Hi, I'm Federico (pronounced “Fed-eh-ree-co”), but most people just call me Fed. I'm a dad of two, and a builder of user-focused products. I have a strong engineering background and care about solving real problems and building useful things.

First Lines of Code

I started programming when I was 10, living in McLean, Virginia. My dad was a telecoms engineer and an early adopter of computers, so there was always a machine nearby. At 12, I built my first game, called Tank. The graphics were so pixelated you could count the squares, but it was fun to play. That same year, my computing teacher made me draw flowcharts on a whiteboard, which I hated, but it forced me to think through the user journey before writing any code. Looking back, that was probably my first real lesson in product design.

A few years later, I got into TCP/IP, wrote a little firewall, and by 18, I had built my own IRC client for Windows and Linux. I spent the next few years building all kinds of tools and desktop apps, from database admin utilities and IDE plugins to interactive 3D catalogues.

As a teenager, I learned a lot just by following the work of people I admired:

Skills and Expertise

I've spent my career building products, leading teams, and solving problems. I've started companies, delivered software at scale, and worked with brilliant people across startups, global brands, and open source projects. I care about creating products that solve real problems, building teams where people can do their best work, and making sure the work I do has a positive impact on the people who use it.

Most Memorable Projects

I built ecommerce platforms for companies like Atari, L'Oreal, Energizer, Nissan, Johnson & Johnson, Bupa and Links of London, as well as web, mobile and TV apps for Sky, CNN, BBC, Global, Warner Media, HBO, Discovery+, Eurosport, Marie Claire and NME. But some projects, for one reason or another, stay with you. Here are a few I'm especially proud of:

Latest Side Project

Shinobi is a lean prototype I created as a side project to help TPMs manage multiple projects at once, especially when working with remote contractors. It keeps track of progress, tasks, and key development metrics. It's a clean, single-page app I built over a few weekends, in about a month. The app also supports adapters to pull data from different APIs, making it easier to integrate with more complex agile tools. A big part of the code was written using GPT-4o.

‹ ›

Prototypes give me space to experiment, learn, and stay on top of tech trends. I use them to try new tools, test assumptions, and see if certain workflows actually help teams work better. With AI, you can build and iterate much faster, so it's easier to figure out what works and what doesn't.

Companies I've Started

I started my first company straight out of uni, at 24. My sister and I wanted to turn printed furniture catalogues into interactive 3D experiences. She knew the interior design world inside out, had the connections, and I had the tech know-how. That's where I first learned how to sell a product, by listening to customers and solving real problems.

Sublime Cards

Years later, after helping clients build their own product catalogues and ecommerce platforms, I decided to launch a product of my own, Meeting Warm Up, a team-building game designed to improve team dynamics and encourage collaboration. It reached the number one spot on Amazon's office games category for 12 weeks, earned "Best Seller" and "Amazon Recommends" badges, and taught me a lot about product-market fit, pricing, and promotion. It also gave me a first-hand look at the same challenges my clients face when trying to sell their own products.

To get the product inside offices quickly, I had to get creative. One of the things I tried was standing outside a venue during an exclusive event for engineers and running a quick survey. Just two questions: which company do you work for, and are you happy with their culture? Anyone from a well-known startup or big tech company got a free product. I said: "Here's a gift for you. Thanks for building such an amazing product!" They walked away with a smile, a sense of pride and my product in their hands.

The cards encouraged people to scan QR codes, which they did, and some of those cards unlocked Easter eggs (who doesn't love those?). I came up with that idea myself, and it gave me a new metric to measure engagement.

Kewnode

I started Kewnode to help small businesses grow online and deliver scalable ecommerce solutions across platforms like Magento, Shopify, and Amazon. I built and led a high-performing team of certified software developers and architects. I also partnered with Adobe and leading ecommerce agencies to integrate new extensions into their existing applications.

Blog Posts

I started my blog, Decoding Tech, to write about things I care about, ideas from books, podcasts, articles, and my own experience building and thinking about technology.