About me ☕

Who is Sébastien Dubois? Here's the answer.

I'm a Knowledge Management Expert, Author, Coach, Instructor, YouTuber, Entrepreneur, Founder and Tinkerer. I will free you from mental overwhelm with systems that actually work ⚡

In numbers: 1,000+ Obsidian Starter Kit users, 450+ Knowii Community members, 100+ coaching clients, ~20K public notes, and several books, the latest being The Obsidian Search Handbook.

I'm the founder of DeveloPassion, a company helping me fulfill my life's mission, and supporting my lifestyle. I work half-time on that business. Next to that, I also work half-time as an IT Solution Architect, System Engineer and Project Manager for a large financial organization in Belgium.

I love writing, and sharing ideas about various topics that I'm passionate about:

AI
Knowledge Work
Knowledge Management
Content Creation
Creativity
Personal Organization
Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)
Obsidian
Journaling
Note-taking
Writing
Learning
Reading
Systems Thinking
Design Thinking
Zen Productivity
Personal Development
Mental Health

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There are additional topics that I have put aside for now, but am still passionate about:

Software Architecture
Software Development
IT Infrastructure
IT Security

I actually wrote multiple books about IT and Software Development.

Current Projects

In 2025, I regrouped all my isolated communities, audiences, customers and offerings under a single umbrella: the Knowii Community. Knowii is a community of practice where top-tier professionals meet and grow together — and it's now at the very center of my business. Instead of separate products, I offer paid members a real transformation: unlimited access to my entire ecosystem of courses, tools, templates and content.

Alongside Knowii, I'm building Knowii Voice AI (a privacy-focused voice-to-text app) and sharing what I've learned about using AI in knowledge work.

In October 2026, I published The Obsidian Search Handbook, a book about finding any note in your Obsidian vault when you need it.

For what I'm focused on right now, see my Now page. For everything I've built, see Projects.

My Story

Life & Family

I live in Binche, Belgium, a city with almost a thousand years of traditions.

I have 3 kids, but manage to live a quiet life, free from the frenzy many seem to face with far fewer responsibilities. I don't feel overwhelmed, and I'm (almost) always calm, "zen", even though my life is BUSY. I married the most wonderful woman on earth in September 2026 (if you know her, you know it's true) ❤️

Childhood

I was born in 1983, a few years before the World Wide Web was invented. I spent my childhood riding my bike, playing in parks, watching TV, playing video games, etc.

Around 8, I became addicted to computers, and never stopped. The Web came a few years later, and it hooked me just as much. I played competitive online games for many years: MMOs, FPS such as Counter-Strike, Quake 3, Overwatch, and many others.

As a teenager, I was super shy and introverted. I was not at ease with people, and preferred to write and build websites. I've been writing code for 30+ years, so I know a thing or two about that. And I've been writing for almost as long. Writing and IT are my two main passions in life.

I consider myself kind and generous. I love learning and sharing what I learn. I've explored many areas in my life, some much more deeply than others, but always with the same intensity. Those include: writing, programming, electronics, photography, board games, music theory, guitar, piano, personal development, productivity, personal organization, ...

Given my high level of curiosity and drive to learn, I'm a generalist, not a specialist. Although, when I dive into a new topic I find interesting/valuable, I tend to rapidly develop a deep level of expertise.

Career

I've been working for ~20 years in the IT industry. Since day one (and actually long before that), I have always been passionate about Software Development, Software Architecture, IT security, Code Quality, the Open Web, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), IT Infrastructure, ... Professionally, I wore different hats over time: Software Developer, Technical Lead, Software Architect, Solution Architect, Infrastructure Architect, Infrastructure Manager, System Engineer, Team Leader, IT Security Expert, DevSecOps Architect, ...

At work, I also created and lead an AI working group, helping colleagues learn about AI and adopt new tools.

Recent years

2019: I wrote Learn TypeScript by Building Web Applications, a book about TypeScript and modern Web development. The startup I was working on failed miserably. I then started Dev Concepts, a collection of 12 e-books about IT and software development. I published the first two, then put the project on hold to keep my business alive.
2020: I pivoted my business. I stopped consulting and focused entirely on Knowledge Management. My market research became the Personal Knowledge Management Library. I wrote hundreds of articles and newsletters, and DeveloPassion became a media business.
2022: I released the Obsidian Starter Kit, a 1:1 copy of my own Obsidian system, now used by 1,000+ people. The Obsidian Starter Course followed.
2023: I created the Knowledge Worker Kit, one of my most important projects.
2024: I started sharing my notes publicly at notes.dsebastien.net, built my first Obsidian plugins, and wrote the Knowledge Management for Beginners course (released in early 2025).
2025: I put the Knowii Community at the center of my business, started live events, and launched the AI Ghostwriter Guide and Knowii Voice AI.
2026: I launched Knowledge Forge, my new store, and released the Obsidian Starter Kit v5, with built-in AI support (hundreds of AI skills, AI agents, agent memory). I built a dozen new Obsidian plugins, and published The Obsidian Search Handbook.

For everything else, see my Projects page.

My Top Skills

My top skills include:

Expressing, sharing and teaching ideas clearly
Learning FAST
Identifying first principles
Finding and learning from domain experts
Connecting the dots across different domains
Capturing, Organizing and Managing Information and Knowledge at scale
IT and software development (including all the sub-fields)
Entrepreneurship

My Strengths

Here are the qualities I rely on most:

I have a stable mind and (almost) infinite patience. It takes a lot to make me lose my temper
I have a lot of empathy. I care about others, how they feel and how they think
I'm generous. I want to do good in the world
I'm optimistic
I'm a great listener (don't ask my wife, that doesn't count 😂)
I have clarity (purpose, intent & ideas)
I'm VERY organized (again, don't ask my wife, false positive)
I'm a bridge builder. I can help people from different domains understand each other
I'm open-minded

Work with me

If my approach resonates, the best next step is the Knowii Community — my whole ecosystem (courses, tools, templates, content, community) in one place. Prefer to start free? Subscribe to my newsletter — no spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Useful Links

News: https://www.dsebastien.net/news/
Newsletter: https://www.dsebastien.net/newsletter/
Community: https://www.dsebastien.net/join-the-knowii-community-and-fix-your-information-overload-problem/
Books, Courses, Workshops, Products & Services: https://www.store.dsebastien.net/
Where I share my ideas: My communications plan
Coaching for those who want to take the fast lane
Learn more about my projects, courses, and books
Discover the stuff I use
More: LinkTree

Given how passionate I am about Personal Knowledge Management (PKM), I often publish articles on this topic, but I have also launched various initiatives, courses, and products, such as:

The Knowii Community, a community focused on AI & Knowledge Management
The Obsidian Search Handbook, a book about finding your notes in Obsidian
The Obsidian Starter Kit, a solid starting point and scalable system for Obsidian
The Obsidian Starter Course, a deep-dive into Obsidian and PKM
The Knowledge Worker Kit, a guide and private community for Knowledge Workers and Lifelong learners
The Knowledge Management for Beginners course, a course focused on Knowledge Management and Personal Knowledge Management
The Personal Knowledge Management Library, a collection of resources about PKM
The Knowii Voice AI app
The PKM Journal, an online publication dedicated to PKM
A Subreddit
PKM Daily, a Twitter account to share regular news about PKM
...

Where to find me

You can find me on:

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