The competition presented before startups is fierce. They battle for resources with other startups and have to compete for customers with large firms with an established consumer base. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 20% fail to survive their first year of establishment and go out of business.
Hence, it is integral for startups to find customers fast and efficiently and establish their loyal base. This is where the minimum viable product or MVP comes in. MVP is a product that serves the basic necessities of early adopters. After validating ideas, the product can go through iteration and a decision process before being released to the general public.
Curious to learn more about how MVP is beneficial for your startup? Read on to acquaint yourself with MVP, some examples to get an idea, and a step-by-step guide to building your own product version.
What is a Minimum Viable Product?
A minimum viable product or MVP is a development methodology and tool that helps in the iteration and development of the product with minimal features. It gives the product owner a beneficial insight into its shortfalls and advantages. According to this feedback from early adopters, they can make necessary changes to the product and release it for everyone else.
What Is Not a Minimum Viable Product?
While they sound similar, MVP is not similar to a prototype. A prototype is a sample, model, or basic plan that reflects what a finished product would look like in the future. Typically, it conceptualizes the larger ideas without investing all the resources.
On the other hand, MVP is a fully functioning version that is ready to be launched. It is not just a plan or a draft. They're released to the public to garner honest consumer feedback and incorporate them into future iterations.
Your MVP should be decided by identifying your target audience, determining how your product will help them, comparing it to the competitor, and defining its killer features.
Minimum Viable Product vs Minimum Marketable Product vs Proof of Concept
A minimum viable product or MVP was conceptualized by Eric Reis that entails the creation of a basic product for the early adopters. The feedback is taken quickly, and the product is shaped according to it.
The minimum marketable product or MMP is the next stage to MVP in the product development process. It includes incorporating functionalities that serve consumer needs and creating desired user experiences.
Proof of Concept or PoC is understood as the designing of a small project that verifies whether an idea is feasible for production or not. They are usually created merely for testing internally within the country.
Minimum Viable Product Examples: Our Top 10 List
Wondering which MVP development strategy works best for your startup? Here's a list of the top 10 MVP examples you can take inspiration from. But just remember that no single strategy suits your business – your choice of development path is unique.
Type 1: Landing Page MVP
This is the MVP commonly described as "sell before you build." It involves the creation of a landing page that lists the product that needs to be created and a link for more information. The actual development of this MVP is reasonably straightforward and requires fewer resources and time.
Best suited for:
Checking whether the product generates any interest amongst the audience and redefining it if there is no positive response.
Successful MVP Example:
Buffer is a famous example of such a landing page MVP. The company's owner, Joel Gascoigne, initially created a landing page where the audience had to leave their email ids to get the pricing and plans. Witnessing a positive response, he updated the page to reflect the prices. Here’s more on Buffer’s MVP story.
Type 2: Pre-Order MVP
Under pre-order MVP, the clients pre-order or make investments in the development of the product. If the product is well-liked by the people, it receives the requisite financial help and gauges its potential.
Best suited for:
Businesses with substantial monetary requirements and customers to access and create the product.
Successful MVP Example:
Oculus was initially started off as a duct-tape VR headset prototype. The prototype garnered attention in E3 (a large trade show for the games) and generated interest in the product amongst people. Riding on this hype, the company launched a pre-order campaign and managed to raise $250,000 on the first day alone. You can read about Oculus' history and success story.
Type 3: Crowdfunding MVP
Crowdfunding MVP is an excellent way to gauge whether the product will have any market in the future by seeing the number of participants that contribute to it. It is enabled through crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, which allows startups to receive donations before the product is released. Even non-profits can take advantage of the crowdfunding platforms to gauge whether their cause ticks or tanks with their target audience.
Best suited for:
Inspecting whether the product will have any marketplace in the future and whether people will be interested in its concept.
Successful MVP Example:
Pebble is a famous company that validated the concept of crowdfunding MVP by gaining donations before the official launch. It is an e-paper customizable watch for phones. The audience loved the concept behind it, and the company managed to raise more than 10 million in Kickstarter donations. Read more about Pebble’s crowdfunding campaign here.
Type 4: Product Design MVP
Product design MVP works with an iterative way of development, i.e., the addition of new features with each feedback stage. UX designers often use it to roughly draw or design a product to understand its purpose. The MVP includes the creation of sketches, mockups, and wireframes.
Best suited for:
Businesses whose end goal is mobile platforms, such as android MVP. It can help decide whether the UX will appeal to users.
Successful MVP Example:
Memento is an app to document people's life stories. The app started off as a rough sketch, with a basic idea of what the designers wished to incorporate. After the initial launch, they received feedback from the users and tweaked the app accordingly to create a successful working app. Learn more about Memento’s story here.
Type 5: Demo or Explainer Video MVP
The best way to explain a product concept and flaunt its values is through a demo or explainer video MVP. It allows the users to glimpse how the product will work, its unique selling point, and its benefits. Not only will it help introduce the product, but it will also help gauge its engagement and analyze the demand.
Best suited for:
Understanding whether the product resonates with the audience and fulfills their needs.
Successful MVP Example:
DropBox video is a successful example of a demo MVP. Before investing any resources into the project, the company released a thorough and attractive video outlining the concept of a digital store that allowed users to safely upload their data. The company developed and launched the product when this 3-minute video received massive support. DropBox’s success story here.
Need more examples for inspiration? Check here: https://explain.ninja/blog/19-best-explainer-video-examples-in-2022/
Also, here, for 3D animated explainer video inspo: https://explain.ninja/3d-animated-videos/
Type 6: Software Prototype MVP
Software prototype MVP is quite common in the IT industry. These MVPs can be actual software with minimal features to satisfy the basic testing requirements. It only needs to perform one or two functions to check its viability.
