About

Hi, I'm Niklas.

I'm a founding engineer at Compelling.

I love building things for the web that let others build things for the web. I spend much of my time thinking about CMSs, URLs and open standards.

I've been building things for the web since high school. I studied Computer Science in Karlsruhe and lived in the US, Norway and Korea during my studies.

My writing is the best way to see what I've been thinking about recently. Some of my favorite essays include:

You can read more on my blog, check out my code, or subscribe to my newsletter. I also advise companies and do angel investing. Reach out if interested.

Projects

StillUI editor for agents and humans to collaborate
bskysrchAdvanced search for Bluesky
CherrycruitNotion-powered ATS

How I Work

Some engineering principles I live by:

  • Make it work, make it right, make it fast: Outline the core structure, speedrun the initial build, then perfect. This delivers roughly 10x speed improvements.
  • Time blocking: I've moved beyond to-do lists to time blocking. Organizing my work around daily, weekly, and seasonal plans that build discipline and consistency.
  • Build in public: I believe in releasing early and often, sharing progress openly.
  • Squeeze the system you have: Optimize existing workflows before adding complexity or new tools.
  • Every Detail perfect. Limit the Number of Details: Focus on quality over quantity in both design and execution.

Uses

Launcher:Raycast
Notes:Notion
Calendar:Cron
Mail Client:Gmail
Browser:Dia
Terminal:Ghostty
Design:Framer
Dictation:Superwhisper

Favorite Problems