New Voices in Product

Marty Cagan introduces four thought leaders whose blogs he finds valuable for product people, many of whom were relatively new voices in 2010. He profiles Ben Horowitz, Eric Ries, Steve Blank, and Fred Wilson, explaining each one's background and what readers can gain from their writing. The piece is a short recommendation list rather than a deep argument, but it points readers toward influential ideas in lean startups, customer development, and startup finance. Its value lies in signposting sources that shaped modern product thinking.

01Key takeaways

• Follow experienced practitioners across the product, startup, and finance disciplines to broaden your perspective.
• Read Eric Ries to understand Lean Startup concepts and how they apply to technology products of any size.
• Pair Steve Blank's customer development perspective with Ries's writing to see two complementary views of startup learning.
• Learn the financial dynamics of your business, since product decisions depend on them as much as on technology.
• Use blogs by former product leaders turned investors to gain insight into how companies scale and make tradeoffs.

02Key sections

Ben Horowitz

Cagan describes Horowitz's career path from product management to startup CEO to general manager, and now venture investing. Horowitz's blog shares hard-won lessons in a provocative but thoughtful style.

Eric Ries

Ries is presented as the central figure behind the Lean Startup movement, known for distilling complex ideas into clear writing. Cagan considers his engineering-oriented view philosophically close to his own and relevant to anyone building technology products.

Steve Blank

Blank is an industry veteran whose book on customer development Cagan has long recommended. His enterprise and marketing perspective complements Ries's work and is useful across technology companies.

Fred Wilson

Wilson is a venture capitalist who deeply understands internet technologies, making his startup advice timely. Cagan highlights his MBA Mondays series as a way for product people to learn the financial side of building companies.

03From the post

“A partnership dedicated to teaching best practices to product teams and product leaders”

04Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.