This essay describes how Ramsey Solutions, a financial education company, approached its digital transformation by first examining its own identity and capabilities rather than only envisioning its future. Its CEO's…
Marty Cagan argues that a product proving it works and is usable is not the same as a product people will actually choose to buy and use. He calls the smallest functional, usable version a 'Minimal Product' and reserves…
The post answers how to increase a product's virality, first arguing that virality should only be a primary growth engine when the product naturally suits it, versus performance marketing, content, or sales. It defines…
Lenny Rachitsky examines whether startups need a strong 'why now' to win over investors and build large businesses. He argues a clear answer helps, since it can enable a much better product or open an untapped market…
April Dunford argues that B2B buyers often choose "no decision" because purchases feel high-stakes and confusing, making indecision the real competitor. She proposes a two-part sales pitch: a setup that teaches the…
4 tests any personal AI needs to pass to go big: 1. The mom test 2. The spare key test 3. The putting-it-off test 4. The bored-in-line test ...and my review of how @Muse does across each of them! Buckle up with a coffee and a snack, cuz this one goes deep.
Marty Cagan argues that the essential nature of technology-powered products is hard to grasp until you've worked on a strong product team, and that most people think they understand it but don't. He highlights a rarely…
“In 2019, while still working at a16z, Li Jin wrote a provocative essay titled “The Passion Economy and the Future of Work.” In it, she defined and highlighted an emerging trend she called the “passion economy” wherein people “build audiences at scale and turn their passions into livelihoods.” Her claim was that new digital platforms and marketplaces will have a profound impact in enabling people to connect to consumers and monetize…”
Hiten Shah argues that transformative technologies often look like toys at first, and that Wabi's playful mini-apps are an early stage of a new personal operating system. He compares this to the early personal computer…
Lenny Rachitsky lays out the four metrics he considers most important for an early marketplace: fill rate, bookings growth, supply growth, and GMV growth. He explains why each matters, shares practitioner perspectives…
Teresa Torres argues that product teams waste effort ranking backlogs of solutions with made-up scoring formulas. Instead, teams should gather customer opportunities (needs, pain points, desires) from interview stories…
Teresa Torres introduces Hope Gurion's approach to representing customer segments on an opportunity solution tree, noting that structuring the opportunity space is hard when customers are diverse, especially in B2B…
Marty Cagan argues that most digital transformations fail, and draws on two decades of hands-on work helping companies adopt the product operating model to name the root causes. He lists ten recurring mistakes, ranging…
Teresa Torres argues that product managers often fixate on having the 'right answer,' presenting finished backlogs and roadmaps that stakeholders then override with their own opinions. Her remedy is to show the…
Teresa Torres uses her annual January post to lay out Product Talk's plans for 2021, applying the same opportunity-solution methods she teaches product trios to her own business. She frames her desired outcome as…
Marty Cagan argues that the biggest risk facing most startups and new products is not market risk or business-model risk but solution risk: whether the team can find an approach customers actually choose to buy and use…
This case study traces how theSkimm, a daily email news digest aimed at young millennial women, grew to roughly 7 million subscribers despite a crowded and hostile media market. The founders bet on a routine-based…
Marty Cagan lays out the product operating model, in which a product manager sits on a small cross-functional team alongside a designer, a tech lead and engineers, and is accountable for solving customer problems that…
Marty Cagan responds to a public interview with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky by examining alternatives to product managers. He defines product management as owning the value and viability of what gets built, and argues that…
An interview with Snowflake's Director of Product for its Developer Platform and Ecosystem, describing how the company plans, reviews, and organizes product work. It covers annual 'big boulder' planning, six-page plan…