Best suited for:
Checking whether the application appeals to its targeted audience and only then investing resources, efforts, and time.
Successful MVP Example:
Case Status, a mobile app for an attorney's clients where they can track the progress of their respective cases, at a glance. Here's the clickable prototype attorney Lauren Sturdivant used to raise funding to build the first version of Case Status.
Type 7: Concierge MVP
The concierge MVP helps you understand whether your idea or service is popular amongst your targeted audience. It includes providing the audience with the service before the official development of the product or digital presence.
Best suited for:
Businesses that wish to garner a consumer base and analyze them before launching the product.
Successful MVP Example:
Food on the Table is an excellent example of a concierge MVP where the app sends the users deals from local stores and different recipes. During the earlier stages, the owner, Manuel Rosso, curated the recipes, shopping list, and coupons himself. Learn more about Food on the Table and other similar MVP stories.
Type 8: Piecemeal MVP
The piecemeal MVP works with the concept of incorporating the pre-existing tools and functionalities with a new idea to create a new user experience. It involves collecting different elements and combining them together into a completely new product.
Best suited for:
Businesses that do not have the resources, technology, or infrastructure to create an entirely new product.
Successful MVP Example:
Groupon is a classic piecemeal example. It is a piece-by-piece method of MVP that was a combination of a simple WordPress site and regular PDFs sent to the subscribers directly. However, it started off as a platform called The Point that served as a discussion point for political topics. Since it didn't garner success, the founder Andrew Mason, used its resources to create Groupon. Read more on Groupon’s success story here.
Type 9: Wizard of Oz MVP
Wizard of Oz is an MVP that requires human intervention. It is pretty similar to the concierge, but the owner has to make the users believe that they are using a full-fledged product using automation. The product does not necessarily need to be completed to work since humans will do the work of a machine.
Best suited for:
Testing the usefulness of the product by using minimal resources and limited features.
Successful MVP Example:
Zappos is a famous shoe brand that used Wizard of Oz MVP. Nick Swinmurn, the founder of the brand, used to post pictures of the shoes at a store to validate his product, i.e., the site. After he received a positive response online, he decided to invest in the business. Read more on Zappo’s story here.
Type 10: Single Feature MVP
Single feature MVP, also known as 'One Painkiller,' is a product template that focuses on one particular feature. That one feature should effectively solve their pain and act as a painkiller for them. The painkiller feature usually also acts as the product's unique selling point to attract the audience.
Best suited for:
Checking the feasibility and acceptance of the app amongst the target audience.
Successful MVP Example:
Foursquare was developed as a single feature MVP by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai. They built the app with limited functionalities like checking in at different locations. When the MVP took off, they added more functionalities and features, turning it into a sophisticated system that resembles what Foursquare looks like today. Learn more about Foursquare’s story.
Step-by-Step Action Plan to Build an MVP
Wondering how you can make an MVP for your business or startup? Here's a detailed process to understand how exactly the process will go:
- Market Research - Before starting the process, the startup must conduct thorough market research. Find out what products are already available on the market and understand where they fall short.
- Target Audience - Next, you have to understand the product from the consumer's perspective. Find out what attracts them and makes them choose it. Figure out what challenges lead them to its website and try to fulfill those problems.
- Product Features - Since the MVP will have minimal features, try to prioritize those that will draw people toward your product. For this, ensure that you have a fair idea about what your client wants and how these features will help them.
- Create Project Management Framework - It is best to keep your team updated with any developments. A good management framework will also ensure that all ideas and inputs are heard.
- Finalize the MVP - Be clear about what you want your MVP to portray and the value it'll create, assess and capture. You can use a Business Model Canvas, i.e., a template for illustrating and developing their business model.
- Launch and Feedback - At the end, release your product for the early adopters. Take all their input and constructive criticism. Try to understand whether they liked the product and whether it solved their problems. After analyzing the answers, iterate the product until it satisfies the consumer's need.
Conclusion
Many successfully established services, companies, and apps started off as MVPs but have established themselves well amongst their audience. After going through these minimum viable product examples, you must have understood why startups prefer MVP as the starting point. It enables them to understand what their audience needs without investing their resources, efforts, and time.
So, if you're planning to establish a new startup or launch a new product, MVP is the best way to bring out products that solve the pain point of your consumers. You can simultaneously take feedback and iterate according to what your target audience needs!
Now, time to answer some of your most common questions on Minimum Viable Products:
What is the main goal of an MVP?
The MVP's primary goal is to waste as little time and effort as possible by testing how the market responds to your idea before building the entire product. This is done by maximizing your understanding of its value to the prospective client.
What are the key benefits of building an MVP?
Some of the key benefits of building an MVP include:
- Early feedback
- Focus on core functionalities
- Clarity of vision
- Cost-effectiveness
- Minimal risk
- Possibility of getting funded
How much does it cost to build an MVP?
The cost of building an MVP varies significantly depending on the complexity of your product and how you get it made. Typically, startup studios and freelancers charge anywhere between $2,000 and $20,000 for creating the MVP. However, you can take advantage of no-code tools to build your MVP in less than $500. For most use cases, you can do it nearly for free!. For example, setting up a landing page may cost you just $10.
How can I tell if my MVP project is a success?
The most common metric for the success of your MVP is the number of people in your target market who have tried out the MVP. You need to determine whether your target audience has sufficient interest in your product before making any additional investments in the MVP. If there isn't, you'll need to rework and refine your idea.
Written by Aastha Kochar, a freelance writer at Shnoco.
