The performance-driven society we live in usually gets biased by the nuances of words. The Minimum Value Product (MVP) is definitely one of the most popularly debated concepts in product development. Răzvan Bretoiu, CTO here at Linnify, being very well-acquainted with these matters, highlights the essentials you need to keep in mind at the very beginning of your product's development.

I get it, entrepreneurial mindsets are set for success and abundance. And that's great. But when it comes to the development process, things usually need a different approach. The usual thought process most frequently gets biased when hearing ‘minimum value product’. But that's exactly where the very beauty of its functionality stands.

I’ll inevitably have to jump on the ‘leave the name, keep the concept’ train for this one.

Call it Earliest Testable Product, Minimum Lovable Product. It’s up to you, but whatever you do, keep the main idea. Overlooking the basic aspects of an MVP will cost you more than you'd expect in the long run.

How come the minimum helps you achieve the maximum of your product

When building an MVP you don’t leave out all the ‘aha’ features of your product for good. The goal of an MVP is to tackle the underlying need of the idea so that you can validate your assumptions and test a prototype before investing unnecessary time and money. It’s a mechanism for validating hypotheses and discovering the real needs of the audience.

 

So even if its abbreviated version doesn’t meet the maximum of appeal from the public, its functionality regarding costs definitely overcomes the name dislike.

The concept of an MVP goes hand in hand with the Agile practice. The strongest link it’s the speed of validation. The clarity in measurement is due to the iterative nature. And that is exactly what brings the maximum advantage. 

The trick here is to get to know how the audience reacts to the underlying need. 

This way the users will give you the necessary insight on what you should do next in order to build a product that will survive the marketplace competition. And the sooner you know and act on the exact customer-centered requirements, the better you secure your place on the market

Are you sure I can’t just skip the MVP phase? 

Making sure your product responds to the needs of today's audience is key in securing a spot that can return the investment and keep your product on the market for a longer time. If you don’t, your risks frankly skyrocket. 

And since startups that scale properly grow 20 times faster than those that scale prematurely, maybe the risk isn’t worth taking. But that’s your choice, of course. 

‘If you are not embarrassed by your first product, you launched too late.’ - Reid Hoffman

 

Does an MVP really help me keep my product on the market for a longer time?

Keep in mind that you are not only testing iteratively, you are also investing iteratively as well. That leaves room for directing the money towards the features that are relevant to stay with your product. That simply helps you stay relevant to the market as you go.

 

Consider this an introduction. Follow through with my next article that tackles the best practices on how to choose the right tech stack for your MVP, soon to be out here on Linnify’s blog. There you can find articles diving into the granularities of the product development domain, validation, business strategy, UX/UI Design, burnout in Tech and so much more.