The most common way to begin a business is to use a minimum viable product (MVP).
Uber, Dropbox, Figma, and Slack all began as MVPs.
In this post, we’ll review MVPs, look at alternatives, and explore new ways to uncover and validate company concepts.
The Basic Idea:
MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
MVP is a concept invented by Frank Robinson and popularized by Eric Ries, creator of the Lean Startup.
Ries defines an MVP as a new product version that enables the team to obtain the most proven consumer information with the least amount of work.
In actuality, an MVP is no longer exclusively about programming.
Many founders and developers mix up the terms MVP and technology prototype.
An MVP is a technique to test a sale, not a technical prototype.
It may be a landing page with a “Buy” button, not a prototype.
The main goal is to test a company concept at little cost to see how the target audience reacts and decide on subsequent iterations to increase value.
The MVP technique has multiple variants due to the various interpretations.
Let’s examine them.
Alternatives To An MVP Strategy
The term “MVP” changes with the startup community.
Some describe an MVP as “the initial version of a product,” while others define it as “a stripped-down version of a product.”
Customers’ expectations have risen owing to the growth and use of complicated technologies and technology-based goods.
Where does the startup market stand now?
• Lovable Minimum
It’s a word invented by Brian de Haaff, inventor of the road map software.
While many firms construct MVPs to get a product up and running fast, few realize how upset consumers might be and seek for alternatives. Consumers may not always love what they know, but they always feel comfortable with it. Resistance to change is what sales resistance really is. As any sales veteran will tell you.
To create a product that consumers love, not merely endure, is the MLP’s goal.
The apparent drawback is the rise in development costs.
But it’s worth emphasizing that development tools enable you to construct a useful and appealing product straight immediately.
• MMP Minimum Marketable
Mark Denne and Jane Cleland-Huang invented the concept in their 2003 book Software by Numbers.
An MMP strategy creates a minimal set of characteristics to evaluate a marketing business model.
So MMP combines minimal viable and lovable goods.
Starting with an MMP requires that you already know your target demographic and market, as well as the issue you’re seeking to address with a product. Don’t get this confused with knowing your own mind. You may THINK you know what your customers want, but unless you give them an opportunity to tell you what they want you may be left with egg on your face and lemons in your warehouse.
These are also well-known and researched models.
I propose to discuss other methods to the MVP, MLP, and MMP for generating business hypotheses.
The New MVP, MLP, MMP Approaches
The famed build-measure-learn feedback loop is at the heart of the lean startup methodology.
The MVP and its ilk were designed to apply this architecture.
However, there are innovative ways to validate a company concept and startup model.
Try piggybacking on a rival’s platform to see how similar you have to be to poach their clients. Is it ethical? Only if you are offering something better for less money – otherwise, it’s pirating. And highly illegal.
