solvistas GmbH

Digital Agency

Show all Videos

Michael Hartlauer, Business Unit Leiter Software Solutions bei solvistas

Michael Hartlauer von solvistas erzählt im Interview über seinen Weg zum Unternehmen und wie sich die Rolle der Business Unit Leitung ergeben hat und spricht über Dinge, die seiner Meinung nach für Neueinsteiger wichtig sind.

By playing the video, you agree to data transfer to YouTube and acknowledge the privacy policy.

Video Summary

In "Michael Hartlauer, Business Unit Leiter Software Solutions bei solvistas," Speaker Michael Hartlauer traces his path from HTL and choosing business informatics to joining solvistas part‑time in software development, working on internet projects and internal tools, moving into customer projects, and then into project organization/Product Owner responsibilities that led to business unit leadership. He outlines a wide scope of work—recruiting, project topics and monitoring, budget and strategy, processes, and close collaboration with employees—finding satisfaction in successes and learnings from challenges. He highlights flexibility as a core value and advises beginners to be yourself, illustrated by an early experience with the company’s informal, values-driven culture.

From HTL to Business Unit Leadership: How Michael Hartlauer at solvistas GmbH blends product ownership, people focus, and everyday flexibility

Why this dev story matters to engineers and tech talent

In the session “Michael Hartlauer, Business Unit Leiter Software Solutions bei solvistas” (Speaker: Michael Hartlauer, Company: solvistas GmbH), we heard a grounded, human-centered career journey: from a technical high school pathway and an uncertain study choice, to part-time software development, to shaping customer projects, into project organization and Product Owner responsibility, and finally into leading a unit within an evolving company structure. From the DevJobs.at editorial seat, what stood out wasn’t any single dramatic leap, but a string of deliberately seized opportunities that compound into real impact.

Michael’s story is built on practice: first internet projects, administrating an internal tool, learning to shape customer work, stepping into product and project responsibility, and then applying for and embracing the leadership of a unit (“Wissensunits”) as the company restructured. This is the pattern many engineers will recognize—and can emulate: explore, contribute, own, and grow.

Early orientation: From school to HTL—and the study dilemma

Michael starts by recalling a familiar crossroads. After lower secondary at a Gymnasium, he switched to an HTL focusing on computer science. The next big question: study computer science or business informatics? He admits that, like many, he didn’t really know what business informatics was when he began studying. In hindsight, he calls choosing business informatics “definitely the right choice.”

For engineers and students, this maps to three practical insights:

Uncertainty is normal: Few people fully grasp a study path before they start. What matters is choosing a direction that fuels curiosity—and validating it in practice early.
The interface has leverage: Business informatics bridges technical depth with processes, customer value, and organizational realities. That bridge pays off later in product ownership, process development, and budget topics.
Choices validate in the real world: You only learn whether a program fits when you pair study with real work—building, operating, shaping.

Working alongside the degree: Part-time software development

During his studies, Michael actively looked for a professional challenge. After a brief stint at another company, he joined solvistas, starting part-time in software development. He delivered his first projects—mainly internet projects—and at the same time administrated an internal tool.

That dual exposure matters:

Outside-in and inside-out: Customer-facing projects sharpen delivery and communication. Internal tools reveal how processes really run—and where to improve them.
Ownership develops judgment: Keeping an internal tool healthy demands reliability and systems thinking. That becomes a foundation for later product and budget responsibility.
Part-time as a fast lane: Combining studies with hands-on development accelerates learning because theory gets pressure-tested immediately.

From contribution to shaping: customer projects as a proving ground

At some point, Michael “started to shape or collaborate on customer projects.” That phrasing signals a subtle shift—from implementation tasks to contributing to decisions, weighing alternatives, and internalizing customer needs while keeping execution in sight.

This is the crucible where many engineers grow into product-minded contributors. You learn prioritization under time and budget constraints. You refine the ability to articulate trade-offs. And you practice setting context for teams and stakeholders—skills that later define Product Owner and leadership roles.

The deliberate pivot: project organization and Product Owner

Michael recounts an opportunity to move “more toward project organization, more toward Product Owner.” He took it after brief consideration. That step reframes the primary question:

From how to why: Not only “How do we build this?” but “Why do we build this now, and what outcome are we aiming for?”
Stakeholder orchestration: Product ownership means connecting teams, customers, budgets, roadmaps, and feasibility in a cadence that sustains momentum.
Decision readiness: Sound Product Owner decisions are informed compromises—balancing time, quality, cost, and value.

What’s striking is the calm pragmatism: see the window, assess quickly, jump. This rhythm recurs across resilient tech careers.

Structure in motion: areas and “Wissensunits”

As Michael puts it, solvistas’ structure evolved under the former owners; areas were established, and there was an application process around “Wissensunits.” He applied together with a colleague—and “we’ve been doing it to this day.”

Two signals stand out:

Structure clarifies responsibility: New areas and units define ownership scopes. Applying to lead such a unit is a declaration of readiness to align results, people, and processes.
Applying as commitment: Internal applications are not box-ticking—they’re a commitment to carry budgets, monitoring, hiring, and process development forward.

For tech talent, the message is clear: leadership is adjacent and learnable. It grows organically from practical ownership and a willingness to co-shape the next layer of the organization.

A wide-angled day: hiring, projects, monitoring, budgets—and people

When Michael glances back at a day earlier in the week, it ranges from applications (recruiting), project topics, and project monitoring to budget planning. Strategy topics are there, too, alongside a strong focus on “Mitarbeiter oder Mitarbeiterinnen.”

