The MVP Trap
Most teams build an MVP by taking their grand vision and cutting features until they hit a deadline. This is fundamentally flawed.
An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is not a "v0.1" of your final product. It is an experiment designed to invalidate your riskiest assumption.
The Three Types of Risk:
- Market Risk: Do they want it? (Will they pay?)
- Usability Risk: Can they use it? (Is the UX intuitive?)
- Technical Risk: Can we build it? (Is it feasible?)
90% of early-stage startups face Market Risk. Yet, 90% of early-stage MVPs are designed to test Technical Risk.
Stop building functional software to test if people want something. Use landing pages, painted-door tests, Concierge MVPs, and Wizard of Oz prototypes. Write code only when it's the cheapest way to learn.