Ten years at smartclip: Jan-Daniel Westermann

Ten years ago, Jan-Daniel Westermann (or just JD, as most of us know him) joined smartclip as a working student — without a background in adtech and with little idea of where the journey would take him.

What followed was a fast-moving career shaped by early responsibility, steep learning curves, and the opportunity to grow alongside the product itself. Today, as Senior Product Manager smartx, JD looks back on a decade defined by trust, ownership, and a team that made it all possible.

How did you start your career in adtech?

I actually never applied for a job. I was still at university when I joined smartclip. Before that, I had been part of a startup where I worked as a UI/UX designer, but we eventually had to close down when we couldn’t secure funding.

While exploring other options, I was approached by Christian Osterhues on Xing, and he mentioned they were looking for a working student. At the time, I knew nothing about adtech, but I took the opportunity and joined the ad technology team in 2015.

What happened when you graduated?

I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 2017, shortly after completing a project where I implemented a new workflow for migrating publisher details. My manager was happy with the results, and around the same time, a colleague went on maternity leave allowing me to step in.

That’s how I transitioned into the platform team. After about a month of training, I started as a Product Manager for the smartx UI, leading a team of five developers and one working student. Since then, I’ve continued working closely to shape and develop smartx’s UI.

You stepped into a leadership role quite early. What was that like?

It was very much a “jump in at the deep end” moment. But there was a lot of trust from the start, and I was given real ownership early on.

Things moved quickly. I progressed from a junior role to Product Manager, then to Senior Product Manager within a couple of years. 

Interestingly, I’ve never really been a coder. I studied programming at university, but I always gravitated towards project management and working closely with developers. That bridge between design and development is where I feel most at home.

What do you enjoy most about working at smartclip?

The people and the way we work together. There’s a strong sense of collaboration across the company.

As we’ve grown, it might take a bit more time for new joiners to find their footing — but once you do, you really feel like you’re a part of something. That sense of belonging is what stands out to me.

At the same time, we’ve managed to uphold a certain startup spirit. There’s still flexibility in how we approach challenges, and that benefits both our customers and us. Maintaining that balance only works because of the strong relationships across teams.

What’s your biggest achievement in ten years?

That’s always a tricky question, because it never feels like just my achievement, but rather a team effort.

One of the first standout moments was our work on GDPR-related features back in 2018. Together with Gloria Eichler, who is now CPO at smartclip, I helped lead the concept and implementation of our ad server. We had around two months to deliver a solution that needed to be fully operational — otherwise, we would have had to switch off the ad server entirely.

As a relatively new Product Manager at the time, it felt intense — like a two-month hackathon. The entire team focused on this one challenge. But we delivered on time, without major issues, and the solution is still running smoothly today. I’d say that’s something I’m really proud of.

What’s your favourite memory?

There are quite a few after ten years. What stands out most are the moments when everyone comes together — summer and winter parties, and more recently, our offsites.

One memory that sticks is a rooftop party in Hamburg. But beyond specific events, it’s the overall feeling I get during those moments, the sense that we’re all in this together. That shared spirit is what makes those events memorable.

Before we close, could you describe smartclip in three words?

Family, flexible, loyal.