What is MVP (Minimum Viable Product)?

An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the simplest version of your product that solves the core problem for early users. It's not a half-broken product—it's the smallest thing you can build to test your most important assumption. The goal is to learn, not to launch something perfect. Good MVPs take weeks, not months, and focus on one key feature done well.

When Should You Use This?

Build an MVP when you have an idea but haven't validated it with real users, when you want to test a core assumption before investing heavily, or when you need to get to market quickly. MVPs are ideal for first-time founders with limited resources. Skip the MVP if you're iterating on a proven product or have already validated demand.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• •Building too many features—focus on ONE core problem, not ten
• •Waiting for perfection—ship when it works, not when it's beautiful
• •No clear hypothesis—know what assumption you're testing before you build
• •Ignoring user feedback—the point is to learn, not to prove you're right
• •Scaling too early—nail the core experience for 10 users before optimizing for 10,000

Real-World Examples

• •Airbnb MVP—founders photographed their own apartment, manually handled bookings
• •Dropbox MVP—demo video showing the concept, validated demand before building
• •Zappos MVP—founder bought shoes from stores and shipped them manually to test demand
• •Stripe MVP—7 founders as first users, iterated based on direct feedback