Costantino Serafini, software developer

I’m Costantino Serafini, a programmer and web developer from Lanciano, Italy.

I wrote my first line of code at 14, watching Pitone Programmatore’s videos, and I never stopped: first websites in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, then Python programs, blockchain and artificial intelligence.

Today I’m building Riven, the app to book, order and pay at the businesses in your town, without phone calls.

Write to me

Skills

The journey

The first website

A Pitone Programmatore video, an empty editor and my first website in HTML. Then CSS, then JavaScript: seeing it work wasn't enough, I wanted to understand how.

From web to software

At school, the basics of C and C++. Then my curiosity for real programs, the ones running on a computer, led me to Python.

The class website

A meme page for my class, with its own website I built. The first project used by others, not just by me.

Blockchain

Bitcoin opened up a whole world. I studied how blockchains work by building small local projects, to check I had really understood.

Artificial intelligence

When AI arrived, I tried rebuilding small models: my favourite was an AI that taught itself to play Snake, game after game.

The project: Riven

Riven — Book around the corner. No phone calls.

The problem

Booking a barber, a café or a gym still means phone calls and messages that get lost. A hassle for customers, time stolen from work for businesses.

The solution

An app to find the businesses in your city and book, order and pay in a few taps: instant confirmation, reminders and in-store pickup when your order is ready.

For businesses

A free profile and Riven Manager, the portal to receive bookings, orders and payments and stay in touch with customers through notifications and email.

Where we are

We started in Lanciano, with the city's first businesses. The app is on Google Play, and other cities have a waitlist to know when Riven arrives.

Discover the project: Riven

About me

I'm curious. Obsessed with beauty and detail. A perfectionist, sometimes too much. I can't stand standards or rules: you have to be different to make a difference.

My word: EXTRAordinary. My favourite word — straordinario, in Italian. And what I want to become.

Mottos

  • “Be the light in a world of darkness.” — My compass
  • “Everything you touch gets better.” — Jim Rohn

Books

I alternate a book on investing or economics with one on personal growth or the humanities.

  • The Richest Man in Babylon — George S. Clason
  • Unshakeable — Tony Robbins
  • 1984 — George Orwell
  • Phaedo — Plato
  • …and Nietzsche, and many more — across investing, personal growth and philosophy

Minds that inspire me

  • Socrates — philosopher
  • Plato — philosopher
  • Rick Rubin — producer
  • Tony Robbins — author & coach
  • Steve Jobs — Apple
  • Robert Kiyosaki — author
  • Ray Dalio — investor
  • George Orwell — writer
  • Jim Rohn — author & speaker
  • Adriano Olivetti — entrepreneur
  • Christopher Nolan — director
  • Robin Williams — actor

Films

  • The Odyssey — Christopher Nolan — and pretty much all his films
  • Dead Poets Society — with Robin Williams — and many of his other films
  • Ratatouille · WALL·E · Kung Fu Panda — animation
  • The Naked Gun — all of them, and the Police Squad! series

Interests

  • Films and books — stories that change the way you see things
  • Investing and economics — understanding how money works
  • Technology — from the web to blockchain to artificial intelligence

Contact

Got an idea, a proposal, or just want to say hi?

Write to me: costantinoserafini686@gmail.com