ABOUT THE BOOK
Platforms are everywhere — from Stripe and Salesforce to AWS and Canva — yet few product leaders truly understand how to build them. Most product teams approach platforms like any other product, only to get stuck in complexity, confused personas, and stalled ecosystems.
​
​The Art of Platform Products changes that. It’s a practical, strategic guide for product managers, startup founders, and executives who want to build products that attract developers, scale ecosystems, and unlock exponential growth.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
By the end of this book, you’ll know how to:
-
Understand the Platform Difference → Why platforms require different thinking than traditional B2B or B2C products.
-
Craft a Multi‑Persona Strategy → Balancing the needs of developers, customers, and the platform vendor.
-
Build the Right Foundation → Deciding what to Build, Buy, Partner, or Extend as your platform scales.
-
Engage Developers & Ecosystem Partners → Creating feedback loops, marketplaces, and a thriving network.
-
Scale Without Losing Control → Keeping quality, governance, and monetization in balance as your platform grows.
HOW THIS BOOK IS FOR:
-
Product Managers → stepping into platform strategy for the first time.
-
Startup Founders → looking to scale beyond MVP into an ecosystem.
-
Product Leaders & Executives → defining the future of their company’s platform.
-
Consultants & Advisors → needing a framework to help clients go from product to platform.
WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK
Over 15 years, I’ve gone from a business analyst to Chief Product Officer, leading global platform products at Magento, BigCommerce, and Spryker. I’ve seen the same mistakes play out over and over — products with platform potential that stalled because teams didn’t understand how to think and act like platform builders.
​
This book is the guide I wish I had when I started — a practical playbook for anyone who wants to turn their product into something bigger.
Elena Leonova is also the co‑founder of OneRank.io — a roadmap and capacity planning tool that helps product leaders put these strategies into action.