Building Products Without the Hype: What Mattias Rauter (Managing Partner at Denovo) Reveals About Team Structure, Tech Choices, and Talent Culture

Context: Spotlight on “Mattias Rauter, Managing Partner von Denovo”

We watched the session “Mattias Rauter, Managing Partner von Denovo” from Denovo GmbH and distilled what truly drives engineering, product decisions, and people practices at Denovo. Rauter presents a lean, agile, and customer-centric organisation that moves fast without chasing hype, and that values team fit alongside technical excellence.

The backbone of the session is consistent: an 18-person team split between Graz and Athens; a pragmatic tech stack around JavaScript/TypeScript with Node.js and React; native mobile (Kotlin/Swift) as the default with React Native when the product and context warrant it; hosting on Heroku for simplicity and AWS when infrastructure gets more complex. Add to that Scrum as the core working model, an agile fixed price that invites customers into the process, user stories with a clear “why” for everyone involved, and a hiring and onboarding approach that centers on mindset, team fit, and learning by doing.

Team and Roles: 18 People, Two Hubs, Purposeful Distribution

Denovo currently operates with 18 people across Graz and Athens. Roles are focused and delivery-oriented:

• Two people cover design.
• Roughly three quarters of the rest work across engineering and DevOps—keeping systems reliable in production and ensuring the CI/CD pipeline works.
• The remaining group are Product Owners, responsible for project management.

This is a signal of how Denovo works: shipping and running software while maintaining strong product ownership. For candidates, it’s a hint that you’ll see end-to-end impact—from story to live system.

Agility by Design—Not an Afterthought

Denovo runs Scrum, and not as a late-game addition: they started working agile when the team was still small, and stayed with it because it worked. The value is concrete: agility lets them “react quickly to changes” and ultimately deliver “what the customer really wants—not what they originally thought they needed.”

That tension is familiar: requirements evolve faster than many roadmaps. The framework is used to channel that reality—short cycles, feedback, and decisions that shape the next iteration deliberately.

Rauter puts a number to it. Over a year, roughly a third of what you intended to build is outdated before the product even goes live. That’s a compelling case for iterative development—and against locking down a plan that reality will outpace.

The Numbers That Matter: 3% Monthly Change and a 10,000-Project Comparison

Rauter also references a study comparing over 10,000 projects run with agile methods versus waterfall. The conclusion: agile approaches are “considerably more successful.” Importantly, the result holds regardless of project size—whether the budget was €50,000, €500,000, or €5 million.

That’s not a marketing line; it’s a decision frame for teams accountable for multi-year product operations. Agility pays off across contexts and scales.

The Agile Fixed Price: An Invitation, Not a Buzzword

One of the session’s most candid points: Denovo invites customers to “work agile with us,” supported by an agile fixed price. It’s not a contradiction; it’s a framework that binds the collaboration and brings customers directly into the process.

Why this matters: agility reaches its full value only when everyone participates in iteration—making choices, learning, adjusting. The fixed price provides planning security; the agile model keeps the product on target. Together, they set the right incentives for focus and quality.

Customer-Centricity as a Team Sport

Rauter emphasizes that Denovo sees itself as a “development partner,” not “just a standard service provider.” More than rhetoric, that shows up in how they work with user stories and a widely communicated “why.”

The result: people can challenge how a story is implemented—not to block progress but to find the best solution for the product. Better decisions emerge when the discussion centers on the goal, not a specific implementation idea.

Engineering Culture: Open Communication, Constructive Critique, Continuous Improvement

The session outlines a culture built on openness: “communication at eye level,” constructive criticism, and the willingness to iterate on “ourselves and our processes.” That’s not a platitude; it’s an expectation. Working at Denovo means you’re invited—and expected—to help shape the how.

That includes questioning routines, proposing improvements, and evolving the way of working. It is the real driver of any agile practice: not just the product iterates—so do the team and the organisation, sprint by sprint.

The Tech Stack: Pragmatism with a Learning Curve

Denovo’s stack balances common practice, product requirements, and long-term maintainability.

Web and Backend

• Languages: JavaScript and TypeScript
• Runtime/Frameworks: Node.js and React
• Some Java in certain contexts

This gives a modern, production-proven foundation, enabling speed with a strong ecosystem. TypeScript adds safety and maintainability in larger codebases.

Databases

• Relational or document-oriented—project dependent
• Practical range: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB

Selection follows use case rather than dogma. For engineers, that signals sound architectural thinking: let the data model and operational needs lead.

Mobile Apps

• Prefer native: Kotlin (Android) and Swift (iOS)
• React Native when the product and constraints make it a good fit

That’s a clear stance: performance, platform features, and user experience take priority—with an option to leverage React Native where it aligns with product logic.

Hosting

• Heroku—for simplicity
• AWS—when infrastructure becomes more complex or atypical

Again: pragmatism first. Start with simplicity, scale to flexibility and depth when it’s warranted. For DevOps-minded folks, you’ll see both worlds.

A 8–9 Year Evolution

Rauter traces the stack’s evolution:

• iOS: from Objective‑C to Swift
• Android: from Java to Kotlin
• Web: from a stronger Java footprint to JavaScript/TypeScript

The message is expected yet essential: technology changes fast. Denovo has adopted change deliberately— not chasing novelty, but moving where it benefits the product.

