#112 - Cross Functional Team Members feat. Daniel Bartholomae // CTO @ optilyz

alphalist.CTO Podcast - For CTOs and Technical Leaders

Cross-Functional Team Members: What, Why, How

Find out about cross-functional team members with Daniel Bartholomae, CTO at optilyz (direct mail SaaS). At optilyz, team members wear multiple hats—whatever hats they need to own the product lifecycle. From product management and design to development and customer engagement, this model eliminates silos and drives efficiency. Daniel breaks down how this innovative approach works, the tools and processes that make it possible, and why it’s a perfect fit for small B2B SaaS companies.

Listen to find out:

• 🚀 How ‘no product managers’ = efficient ‘sprints’
• 🛠️ Why optilyz opts for Miro and Asana instead of Jira
• 🧩 How to find and hire the right people for cross-functional roles
• 📜 Architectural Decision Records (ADRs): How optilyz documents technical decisions

Listen here

Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction to the Alphalist Podcast
(00:37) Meet Daniel Bartholomae
(07:11) LLMs for TDD
(09:17) Tech Stack and Tools at Optilize
(13:52) Why engineering should not be about pushing tickets
(14:44) Cross-Functional Team Members
(18:28) Skills and Traits of Cross-Functional Team Members
(21:00) Learning Fridays
(21:55) Mob Programming
(23:04) Transitioning to the Cross-Functional Model
(26:22) Simplifying the Tech Stack for Cross Functional Team Members
(33:27) Architectural Decision Records (ADRs)
(37:13) Scaling the Cross-Functional Model
(40:16) Direct Mail Automation and the Fridge Effect
(44:44) Memorable Customer Calls: IT + Product
(46:38) Advice to My Younger Self
(47:55) Closing Remarks