.

Stack

LaravelVue.jsMySQLREST APISCSSAndroidiOSPayment IntegrationDevOpsUX Design

Selected Clients

Web App · Switzerland

DeinAdieu

Estate planning platform. Privacy-first, multi-tenant, multi-locale architecture.

deinadieu.ch ↗

Role & contribution

Senior developer. Ongoing development, architecture decisions, feature work and maintenance.

Web App · Switzerland

OBT

Professional services providing integrated consulting, auditing, fiduciary, and IT services.

obt.ch ↗

Role & contribution

Freelance developer and consultant. Internal and client-facing applications, architecture guidance.

Web App · Netherlands

HOMi

Software platform that helps homework tutoring centers manage their students, tutors, planning, and administration in one place.

homi.nu ↗

Role & contribution

Freelance developer. Feature development, ongoing maintenance and architecture guidance.

Web App · Netherlands

Kees de Boekhouder

Bookkeeping-as-a-service for freelancers and SMEs – personal bookkeeper combined with a full-featured web app and mobile tool.

keesdeboekhouder.nl ↗

Role & contribution

Solutions architecture and product ownership. Supporting technical direction, platform architecture and product strategy.

Timeline

2019 – Present
Haarlem, NL

Senior Freelance Developer & Consultant

FM Digital Solutions & Consulting

Full-stack Laravel & Vue.js development for multiple clients. Architecture, feature development, maintenance, consulting and AI integration. Solo development of Sportstudio and BKKPR.

2015 – 2018
Amsterdam, NL

Founder & CEO

Onduro · Rockstart Accelerator

Founded, designed and built Onduro from scratch. Raised two investment rounds. Selected for Rockstart Accelerator Amsterdam. Grew to thousands of active users. Led a development team. Sold the company in 2018.

2005 – 2015
Germany / NL

Freelance Designer & Developer

Frank Michel Media

Web applications, UX design and frontend development for clients across Germany, the Netherlands and the US. Transitioned from design roots into full-stack engineering.

Skills & technologies

Backend

LaravelPHPMySQLSQLiteRedisQueuesRESTful APIWebsocketsTDDDDDEloquentPHPUnitPestHorizonoAuthSanctumPassport

Frontend

JavaScriptVue.jsInertia.jsQuasarVuetifyNuxt.jsTypeScriptHTML5CSS3SCSSTailwindSPAViteVitestPlaywrightCypress

Infrastructure

DigitalOceanDockerForgeEnvoyerCI/CDGitGitHub / GitlabWebpackNPM / YarnGitHub ActionsNginxLinux / UbuntuServer ManagementS3

AI & Agentic

MCP developmentAI integrationLaravel AI SDKLaravel BoostAgentic workflowsPrompt engineeringClaudeOpenAIOllama

Architecture & design

App architectureDatabase designAPI designUX designUI designMulti-tenancyInformation architecturePayment gatewaysDesign thinking

Business

Product managementProduct ownershipFundraisingTeam leadershipTechnical consultingTechnical auditsAgile / ScrumRequirements analysis

Values

Authenticity

I am honest, clear, transparent and personable.

Efficiency

I focus on outcomes, not on things that don't add value.

Simplicity

I simplify complexity in code, UX design and communication.

Kindness

I bring respect and a good attitude to every project.

Competence

The industry moves fast. I move with it – deliberately.

Quality

I am thorough and have a strong focus on quality.

Education

Hochschule der Medien · Stuttgart, Germany

Information Architecture (BA)

University degree focused on user-centered design, information architecture and web application development.

hdm-stuttgart.de ↗

Hubert Burda Media · Offenburg, Germany

Graphic Design

Classical education in visual design principles, layout and typography for print & digital media.

burda.com ↗

Languages

German

Native

English

Fluent

Dutch

Fluent

Portuguese

Conversational

Contact

Ready to build something great?

Let's talk about how my experience can benefit your project.

Get in touch on LinkedIn ↗︎