The Hardest Challenge: Balancing Hype with Durability

Rauter is blunt about the toughest part: technology shifts at high speed. Teams cannot stand still—yet they can’t jump on every hype, either. The responsibility is real: products must run “for the next years” in customer environments.

This tightrope walk—catching relevant trends while securing longevity—shapes Denovo’s decisions on tech and architecture. For engineers, it’s an appealing promise: quality and relevance over the headline of the week.

Hiring at Denovo: Three Stages, Transparent, Team-Centric

Applications are reviewed internally first. If Denovo decides to invite a candidate, a three-stage process begins:

1. Relaxed First Conversation

• Mutual introduction, team fit, rapport
• Initial clarification of qualifications
• Internal debrief: “Could this be a fit?”

1. Technical Deep Dive with Future Collaborators

• More Denovo team members join—especially those who would work closely with the candidate
• More technically demanding discussion, greater depth
• A short assignment is introduced for the candidate to prepare for stage three

1. Company-Wide Invitation for the Solution Walkthrough

• The entire company is invited (attendance is optional) to ensure team fit at large
• Candidate presents their approach; discussion follows
• Internal decision afterward

Team fit and transparency are core. Candidates get a miniature version of the real work mode: collaborative, open, and oriented around the “why” behind solutions.

Onboarding: Clear the Admin, Start Building—With a Buddy and Learning by Doing

Day one covers the legal basics: contracts, guidelines, formalities. Then it’s straight into Denovo’s world: meet the team, explore the projects, and learn how the company works. New colleagues are integrated “relatively quickly” into existing processes and invited to as many meetings as possible to see the workflow live.

Two elements stand out:

• Buddy System: Every new person gets a go-to contact—both for technical questions and everyday matters (“How do we do lunch?” “Where do we go?”). The goal is that no one feels left alone on any topic.
• Learning by Doing: Rauter is “a big fan.” The idea is to start quickly and get hands-on, with a safety net of coaching and guidance. Mistakes are part of the learning curve; the goal is to grow through practice.

For talent, that means responsibility from day one without being thrown into the deep end. It’s a setup that builds self-efficacy and stronger team bonds.

Mindset Over Perfection: What Denovo Truly Values

Rauter puts it plainly: “Besides technical qualifications, the most important thing is the mindset.” Technical skill is essential—“the box has to be ticked”—but what really matters is whether someone fits the team and can collaborate well.

Shared values and goals are the anchor. Denovo’s north star is clear: “Together with customers, with as much fun as possible and at the highest level of professionalism, build cool digital products.”

For candidates, this creates a crisp expectation set:

• Teamwork and strong communication
• Product-oriented thinking and ownership
• Openness to feedback and continuous improvement
• A habit of engaging with the “why” behind user stories

Working With Customers: Aim Decisions at the Product Goal

The session shows a consistently product-centered stance. Denovo works with customers to find “the best possible” outcome for the product—and makes decisions accordingly. User stories serve not just as backlog items but as a communication tool.

The benefit: when people understand the story and its “why,” they can propose alternative approaches and surface risks early. Developers, product owners, and design collaborate toward outcomes rather than in silos, reducing friction and increasing the odds of getting it right the first time.

Why This Appeals to Tech Talent

From our DevJobs.at editorial perspective, several reasons make Denovo attractive for engineers and product-minded professionals:

• Proximity to Product: Decisions are made where they matter, focused on user and business value.
• Real Agility: Scrum, short cycles, active customer involvement via an agile fixed price, continuous improvement.
• Responsible Tech Choices: Deliberate balance between trend and durability; a pragmatic stack.
• Strong Team Fit: Mindset is a true selection criterion and culture anchor.
• Clear Processes: Three-stage hiring, structured onboarding, buddy system, coaching—designed to get you impactful fast.
• Learning Culture: Learning by doing with a safety net; feedback is encouraged and welcomed.
• Broad Tech Landscape: Web/backend (Node.js, React, TypeScript), mobile (Kotlin/Swift, React Native), hosting (Heroku, AWS)—with project-driven selection.

If you want to build and grow without chasing every novelty, this environment offers exactly that: relevance, responsibility, and a clear link to product outcomes.

What Sticks: Principles That Hold Up

The session “Mattias Rauter, Managing Partner von Denovo” is dense yet clear in its messages. The principles we took away:

• Requirements change—on average three percent per month. Without iteration, you risk delivering to an outdated plan.
• Agility works—across project sizes. Success comes from the right working model, not luck.
• Customers are co-creators—with the agile fixed price and tight collaboration, iteration and shared ownership become real.
• Culture beats tooling—open communication, constructive critique, and a shared “why” produce better products.
• Tech serves the product—stack choices follow product needs and longevity, not hype cycles.
• Mindset decides—team fit and shared values are the basis for sustainable success.

Conclusion: A Work Promise—and an Invitation

As described by Mattias Rauter, Denovo is a place for people who value responsibility, seek impact, and want proximity to the product. The mix of agile clarity, customer-centric collaboration, a carefully chosen tech stack, and a culture of shared improvement adds up to a compelling work promise.

If you’re looking for an environment where critique is welcome, getting hands-on is encouraged early, and iteration is part of the daily rhythm, this is a strong match. And if you see technology not as an end in itself but as the lever to build “cool digital products”—with “as much fun as possible and at the highest level of professionalism”—you’ll likely feel at home here.

For tech talent, the message is clear: If product proximity, ownership, team orientation, and pragmatic engineering resonate with you, Denovo deserves a closer look.

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