Lukas Kesch
CTO and Entrepreneur
I am the CTO, CAIO, and one of four Managing Directors of the German EduTech Startup SchulLV. On nights and weekends, I hack on various side projects to sharpen my saw and as a testground for new technology.
When I am not in front of my MacBook, I am exercising (Gym, Triathlon, Skiing), reading, or with my girlfriend, friends, or family.
My Endeavors
SchulLV
SchulLV is the leading online learning platform in Germany for students to study for their exams and for teachers to create new learning materials. We offer a variety of subjects including Maths, German, English, Biology, and more with original graduation exams for nearly all German states and digital schoolbooks.
As CTO I am leading the development of the platform (website, mobile app, and backend) and the infrastructure. The tech stack includes Next.js (React), Expo (React Native), Spring Boot (Java), MySQL, AWS, ...
Life Journal
LifeJournal.io is a journal app that lets you record and have an overview of your time spend. You can record or log any activity (learning, coding, exercise, ...) you want to keep track of.
I am actively developing this open source app to track my exercise, coding, and learning habits. The Web App is built with Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and MySQL. I am self-hosting the app on my own server with a Cloudflare proxy in front. You can find it on my GitHub.
Self Hosting
This site and all my other personal projects run on my Ubuntu server in a datacenter in Germany. In the time of AWS, it is a great way to stay grounded in the basics.
I am running: Nginx as a reverse proxy with Certbot for my side projects, MySQL as my go to database, Docker for my Next.js apps, WireGuard as my VPN with AdGuard as my personal DNS Server, and some cron scripts for backups, monitoring, and maintenance.
University
I studied Computer Science at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany. I finished my Bachelor studies with a GPA of 3.7 (1.7 on the German scale). My focus was on Algorithms, Software Engineering, and Linear Algebra.
I developed a lot of book smartness so to speak but most of our classes lacked the practical aspect. In the evenings and weekends, I was hacking on my own projects eager to apply my knowledge.
During my time in university I also began working as a Student Software Engineer at SchulLV and got my first experience working on a large scale web application in a team.
High School
I graduated from the Hans-Grüninger-Gymnasium (German high school) with the highest GPA in my class of 4.0 (1.1 on the German scale). I selected my classes based on my deep interest in the STEM subjects: Computer Science, Mathmatics, Physics, and Chemistry.
I received multiple awards and scholarships: Ferry-Porsche Preis, Physik-Preis, Deutschlandstipendium
I spent my Junior year as an Exchange Student in the USA at the Jackboro High School. I had a great time and participated in practically all sports they offered: Football, Cross Country, Powerlifting, Track & Field, and Baseball.
Bundeswettbewerb Informatik
Two years in a row I participated in the highest German Informatics Competition: The Bundeswettbewerb Informatik. I passed all rounds and was one of the 23 finalists from over 2000 competitors.
This victory qualified me to take part in the training for the german national team at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). The training was intense and we solved a lot of algorithmic problems and learned a lot about data structures. I really enjoyed it! In the end I prioritized my studies and left the team. This is something I would have done differently if I could do it over again. I would have loved to compete in the IOI.
My Engineering Skills
AI & Machine Learning
I have built multiple AI applications using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and Model Context Protocol (MCP) to expand on the capabilities of LLMs like Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini.
I actively use AI tools in my daily workflow. I love to use Claude and ChatGPT for learning and research. For coding I am always testing out the latest tools and am fascinated by the progress of AI.
Frontend
My go to stack for the frontend is React, Next.js, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS. For Mobile I use React Native with Expo.
I have a deep understanding of the React principles, Hooks, when and why React re-renders. With Next.js I have both deployed the pages and app router and used the static generation and server side rendering.
I keep a close eye on the react ecosystem and emerging trends.
Backend
Depending on the situation my go to solution are either Next.js Server Actions or a full fleshed Spring Boot application which serves as a REST API. I have used both extensively and learned their strengths and weaknesses.
In most cases I prefer SQL Databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL over NoSQL databases like MongoDB. I have a MySQL database for virtually all my projects and became proficient in crafting performant queries and modeling the database schema.
Infrastructure
I always find it fascinating how and on what the software we build is deployed. I can call AWS my home and have a deep understanding of over a dozen AWS services including EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, CloudFront, Route 53, and many more.
As a weekend getaway I also like to tinker with my own server. This is a great way to keep myself sharp on the basics. I run a SSL secured reverse proxy, MySQL database, VPN with a custom DNS Server, cron scripts for backups, monitoring, and maintenance and many more.
DevOps
I love to optimize my development workflow and tools I use. It all started when I learned about Vim Motions and from there I just kept going. Some things as basic as reading the git reference manual. Others include having a custom keyboard layout to maximise code typing speed.
These are the tools I use to make my development workflow more efficient: Neovim, Tmux, Git, Karabiner, Ripgrep, and more.
Scripting
I like to hack a script together for one of tasks such as migrations or to automating recurring tasks.
For simple tasks I stick with basic bash scripting with core utils sprinkled in. For more complex tasks I choose Node.js. Its fast to write and has a vast package ecosystem.
Out and About
Running, Triathlon, Skiing
In the beginning of 2024 I started running again. First it was a move to get my cardio back after years "just" pumping iron but soon it became much more than that. In September 2024 I ran my first half marathon and ran many since then. I greatly improved my pace, endurance, and running form. Running has taught me consistently good beats occasionally great. Currently I am training for a full marathon in September 2025.
Gradually I started expending my running with bike and swim sessions. I really enjoy the bike rides and start to get comfortable swimming longer distances in the pool or lake. I have completed a self supported Half Ironman (70.3) and have signed myself up for the Ironman Hamburg 2026. Let's go!
During the winter I love to ski. I started out as a complete beginner three years ago and now I am comfortable skiing all kinds of slopes except for black ones. They tend to make me fall more down than actually skiing. It was really humbling in the beginning to fall every few meters and to always stand up one more time than I fell!
Reaching out
Connect with me on LinkedIn or shoot me an email at [email protected].