I help startups build &
scale high-performing product organizations.
First results within 30 days.
Yet many cases could be prevented.
Life is too short to build something nobody wants.
I help startups build impactful products & teams
by listening to customers, experimenting, and delivering value fast
Need to ship features faster to reach your goals for the next funding round?
Want to build up a product or tech team from scratch or skill up your existing teams?
Struggling to achieve product-market fit?
Looking for an honest assessment of your products, product teams, and product processes?
Struggling to deal with hyper-growth? Want to launch a new product but lack resources?
Looking for senior guidance and coaching for your teams?
What can I help you with?
I specialize in building and scaling high-performing product organizations.
Interim & Fractional Support
Depending on the maturity of your product teams I can help your startup hands-on or lead your existing teams.
(CPO / CPTO / VP Product / Head of Product)
Product Due Diligence & Turnaround
We put your product strategies, practices, teams, and structures to the acid test and define actions for potential improvements.
Product Launch
I help you turn a rough product idea into a successful MVP launch, by incorporating your target group closely in the development process and validating your hypotheses quickly with the least amount of implementation effort.
Product & Tech Hiring
Let me help you find talented product managers for your company, no matter if you are looking for Juniors, experienced product leaders, or your future CPO.
I can set up high-performing (near-shoring) engineering teams for your organization fast.
Why work with me?
Product Expertise
12+ years in product management.
Leadership
Experienced manager & coach of product and tech teams in fast-growing startups.
Startup Expertise
Launched 20+ startups and new products in various industries (FinTech, eCommerce, Digital Health).
Tech Expertise
Advanced tech skills and know-how.
My Product Toolkit
Product Discovery
Problem Research
Ideation
Prototyping & Experiments
Validation
Product Planning & Delivery
Vision, Strategy, and OKRs
Roadmap, Scoping & Prioritization
Tech Challenges & Technology Choices
Metrics & Growth
Teams & Organisation
Due Diligence & HPPO Framework
Team Structures & Alignment
Hiring & Leadership
Coaching & Training
Meet Stefan
Stefan Richter is a product and technology leader with over a decade of experience in building and scaling successful startups in various domains, such as eCommerce/Marketplaces, FinTech, and SaaS.
He helps startup founders, CEOs, and product leaders to build and scale high-performing product teams, product organizations, and customer-focused products.
As the current Chief Product & Technology Officer at instamotion, a rapidly expanding Series B startup based in Munich that revolutionizes the way people buy used cars, Stefan is responsible for driving the company’s eCommerce customer journey and overseeing multiple product and tech teams.
Prior to instamotion, Stefan played a key role in building Stryber, the largest strategic corporate venture builder in German-speaking Europe, where he held positions including CPO, venture director, and interim CTO. During his tenure at Stryber the company grew from five to around 100 employees and launched 20-plus digital business models (e.g. in fintech, eCommerce, digital health), from which among others the startups WePractice and Snäx originated.
At the beginning of his professional career, Stefan gained extensive product management experience within young, aspiring companies, namely at the successful startup FINANZCHECK as well as one of the leading agencies for mobile apps in the DACH region, allaboutapps.
With a track record of success in fast-growing firms, Stefan is well-equipped to help startups navigate the challenges of the modern business landscape. He believes that customer-oriented product management, modern leadership, strong cross-team collaboration, an open and flexible culture, and the ability to attract top talent are essential ingredients for startup success.
Testimonials
from former direct reports, management peers, and clients
Stefan knows a lot about tech and is naturally user oriented. I really admire that. Always has an easy answer for every problem.
Stefan has both, tech and product superpowers. I can ask/share with him any idea or proposal, and he always has something good to add from his bag of experience.
I like his honesty, that he is very hands-off as a manager but acts as a great guide and understands my personality extremely well despite only working with me for a short time. Also, I think his enthusiasm, guidance and leadership within our company is really impressive.
Stefan is always willing to help and never happened that he couldn’t really solve anything. It is incredible!
I continue enjoying a lot having you as my Manager. I highly appreciate your technical background, your hustling, the fact that we can openly talk about the company/projects, that you recognize my strengths time by time.
I like working with Stefan, as he brings a calm and rational view to many aspects which I think is helpful. Additionally, he really knows the product area very well when it comes to best practices and how to launch ventures very lean, which is immensely helpful.