About Us

How was DigitalSolutions born? I started writing back when blogs relied on technologies like DHTML, ASP, or early versions of PHP—times when you had to write clean, substantial code to prevent crashes. Back then, I used a proprietary library because I couldn't afford a database. I started with Infomedialab, writing numerous articles and code, eventually building a team of highly talented people working thanks to sponsors. In the end, I sold everything due to major job offers and international projects, which is why I later bought the digitalsolutions.it domain at auction for 3,000 euros.

Going back in time, I was born in 1984 in Castellammare di Stabia, a beautiful town in Campania that borders Vico Equense, Sorrento further down, several important municipalities to the north, and ultimately Naples. From the port of Castellammare, you can reach the islands of Capri and Ischia by sea. I never knew my grandparents, but my maternal grandfather owned an electronics company, and his maternal uncle was an engineer at the naval port of Castellammare who designed the Amerigo Vespucci, a very famous training ship. My grandfather inherited a lot from this uncle and produced engines. My paternal grandfather fought extensively in the war when the city was briefly occupied by German forces; like all Italian ports, it saw fierce battles. They were monarchists, but always remained close to the people. When it was all over, they had lost everything, but they built back from scratch and started over. My mother was a private teacher and my father was a technical manager at SIP, which later became Telecom Italia S.p.A. It wasn't an easy childhood—it was a period of constant struggle due to circumstances beyond my parents' control—but in the end, I made it through.

Thanks to my father, I got my hands on my first computers. My very first machine was a Philips MSX 1 VG8020, followed by a Commodore Amiga 1200, and before that a Commodore 64; meanwhile, we already had early 286 PCs and others at home. He passed on his passion for electronics and computing to me, but I always possessed an innate drive to create. At one point, my parents fell ill, and to earn extra income, I started taking on my first odd jobs: repairing joysticks and computers, editing wedding videos using the Amiga 1200 and Scala software, and developing small games and applications on the side.

At age 13, using a PC and early versions of Delphi, I developed my first compiler, which I named PicBasic. It allowed you to write Basic code and compiled a ready-to-use binary solution for Microchip microcontrollers—much like Arduino, which I eventually adopted, abandoning my project. It wasn't very successful simply because I didn't publish anything, as sharing projects wasn't nearly as easy back then. To connect to the Internet, I borrowed my father's private dial-up connections, browsing the web when sites were made of plain text and basic pages during the era of Netscape, the glorious browser. However, I never abandoned my Commodores, which remain my passion to this day.

Then came my studies. I always worked and studied simultaneously, and when the opportunity arose, I launched my career as the technical manager of a major computer discount store. Many people are surprised that I held this role at just 18 years old: when I joined the company in Rome, I was earning around 600 euros a month, stepping in just as the outgoing technical manager was leaving for Ireland. The administrator at the time—since these were divided corporate entities—decided to take a chance on me. Within 2 years, I turned that store into the top computer discount location in Italy. Why? I may have been young, but I was handed immense responsibility, and I always had an instinct for taking on challenges bigger than myself, managing people, and constantly studying to deepen my knowledge. I never drifted away from electronics and IT; I am always studying to improve. I am not perfect, but I am deeply humble and always strive to do my best, learning from my mistakes. At 19 or just over 20, I was the person sent to deal with difficult clients, using diplomacy to establish meaningful dialogue.

When Computer Discount faced a crisis, I transitioned into research and development, taking on key roles. How did I manage that? I got my foot in the door at a major Rome-based company specializing in fine dust sampling. I started as a warehouse worker, doing everything possible to get hired and climb the ranks: assembling components and managing inventory. During a critical moment, while R&D team members were arguing over a prototype, I joined the discussion, pulled a dirty piece of paper out of the trash, and sketched the solution to their problem. Starting the very next day, I became an R&D team member, and later, the department manager. I led projects with an international scope and even received job offers to move abroad, but I always turned them down to stay close to my parents, who were already dealing with health issues.

Dreams in Italy don't always last forever: the company made a risky investment with a firm tied to NASA without securing guarantees, producing a large volume of instruments. When the Lehman Brothers collapse triggered global chaos, the order was canceled, leading to bankruptcy. A bank took over, and its financial expert immediately eliminated the R&D department—effectively cutting my position. He didn't fire me directly, but kept me on as an external consultant. Tired of having no clear role, being invisible, and earning a meager income, I handed over thousands of pages of documentation along with all source code, resigned, and transitioned into IT consulting.

I developed firmware, hardware, and real-time software, eventually moving into IT consulting to develop software for medium and large enterprises as well as the Public Administration, later expanding into Cybersecurity and IT Infrastructure—leveraging my extensive experience with firewalls and routing since the early days of urban and regional WiMAX and Wi-Fi networks. I worked on numerous international projects and led various teams, but that same Francesco remained unchanged: grounded, resilient, and driven by a constant desire to learn, fight, and lead.

I have always been drawn to artificial intelligence: at age 15, I built my first self-learning robot powered by algorithms I developed myself—without books, without the internet, and without prompts—and I haven't stopped since. Later, working in environments with strict security protocols forced me to temporarily clear out my GitHub account, leaving only a few pieces behind, though I have recently resumed pushing forward on all fronts.

This is who I am: simple, humble, and without any pretension. We must always learn and strive to improve. I deliberately omitted several personal details—such as my environmental activism, my work rescuing animals, or becoming the youngest national political executive in Italy—because I don't want to convey a message other than the one closest to my heart: my humility. I have always been someone who studied every single second and fought to finish every project, never accepting failure. Whenever I faced a setback, I used it as an opportunity to grow and do better.

So here I am. This is my story: without fluff, without inventions—just my reality.