I’m Gaëtan Grond, co-founder and lead developer of Front Desk, a French SaaS for hospitality professionals. I live in Bordeaux.
Background
I spent seven years in hospitality before writing my first line of code: barman, then receptionist and senior receptionist at Accor, in Paris and in the UK.
In 2019 I went back to studying alongside work, and graduated from OpenClassrooms in 2021 (application developer, Python track). Front Desk comes out of that double background: I know the problem from behind the reception desk, not from a market study.
Since then I have also worked on Python/Django projects at CGI (for Airbus and Veolia), and I am currently a backend Python/Django engineer at Fieldbox, alongside Front Desk.
Front Desk
Front Desk centralises communication and coordination for hotel teams: logbook, maintenance tickets, documents, inventory, multi-property management. Launched in 2021, it is used by hundreds of properties, including groups such as Accor, Hilton and Best Western — and, over time, by gyms, campsites and local councils facing the same information-sharing problems.
I handle everything technical: architecture, backend, frontend, mobile apps, AWS infrastructure, security (audits and penetration testing) and the product roadmap. My co-founder handles growth and customer relationships.
What I’m working on
A full rewrite of the platform. After seven years of Django, I’m migrating everything to Rust (Axum) on the backend and Svelte/TypeScript on the frontend, with the infrastructure rebuilt on AWS Paris. The mobile apps stay on Flutter.
Early results are clear: response times down sharply, and far fewer bugs in production.
I wrote two detailed articles about it — they’re the ones I’m happiest with (both in French):
- Migrer un codebase Django de 7 ans vers Rust (1/2)
- Migrer Django vers Rust : les données, l’architecture et les agents (2/2)
On the product side, Front Desk now exposes a public API and an MCP server, so the platform can be connected to assistants like Claude.
What I write about
Backend development (Rust, Python, Django), application security, and field notes from building a SaaS. A few articles people keep coming back to:
- Why I Chose HTMX Over React and VueJS — with a 2026 update on why I changed my mind.
- Django Best Practices: Lessons from 6 Years Building a Large-Scale SaaS
- Three Years of AI Assisted Programming
I also keep a list of books I recommend, updated since 2023.
My stack
Backend — Rust (Axum), Python, Django, Django REST Framework, FastAPI Frontend — Svelte, TypeScript, HTMX Mobile — Flutter (iOS and Android) Infra — AWS, PostgreSQL, Redis, Celery, observability and monitoring
Availability
I’m not available for a new position or freelance work.
Get in touch
Job offer, partnership, a question about entrepreneurship, just want to say hi, or spotted a typo: email me at [email protected].
I don’t use social media, apart from LinkedIn. My code is on GitHub, and articles are available via RSS.