Ever wondered why so many AI projects fall flat—despite great teams and tools? It often comes down to one silent saboteur: your data architecture.

In this episode, we sit down with Stefan Opitz, Founder & COO of Codoflow, to explore how SMEs can build AI-ready infrastructure by rethinking data modeling from the ground up.

What You'll Learn:

• Why traditional top-down data modeling fails fast-growing companies

• How bottom-up modeling enables real-time transparency and integration

• Why data quality and ownership are critical to AI success

• How Codoflow brings real-time collaboration to data design—finally killing the spreadsheet

• What SMEs must do today to future-proof their data for AI, compliance, and scale

Guest Spotlight:
Stefan Opitz, COO and Co-Founder of Codoflow, brings decades of experience in IT consulting and integration projects. Frustrated with outdated frameworks and documentation, he built Codoflow to provide a pragmatic, design-first, collaborative data modeling platform tailored for mid-sized companies and tech-forward teams.

Emotional Close + CTA:
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📚 Show Notes

Guest Name: Stefan Opitz, Founder & COO at Codoflow
Blog Post: https://www.startuprad.io/post/the-complete-guide-to-data-architecture-for-smes-and-ai-integration

Relevant Resources:

• Codoflow Website

• Why Bottom-Up Data Modeling Beats Traditional Frameworks for SMEs

• How Poor Data Quality Undermines AI Training and Business Intelligence

• Real-Time Collaboration in Data Architecture

Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction
03:20 – Why most data architecture fails SMEs
08:45 – Codoflow's bottom-up modeling approach
14:22 – Data quality, AI, and governance
21:00 – Real-time collaboration and change management
32:10 – The entrepreneur’s journey behind Codoflow
40:50 – Codoflow’s roadmap and AI integration vision
47:30 – Final insights and takeaways