about me

One partner for
business and tech

I'm Mathijs. I modernise ageing software, automate the manual work around it and build products that keep up. One point of contact, no layers in between.

Get in touch View my work
Haarlem, NL freelance Laravel · Vue · AI available
~/mathijs.jpg
Mathijs Oggel
2012 first company, at sixteen
5+ years as lead developer
2 SaaS platforms built from scratch
+30% efficiency gain for their clients
the story

The story behind Oggel Codelabs

I have been building things that work since I was sixteen. First my own websites, then five years as Lead Developer, taking two SaaS platforms from prototype to business-critical.

Oggel Codelabs is the obvious next step: that experience applied directly, without layers in between. You talk to the person who builds it.

~/oggel-codelabs · zsh
$ whoami
Mathijs Oggel, technical partner — I automate work a system should be doing
$ cat how-i-work.txt
✓ honest advice, also when the answer is "do not build this"
✓ short iterations, working software every week
✓ your source code, your servers, no lock-in
$
the stack

What I build with

backend
Laravel PHP Livewire MySQL Redis
frontend
Vue TypeScript Tailwind Alpine
ai & tooling
Claude Code OpenAI Pest GitHub Actions
how I work

Hired help or a technical partner?

A contracted developer solves a capacity problem. A technical partner takes responsibility for the product.

Hired help

builds what is on the ticket

  • Scope goes in, hours come out
  • No opinion on the business case
  • Handover ends the relationship

Technical partner

thinks about what you should be asking

  • Pushes back when the tech misses the real problem
  • Priorities set by impact, not by backlog order
  • Still there after launch
background

Experience that counts

From a first website at sixteen to platforms companies run on.

  1. Oggel Codelabs
    2025 - now Oggel Codelabs

    Founder

    Technical partner for companies where too much still happens by hand: legacy modernisation, process automation and AI where it measurably pays off.

    Laravel Vue AI
  2. De Reclamefabriek
    2019 - 2025 De Reclamefabriek

    Lead Developer & Partner

    Took Smart Content Creator and Smart Content Manager from prototype to business-critical, lifting content production efficiency by more than 30% for brands like bol.com and Aldi.

    Laravel Vue InDesign API
  3. CGI
    2018 - 2019 CGI

    Digital Aviation Consultant

    Worked with KLM, Transavia and Schiphol Group, and built a machine-learning prototype that cuts food waste in aviation.

    Machine learning Prototyping
  4. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
    2016 - 2018 Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

    Web Developer KnowVU

    Built the faculty knowledge platform where teachers share their educational innovations.

    PHP Laravel WordPress
  5. 2012 - 2014 Birdey Webdesign

    Co-founder

    First company at sixteen: websites and narrowcasting screens running on Raspberry Pi.

    Web Raspberry Pi
education

Academic background, and what sits outside it

bsc

BSc Information Sciences

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

2014 - 2017

The fundamentals: information systems, software development, and turning a business need into something buildable.

msc

MSc Information Sciences

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

2017 - 2018

Specialised in improving business processes with IT. The reason I look at your process before I look at your code.

outside work

National rowing champion

2× national titles

Years of competitive rowing taught me what a team can do with discipline and a deadline.

roeien.nl
ready to start

Let's meet

Curious whether I am the right partner? A free intro call, no strings attached.

Start a conversation View my work