Christoph Bodenstein

Head of Product | AI SaaS | Podcast Host

I help AI SaaS teams deliver impact.

About Christoph Bodenstein

I'm a product leader, podcast host, and operator with a bias for action and a deep belief in doing the messy, unglamorous work that actually moves teams forward.

Right now, I'm Head of Product at Finmatics, helping transform our organization from a feature factory into truly empowered product teams. That means coaching PMs to own outcomes, not roadmaps. It means replacing waterfall-style delivery with rapid, decoupled releases. And it means constantly zooming out to ask, "Are we solving problems that actually matter?"

In parallel, I co-host Hotfix — a podcast about product failures and the painful lessons behind them. We've talked to leaders from Google, Pendo, and Microsoft about failures, stories and controversial thoughts. Our guests don't pitch frameworks, they share the stories they'd rather forget.

A few things I believe:

•Great PMs don't wait to be empowered. They empower themselves.
•"Strategy" isn't a slide deck. It's what you say no to every week.
•No discovery = feature waste. No delivery = research theater.
•The best product teams think in bets. Not projects.

Outside work, I enjoy coaching junior PMs, writing about how AI-native workflows will change product orgs, and training for my next half marathon.

Professional Experience

Finmatics

2025–Present

Head of Product

Building the AI Accountant. Leading a cross-functional team of 8 (PMs, Designers, Analysts) to transform Finmatics from a feature factory into outcome-driven product teams. Driving the shift to empowered teams, weekly releases, and insight-based strategy.

Adverity

2018–2025

Director of Product

Joined as PM #2. Promoted twice. Helped scale the product organization from early traction through Series D. Built and led teams across data integration, platform, and growth. Introduced experimentation, cohort analysis, and pricing iteration. Shaped product strategy during international expansion.

dreifive

2016–2018

Digital Advertising Manager

Led performance marketing campaigns for international eCommerce brands. Specialized in data-driven strategy, customer segmentation, and cross-market campaign execution across DACH and CEE regions.

Projects & Side Activities

Co-Host of The Hotfix Podcast

Bi-weekly show on product failures, 50+ guests, 10k+ streams

E-commerce Success

Built 2 profitable Shopify stores

Music & Events

300+ DJ gigs & 100+ events organized

Content Creation

YouTube music content with 500k+ views

Speaking & Content

Conference Speaker

Speaker at product & AI conferences

Podcast Guest

Guest on industry podcasts

Content Creator

Active on LinkedIn & Substack to share thoughts and frameworks

Connect with Christoph Bodenstein

Interested in discussing product strategy, AI, or potential collaborations? I'd love to hear from you.

The Hotfix Podcast