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This was sort of recently touched on, and I had comments there which I will rehash here, perhaps more thoughtfully. My definition of an MVP is "the minimum pro
by bmelton 15y ago
This was sort of recently touched on, and I had comments there which I will rehash here, perhaps more thoughtfully.
My definition of an MVP is "the minimum product you can produce to test whether there is a market*"
To me, this means that an MVP for a B2B app can be plain, and can even be boring in fact. It can have only one feature. It doesn't need social sign in buttons. It doesn't necessarily even need graphics except where they are required by the application.
The point is to be able to put forth a feature to potential customers that will either save them time or save them money.
This allows you to get your product in front of customers as quickly as possible without worrying about anything other than "the app" that you can sell. If you can get your customers to open their wallets for "the app", then you can get after everything else.
Depending on where you're at in your lifecycle, that may obviously vary.
If you're pitching to investors, or if it is a social app, then obviously design matters significantly more. Fluff matters more. In social apps, or user-facing apps, design is often either a key differentiator or even a feature.
If you're launching in a space with a proven market, then MVP takes on an entirely different term. You don't need to see whether or not people will pay, you just need to figure out how to get them to pay for your app versus existing competitors.
In your case, your focus should shift dramatically, and should instead be very polished, if not close to perfect. Not being the first mover means that the market is at least tested, if not proven. If there is somebody doing the same thing, then you need to launch as close to perfect as is possible while being quick to get to the door.
This isn't necessarily an easy task, which is generally why the "get to MVP as quickly as possible" is such an important goal, and why that mantra is so often repeated by seasoned entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, industry experts and analysts alike
- skrish 15y agoExcellent points. I like your point that in an established space, the focus should be on polished features. To me the key message to take-away is: * less features is good, as long as they look complete in itself. * finding those initial customers who are willing to work with you "despite" the less features is critical.