About
Gui Ferreira
Software engineer educator, speaker, and Microsoft MVP. I help developers grow through technology.
Hey, I'm Gui
Actually, my name is Guilherme, but family and friends call me Gui, and that's simpler and more accessible to those who don't speak Portuguese.
I've been a developer since 2006, working during the day and earning my degree at night. For years, I thought I wanted to become an Engineering Manager because I loved the teaching and mentoring part of the role. Eventually, I realized I could focus on what I actually enjoyed, helping other developers grow, without dealing with all the administrative stuff that comes with management.
In 2022, I decided to publish my first YouTube video. Honestly, my main goal was just to practice speaking English since it's not my native language. But something clicked, and I kept going.
I share anything that can help someone grow as a developer, but only if I have real experience with it. That means I might talk about architecture, testing, or AI one week, but I won't cover topics where I don't have actual stories to tell. My approach is simple: if knowledge and technology change my life, I want to make that same opportunity available to others.
These days, I'm a course author, workshop facilitator and speaker, and I hope my unique angle is bringing simplicity to complex topics. I founded Black Lab Studios, and that's where the courses, workshops and tools live now. If any of this has been helpful to you, thank you for being part of the journey. It means everything to me.
Philosophy
"Simplicity is not easy, but it is possible and changes your life."
Getting to true simplicity takes work and practice. It means breaking down complex problems to find what really matters, choosing clear solutions over fancy ones, and being brave enough to cut out anything that doesn't help.
When I write code, I focus on making it understandable for the next person who reads it. When I teach, I take complicated ideas and break them into pieces that actually make sense and stick with you. Every project is about figuring out what's truly important and letting go of everything else.
This isn't just about the technical stuff. It changes how you think and solve problems. When you commit to making hard things simple, you create room to grow, you help others in meaningful ways, and you realize that the best solutions are usually the most straightforward ones.
Core Values
Simplicity
Less is more. Focus on what matters most.
Quality
Excellence in every detail.
Growth
Foster continuous learning and development.
Impact
Create meaningful change through knowledge and technology.
Where you can find me
For conference organizers
Official Bio
Guilherme "Gui" Ferreira is a Microsoft MVP and the founder of Black Lab Studios. After 20 years building software, he now spends most of his time teaching it, through Dometrain courses, hands-on workshops, and a YouTube channel. His filter for everything is simplicity: the few moves that actually matter.
Headshots
Common questions
Who is Gui Ferreira?
I'm Gui Ferreira, a Microsoft MVP and the founder of Black Lab Studios. I've been a developer since 2006. These days I teach more than I ship, through Dometrain courses, hands-on workshops, conference talks and a YouTube channel I started in 2022. I'm based in Porto, Portugal.
What do you teach?
.NET and C#, with most of the depth in software testing, Test-Driven Development, clean code and software architecture. More recently, AI-assisted engineering: building agents in .NET and getting real work out of Claude Code. The through-line is simplicity, cutting a complex topic down to the few moves that matter.
Where can I take your courses?
All of my online courses are published on Dometrain. They cover xUnit, Test-Driven Development, writing testable code, clean code, OpenTelemetry, and Claude Code. Titles in the From Zero to Hero series start from the basics. The full catalogue with links sits at guiferreira.me/courses.
How do I book you for a workshop?
It depends who is asking. If you want a seat at a public session, the outlines and the dates are at guiferreira.me/workshops, and you book through the conference running it. If you want one run for your team, that goes through Black Lab Studios, the company I founded. Current topics are building AI agents in .NET, designing tests that survive refactorings, and mastering TDD in C#.
How do I invite you to speak at a conference?
Email gui@guiferreira.me. I speak at conferences and meetups internationally, on simplicity in software, TDD, testing, clean architecture, and what AI coding agents can actually do. Past abstracts, dates and recordings are listed at guiferreira.me/talks. An official bio and downloadable headshots are further up this page.
Where are you based?
Porto, Portugal. I'm a native Portuguese speaker and I teach in English. Conference talks have taken me across Europe, including NDC Oslo, NDC London, NDC Porto and Copenhagen DevFest. Workshops run both on-site and remote, booked through Black Lab Studios.