Ouija

Genova — about 6 years of experience

Simone
Menestrina

Full Stack Developer and AI Integration Specialist

I sign my work as Ouija. Like the board, I act as a bridge between people’s ideas and technology.

Ouija, Simone’s mascot: a cartoon character with a dark beret, a white skull-like face, a long braid and fingerless gloves.
Ouija
Ouija board with the alphabet, the numbers, YES, NO and GOODBYE AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVVWWXXYYZZ11223344556677889900YESYESNONOGOODBYEGOODBYE

Or ask one of these

01 / About

Turning what clients need into software that works.

I turn what clients need into software that works. For about 6 years I have built custom web platforms, management systems, desktop and mobile apps and AI integrations at a software house in Genova, handling projects end to end, from scoping to support after launch.

Based in
Genova, Italy
Experience
About 6 years
Signature
Ouija

02 / What I do

Software built end to end.

  • Web apps and management systems

    Custom web platforms and management systems, handled end to end, from scoping to support after launch.

  • AI integrations

    Chatbots connected to product catalogues and order data, and AI-assisted OCR pipelines that extract data from invoices and ID documents.

  • Desktop and mobile apps

    Desktop apps with Electron and cross-platform mobile apps with Ionic, connected to Laravel backends via REST API.

  • Upgrades and maintenance

    Upgrading existing platforms, such as moving from Laravel 8 to Laravel 12, and support after launch.

03 / Personal project

Lanterna

Modular personal assistant

In progress

What it is
A modular personal assistant I’m building in Laravel, developed with AI-assisted tools (Claude Code).
First module
Job-search automation: generating tailored, ATS-friendly CVs and managing applications.
Next modules
Freelance work, expenses and budget, diet and training.
Status
Private repository, in active development.

04 / Case studies

Selected work.

Clients are kept anonymous.

  • Cremation services sector

    Large Laravel management platform

    Problem
    The client ran on an old AS/400 system and a lot of paper. Communication with funeral homes was inefficient, every member notice went out as a letter, and there was no digital archive of cases.
    What I built
    • A digital case archive and case management, with each cremation assigned to a furnace and a time slot
    • Furnace emissions tracking, with reports to the authorities when limits are exceeded
    • Niche management: who rests in each niche, who pays for it and who is behind on payments, membership fees and subscriptions included
    • Smarter member communications: email to everyone who has one, letters only for the rest
    • More effective communication with funeral homes
    • Built modules from scratch and upgraded the platform from Laravel 8 to Laravel 12, with queue-based bulk PDF generation, bank invoice imports and a companion Electron desktop app
    Result
    AS/400 and paper workflows were replaced by one platform: cases, furnaces, emissions, niches, payments and member communications are all managed digitally.

  • E-commerce

    AI customer support chatbot

    Problem
    Customers kept asking the same questions about products and their orders.
    What I built
    A chatbot connected to the product catalogue and the order database.
    Result
    Customers get answers on products and order status at any time, without waiting for staff.

  • Import/export company

    Automated invoice processing

    Problem
    Supplier invoices were read and typed into the system by hand.
    What I built
    An AI-assisted OCR pipeline on OpenAI models, tuned on the company’s own documents.
    Result
    Invoice data is extracted automatically; staff review it instead of typing it.

  • Short-term rental platform

    ID document verification

    Problem
    Guest identity documents had to be checked one by one.
    What I built
    The same OCR technology adapted to read ID documents, with a human approving each result.
    Result
    Faster check-ins, with a person always in control of sensitive data.

  • Custom business app

    Staff time-tracking mobile app

    Problem
    Hours and expenses were collected on paper and spreadsheets.
    What I built
    A cross-platform Ionic app connected to a Laravel backend via REST API.
    Result
    Staff log hours from their phone; admin reports are generated automatically.

05 / Stack

Tools I work with.

  • PHP / LaravelFramework
  • JavaScript / TypeScriptLanguage
  • Node.jsRuntime
  • PythonLanguage
  • DockerContainers
  • MySQLDatabase
  • OpenAI APIAI API
  • Claude APIAI API

06 / Experience and education

Experience and education.

Experience

Full Stack Developer

Software house, Genova · About 6 years

Custom web platforms, management systems, desktop and mobile apps and AI integrations, handling projects end to end, from scoping to support after launch.

Other experience

  • About one year in Java on a point-of-sale and cash-management system for shops and restaurants.
  • Client relationships, project scoping and B2B sales materials.

Education

High school diploma in computer science

I.I.S. Gastaldi-Abba, Genova · 2021

Languages

Italian
Native
English
C1

07 / Contact

Get in touch.