MVP doesn't really apply to VC financing in my opinion. Or, it does, but it stands for "Minimum Viable Pitch". The whole POINT of a lean startup is not to go

MVP doesn't really apply to VC financing in my opinion. Or, it does, but it stands for "Minimum Viable Pitch". The whole POINT of a lean startup is not to go running for cash the instant you think you have a good idea. With today's scalable cloud platforms that start at zero dollars, low cost or free development environments, and plenty of freelance help when you need it, WHY do people still think they need $10 million to launch a website or build an app? Especially their first one? I contend that if you are building a product for the sole purpose of taking a juicy exit, then you are just taking part in the gold rush (and he's right, it is a gold rush). In that case, no amount of practical advice applies to you, because if you're being honest with yourself, your whole mission is to create the "Minimum Viable Pitch" that gets the VCs interested and then hang around long enough to get acquired. And that has nothing to do with creating really good stuff. Here's an idea: think of something you HAVE to build because you can't wait to start using it yourself. Define the "Minimum Viable Product" as that thing you have to build before you can start happily using it yourself. Now, go show it off. If people are interested, sell it or put in ads or whatever you have to do. If it starts going like gangbusters and you need financing to grow or else you're really going to start pissing your customers off, then go looking for money with your now very REAL track record in hand. You know, because at this point you really NEED that money. Seems like common sense to me. Also seems a lot more authentic and ethical. But what if you really ARE building the next Facebook and need $50 million to spend on servers and office space and Aeron chairs and.... Well that's probably not your first startup, so nothing in the article is news to you anyway. If it IS your first startup, you crazy.