That’s the daily bandwidth where technology, process, and people intersect:

Hiring: Recruiting choices compound over time. Potential, cultural alignment, and learning posture matter.
Projects and monitoring: Transparent progress, risk visibility, dependency management—and intervening early when needed.
Budget planning: Making decisions measurable, prioritizing investments, and protecting degrees of freedom.
Strategy: Setting direction without losing sight of execution.
People focus: Growth, feedback, motivation, and balancing ambition with sustainability.

Engineers stepping into such responsibility learn that technical depth still matters—but it now anchors decision quality and guides teams through complexity rather than being the sole focus.

Flexibility as a core value: culture in small gestures

Michael names “flexibility” as a core company value—“spürbar von Tag eins,” felt from day one. His first-day anecdote grounds that: He arrived at a company-wide strategy meeting, dressed “very nobly,” addressing everyone formally. In the parking lot, the then managing director and owner greeted him with a simple “hey, servus.” That moment set the tone: approachable, natural, uncomplicated.

It’s a vivid reminder: culture is embodied in small interactions. “Servus” and a first-name tone reduce friction and create room for people to show up as themselves, take ownership, and grow into bigger roles—from internal tools to customer leadership and, eventually, a business unit.

A compact piece of advice: “Just be yourself”

Michael’s tip for beginners is short but resonant: “Sei einfach du selbst.” In context, it aligns with everything else he shared:

Authenticity accelerates learning: Less posturing, more asking, faster iteration.
Fit over facade: The point is impact—in projects, in teams, with customers—not looking perfect.
Culture fit, felt early: A quick “servus” can carry more signal about belonging than any formal policy.

Actionable takeaways for developers and tech talent

From this session with Michael Hartlauer, we distilled a set of practices you can apply immediately:

1) Validate study and career choices through practice

Work alongside learning: Part-time development during studies tests assumptions fast.
Sample environments: Even a short stop at another company sharpens your sense of fit and preference.
Pair external delivery with internal stewardship: Customer projects plus an internal tool create a 360-degree learning loop.

2) Grow from building to shaping

Volunteer for ownership: Small ownerships (like administrating an internal tool) are training grounds for product responsibility.
Get closer to the customer: “Shaping” work means preparing and co-owning decisions—raising your visibility and deepening your understanding.
Step into the window: When a path opens toward project organization/Product Owner—assess deliberately, then take it.

3) Treat leadership as adjacent, not distant

Watch for structural openings: New areas/“Wissensunits” carve out responsibility fields where you can step up.
Apply as you would commit: An internal application is a promise to align results, budgets, and teams—and to evolve processes.
Embrace breadth: Hiring, monitoring, budgets, strategy, people development—effective leadership is the art of integrating variety.

4) Let culture multiply performance

Live flexibility in practice: Make it visible in your decisions and your communication cadence.
Mind the tone: Real belonging is built through everyday language and gestures.
Choose authenticity as a productivity strategy: “Just be yourself” isn’t soft; it’s efficient.

Reflection prompts for your next step

Which small ownerships can I take on in the next three months (internal tool, onboarding workflow, a customer-facing feature)?
Where am I switching from how to why—and how clearly do I communicate those decisions?
What opportunity for role evolution is currently open (maybe quietly)—and what would justify taking it?
How does flexibility show up tangibly in my team’s routines and language?
Where would authenticity help me learn faster and decide better?

Micro-habits to turn insight into practice

Weekly project check: 15-minute monitoring pass—status, risks, and the next two decisions.
Budget glance: For any significant decision, articulate cost/benefit out loud and jot it down.
Stakeholder snapshot: Who needs to be informed, involved, or unblocked this week?
Start from customer value: Precede each user story with a clear “Why now?”
Make culture visible: One small gesture per week that signals closeness over distance (choice of words, feedback, invitation).

For aspiring Product Owners and team leads

Michael Hartlauer’s path shows how naturally product ownership and leadership grow out of hands-on responsibility:

Lead from technical credibility: Technical depth still matters; it underwrites your decision quality and your ability to navigate trade-offs.
Treat process as a product: Processes are never “done.” Keep iterating with explicit metrics and feedback loops.
Multiply through people: Team development isn’t soft—it’s the strongest lever for sustained quality and tempo.

The everyday mix he describes—recruiting, project topics, monitoring, budgets, strategy—illustrates leadership as the craft of holding tensions productively. It calls for flexibility as a stance and authenticity as a working mode.

What we’re taking away from this session

From “Michael Hartlauer, Business Unit Leiter Software Solutions bei solvistas” (Speaker: Michael Hartlauer, Company: solvistas GmbH), three messages ring clear:

Practice makes choices true: His decision for business informatics proved “definitely the right choice” through hands-on work in projects and tools.
Responsibility grows organically: From internal tool stewardship to shaping customer work, into project organization and Product Owner, and then into leading a unit during restructuring.
Culture carries performance: Flexibility as a lived value and the simple advice “Just be yourself” form a base for trust, pace, and durable results.

Closing: A blueprint for practical, human tech leadership

What makes Michael Hartlauer’s journey compelling is how everyday it is. It shows how steady curiosity and hands-on effort turn into impact—across projects, products, and teams. If you’re an engineer eyeing the next step, the path is clear: pick up ownership early, move closer to customers, lean into product and project thinking, seize openings—and don’t costume your personality along the way.

This dev story is a reminder that leadership doesn’t start with a title; it starts with ownership in the small: an internal tool, a shrewd prioritization, an honest conversation. That’s how trust for bigger responsibilities grows. And if the opening note is a simple “servus,” that might be the exact tone on which long-term success is built—for people, teams, and companies like solvistas GmbH.

More Dev Stories