My friend, who works in the product industry, had this startup idea. She requested my assistance in building the MVP and told me that it would take two months. According to what she told me, she wanted to create a working prototype - just to get the point across.
So basically, what is an MVP? What are the different types of MVPs? How can a SaaS based new startup implement and benefit from MVP?
MVP, as we studied, stands for Minimum Viable Product. It is a development technique in which a new product is developed with just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide feedback for future product development. The MVP concept allows a team to test a product hypothesis with minimal resources and gather valuable insights from early adopters.
Taking it further the different types of MVPs are as follows:
Concierge MVP: This MVP focuses on solving a specific problem for a specific customer segment. It involves manually performing tasks that the final product will automate.
Wizard of Oz MVP: This MVP simulates a product experience by using human intervention to perform tasks that will eventually be automated.
Landing page MVP: This MVP is a simple website or landing page that explains the product and allows users to sign up for a waiting list or pre-order the product.
Smoke test MVP: This MVP is a simple and cheap way to test the market’s interest in a product by creating a landing page with a sign-up form or a “Buy now” button.
Prototype MVP: This MVP is a working model of the product that demonstrates its core functionality. It can be used to gather feedback from users and investors.
Explainer video MVP: This MVP is a video that shows the product in action, how it works and how it solves a problem for the customer.
Crowdfunding MVP: This MVP is a funding campaign that allows customers to pre-order a product before it is built.
Each of these types of MVPs are suitable for different businesses and products, and the best one to use depends on the company’s goals, resources and the stage of development of the product.
Building an MVP in 2 months is a tight deadline, but it is possible depending on the complexity of the product and the resources available. To help your friend build the MVP within 2 months, the following steps can be taken:
Define the scope of the MVP: Clearly define the scope of the MVP and what features are necessary to demonstrate the core functionality of the product. This will help to keep the development time on track and ensure that the MVP is delivered on time.
Prioritize the features: Prioritize the features to be included in the MVP. By focusing on the most important features, the MVP can be delivered in a shorter time frame while still addressing the problem that the product is meant to solve.
Build a prototype: A functional prototype can be a good way to demonstrate the core functionality of the product. Building a prototype can help to speed up the development process and make it easier to gather feedback from early adopters.
Use existing tools and technologies: Use existing tools and technologies to build the MVP, rather than starting from scratch. This can help to speed up the development process and save time.
Involve a small team: Involve a small, dedicated team with relevant skills and experience to work on the MVP. This can help to ensure that the MVP is delivered on time and to a high standard.
Get feedback early: Get feedback from early adopters as early as possible in the development process. This will help to identify any issues or changes that need to be made, and allow the team to make necessary adjustments.
Work in iterations: Work in iterations, where you deliver small chunks of the MVP in every iteration. This will allow the team to test, learn and improve the MVP on the go.
It’s important to keep in mind that MVP is a process and not a one-time project, so it’s important to have a plan for the next steps after MVP is launched.
Thank you for the detailed explanation. I think I would not have learnt so much while in college, what I’m learning here, each one of you are giving such precise and relevant information. I would further like to know, how can a SaaS based new startup implement and benefit from MVP?
To implement an MVP, a SaaS startup can start by identifying its target market, defining the problem that the product will solve, and creating a minimal version of the product that addresses that problem. The startup should then test the MVP with early adopters and gather feedback to make necessary adjustments. It’s important to track the metrics of MVP, like user engagement, churn rate, and revenue, to decide what to improve next.
A SaaS (Software as a Service) startup can benefit from implementing an MVP in the following ways:
Test the market: An MVP allows a SaaS startup to test the market and gather feedback from early adopters to determine if there is a need for the product. This can help the startup to validate its business idea and avoid building a product that no one wants to use.
Gather feedback: An MVP allows a SaaS startup to gather feedback from early adopters and make necessary adjustments to the product before it is fully developed. This can help the startup to develop a product that meets the needs of its target market.
Get early traction: An MVP can help a SaaS startup to get early traction and build a user base. This can be beneficial for a startup in terms of customer acquisition and validation.
Minimize costs: An MVP allows a SaaS startup to minimize costs by developing a minimal version of the product first. This can help the startup to save money and resources that can be used for further development.
Improve time to market: An MVP can help a SaaS startup to improve its time to market by launching a minimal version of the product quickly. This can help the startup to gain a competitive advantage and start generating revenue sooner.
Identify the key features : An MVP can help a startup to identify which features are important and which are not, this can help to focus on the key features and improve the overall user experience.
Depends on who you want to show the MVP to and what your goal with the prototype is.
Not all ideas even need a functional prototype. Dropbox first launched with only a webpage that described the concept and provided an option to sign up.
An MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, is a prototype or early version of a product that is used to test and validate a business idea with potential customers or investors. The goal of an MVP is to gather feedback and learn what features or functionality are most important to the target audience. The level of complexity and functionality of an MVP can vary depending on the product and the intended audience. Some ideas may only require a simple webpage or landing page, while others may require a fully functional prototype. The key is to create an MVP that is sufficient to test the core assumptions of the business idea and gather valuable feedback.
These are the main takeaways I’d like to share. It helped us launch fast, get some early adopters, and most importantly—stay motivated enough to finish!
Use no-code as much as possible.
Never provision a database. Use a DB as a service or google sheets / airtable / etc.
Limit / fake authentication. Early adopters won’t care unless it’s very sensitive data.
Do not implement the fluff (password reset, “About Us” page, etc.)
Force myself to have something, anything that is publicly demonstrable within 5 days.
Have you already launched an app or startup of your own?
I agree with most of this except password reset. Access to your MVP is a must and as a user I don’t want to have to call your call center to reset my password. I’ll find a different company to use.
Building a functional prototype can be a good way to demonstrate the core functionality of a product and help to speed up the development process. A prototype allows potential customers and investors to see and interact with the product, which can help to gather valuable feedback and make necessary adjustments before the full product is developed.
Additionally, a prototype can also help to validate the technical feasibility of the product and ensure that the product can be built within the given time frame and budget. It can also serve as a visual aid for presentations and pitches to potential investors or partners.
It’s important to note that a prototype does not need to be a fully functional product, but it should be realistic enough to demonstrate the main features and give an idea of how the final product will work.
Keep in mind that a prototype is a tool to test your ideas, it’s not the final product, and it’s important to gather feedback and make adjustments accordingly.
MVP stands for Minimum Viable Product, which is a product development strategy that involves creating a product with the minimum set of features needed to solve a specific customer problem or address a specific customer need. The main goal of an MVP is to validate a product idea and get feedback from customers, without investing too much time and resources into development. This allows for faster time-to-market and the ability to make informed decisions about future development based on customer feedback. There are different types of MVPs, such as landing page MVP, concierge MVP, wizard of oz MVP, piecemeal MVP, and explainer video MVP. The specific type of MVP used depends on the goals of the product development strategy and available resources.