Product & Tech Leader for Hire
I'm Sebastian Malm, a senior product and engineering leader. I join fast, create clarity and build the teams and structures a company needs to grow.
20+
Products launched
80+
People in teams built from zero
€250M+
Assets under administration at Ride Capital
3+
Companies built from scratch
About
I've built and scaled companies from zero to thriving SaaS businesses, and led product and engineering through funding rounds, restructurings and group integrations.
My path runs from software engineering and game design through VR, crypto and fintech to travel tech and AI. Through all of it, users, strategy and teams come first. Whether you need hands-on product work or fractional leadership, I bring clarity, momentum and results.
Services
Two ways to bring me in, plus focused engagements when one problem needs solving.
Fractional · Interim · Permanent
I join fast and create clarity: product strategy, team structures and growth plans. Ideal for startups, scale-ups and companies in transition.
Interim · Project-based
UX strategy, research, gamification workshops and team mentoring for high-stakes product revamps and launches.
Six building blocks, bookable on their own or as part of a mandate.
Approach
Basalt columns aren't carved. They emerge when the conditions are right. Building a product organisation works the same way.
I start where it's hottest: with users, numbers, the team and the tech. Listening and auditing show where the real pressure sits.
Priorities surface. A product strategy everyone can repeat, and a clear list of what we won't do.
Roles, rituals and processes fall into place. Teams get clear ownership and communication gets shorter.
What remains carries weight: a team and a roadmap that hold without me. Ready for growth, a funding round or a handover.
Work
From small startups to enterprises such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Siemens and Mr. Spex, in project work and permanent roles.
3× product scope and company valuation
Built the product and engineering organisation from scratch, made the company growth-ready and integrated it into the HomeToGo Group.
250M+ assets under administration, up from 80M
Built the tax and brokerage tech platform and guided product and tech to the Series A. Named one of Europe's hottest startups by WIRED in 2021.
AI · SaaS
Captures the knowledge of people leaving a project or retiring, and makes it accessible through conversational AI.
AI · Consumer
Personalised children's books: AI-driven stories and pictures, printed and delivered.
Mining · Operations
Simplifies mining operations with real-time asset management, fuel monitoring and load-and-haul forecasting.
Social · Live TV
A social platform that connects TV and streaming with live reactions, polls and games.
Worked with
Résumé
From software for the German parliament to games, VR, fintech and AI: every layer carries the next.
2025 — now
Leading product for collaborative construction software: the project platform Poolar.Project and the office suite Poolar.Office.
2025 — now
Building the product team, getting the company growth-ready and through its funding rounds. Tighter processes, closer to the customers.
2022 — 2025
Built the product and engineering team, restructured the company for growth and integrated Smoobu into the HomeToGo Group.
2021 — 2022
Built the product team, set the company up for growth and guided product and tech to the Series A.
2018 — 2021
Helped build the company from zero. Responsible for all products, direction and teams of a blockchain-based payment platform running on Kubernetes.
2017 — 2021
Responsible for all products, direction and teams behind vrXcity, a photorealistic real-time VR experience, and the cryptocurrency redBUX.
2016 — 2017
Led bonify's creative team and owned the product's look and feel. Product owner alongside the developers, user research and A/B testing, and gamification in finance before it was common.
2013 — 2016
Led creatives and developers on VR, AR and gamification products. Presented to partners, investors and B2B customers.
2012 — 2013
Led the game design department: design, documentation and planning for several titles.
2011 — 2012
Studied game design and took the lead on several projects.
2009 — 2010
Built production tools and bridged animators, artists and developers on motion-capture shoots.
2009 — 2010
Student projects as programmer, game designer and product manager.
2001 — 2004
IT administration and software for the German parliament: intranet and working-time administration.
Contact
Where is it getting hot right now? A short message is enough to start.
Thank you. I'll get back to you by e-mail.