Your Strategy Match:
The Lightening Strategy, ‘MVP’—reduce risk & generate revenue.
Summary
A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) embodies the phrase “don’t let the great get in the way of the good”. It’s your product’s first impression on the world, a simple yet impactful ‘Hello.’ Picture it as a cost-effective experiment. Dip your toes in the water before diving in. This means that an MVP can look like a different thing depending on what it is you’re trying to validate. The goal is not to create a masterpiece from the get-go, but to pique interest, find a dedicated core user base, and expect to iterate quickly and ruthlessly based on user feedback.
Who you are
Practical
You have a higher tolerance for potential initial imperfections as long as they serve the validation process. You’re willing to pivot based on facts and data.
Bold
You thrive in dynamic environments and embrace change. An MVP suits your adaptive nature, allowing for quick adjustments based on market responses.
Resource-conscious
Whether you have a budget that’s prepared to be spent in stages or want to test the hypothesis before overcommitting, you’re highly in tune with budget allocation.
User-centric
You want to make a product for your customers, not find customers for your product. You realize that the best products are ones that solve real-world problems.
The Do’s and Dont’s of a Great MVP
- Actively seek users willing to give feedback and integrate it into your long-term plans.
- Concentrate on delivering functionality that demonstrates the product’s viability.
- Avoid unnecessary complexities that do not directly contribute to the core functionality of the product.
- Use the MVP to test key hypotheses about your product’s value proposition, market fit, and user behavior.
- Optimize development costs by focusing on the minimum set of features required to make the product viable.
- Don’t aim for perfection in the initial release. Accept that the MVP will have limitations.
- Disregard user feedback. The whole purpose of an MVP is to gather insights and iterate on the product.
- Completely neglect scalability considerations, but don’t over-optimize for scalability at this stage
- Underestimate the importance of initial marketing efforts. To properly test an MVP you need the right users willing to donate their time and thoughts.
Curious about the other strategies?
If this doesn’t approach sound like you—or you just want to peek at the others—read all about them here:
The Light Strategy
Test product-market viability.
The Enlightening Strategy
Connect with your audience.
Propel your venture with a rockstar strategy
to see just how far you can go.