Introduction

How good is your idea? You might have asked yourself this question. Of course, you’re eager to get down to writing down lines of code and getting a well organized team of experts to get your product up and running and if you still work a 9-5, you might be thinking of quitting.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. In order to be sure that your BIG IDEA can convert to BIG SUCCESSES, you have to start out small with a minimum viable product or, as it’s popularly called, an MVP.

In order to understand the processes involved in building one, you have to check out successful minimum viable product examples to know what works and what they achieved in the long run.
 

Content

• Why are Minimum Viable Products So Important?
• 13 Successful Minimum Viable Product Examples
• Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Versus Minimum Marketable Release (MMR)
• Summary
   

What is a Minimum Viable Product? (MVP)

A Minimum Viable Product is the initial version of a product that has just the basic feature that allows users to test and provide feedback, which is then used to determine if there’s a market for the product and improve on the features.

The purpose of an MVP is to learn about users and verify the need for the product before investing human and financial resources in an idea that might not be solving any problems.
 

Why are Minimum Viable Products So Important?

Having a brilliant idea for a product is great, but it seems like a waste of time if the product isn’t needed for solving problems. Building a minimum viable product is an efficient way for early startups and companies to get early customer feedback.

Being the first version of your product, it allows a lot of companies to test out their products by putting it out in the wild and knowing which features are valuable and the ones that need to go no matter how passionate you may be about them.

Here are some successful products that started out as MVPs;
 

13 Successful Minimum Viable Product Examples

Here are the top 13 popular and successful minimum viable product examples

1. Dropbox
2. Facebook
3. Airbnb
4. Spotify
5. Buffer
6. Twitter
7. Instagram
8. Amazon
9. Uber
10. Product Hunt
11. Zappos
12. Tinder
13. LinkedIn

 

1. Dropbox

Dropbox happens to be one of the most successful minimum viable product examples that had a brilliant marketing strategy.

They didn’t start out as cloud storage but as a file syncing product and their idea was so simple that an explainer video was created in order to explain the concept to their intended audience before building a product. The video showed the intentions of their idea in action and it generated quite a response with thousands of people signing up for the service
 

What they achieved

• Testing out the market before investing fully in the product.
• Effectively communicated the value they were to offer.
• Helped them build the actual product on feedback gotten
   

2. Facebook

Originally called The Facebook, it was just a simple messaging platform targeted towards Harvard University Students where they could connect with their course mates. They focused on four core features, which were User Profiles, Friends List, Basic Networking and College Exclusivity.
 

What they achieved

• Established a solid market fit that not many knew was available at the time.
• Built a sense of community for users from various walks of life.
• Established early trust at a time when internet messaging wasn’t really popular, which gave the competitive edge they needed easily.
   

3. Airbnb

Among minimum viable product examples, Airbnb stands out because of how they started. Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia created a minimum viable product that tested the idea of short-term rentals from first renting out their mattresses in their apartment to paying their rent.

This data they had acquired showed that people were willing to pay for a short-term lodging experience and this was a problem that they could provide a solution to.
 

What they achieved

• Fulfilled their current needs at the time of settling their debt.
• Established a market-fit that made them realize this was a problem they had the solution to.
• Created a community where people could connect to millions of short-let apartments easily. A very user-centric feature.
   

Related: What is Minimum Viable Product in Agile & Why Is It Critical?
 

4. Spotify

Spotify was a simple desktop app that offered music streaming with very limited song choices. The core feature was simple: listen to music seamlessly without having to store them on your phone storage.

The feedback gotten from the MVP allowed them to expand its catalog and include more features over time. Now you know it as one of the largest streaming platforms in the world.
 
What they achieved

• Attracted a dedicated and loyal user base.
• Gained valuable customer insights and feedback.
• Got an early competitive edge and solved the problem of having access to multiple songs at a time without having to have it recorded on a disk.
   

5. Buffer

Buffer first started out as a simple landing page that explained the idea of a product that would allow users to schedule their social media posts.

Buffer, being one of the minimum viable product examples that are worthy of emulation, learnt intensely from the feedback gotten from the users that signed up to the platform and showed interest in investing in such a tool.

An initial version of Buffer was then built to allow users to schedule tweets leading to the current platform that everyone knows today.
 
What they achieved

• Gathered feedback from early users that shaped the current product.
• Demonstrated the need for the product which attracted early investors.
• Strong Brand Awareness.
   

6. Twitter

Twitter’s minimum viable product first got off the ground as an SMS-based communication tool that allowed users update their status and thoughts in real time.

The feedback gotten from the initial audience led to the retweet, hashtags and trending topic features being introduced. It helped various users discover content easily and communicate in real-time with users within and outside their network.
 
What they achieved

• Created a unique and open-ended communication platform between the media, brands, public figures and their audience.
• Became a cultural phenomenon among various users and yielded the power to spread information with just a single tweet on the platform.
• Gathered early user feedback and gave them a competitive edge in a time where real-time communication wasn’t common.
   

For You: Top 100+ Active Angel Investors List
 

7. Instagram

Instagram falls in line as one of the minimum viable product examples that had an early start when it came to photo sharing and real-time status update. As you might know, they started out as a photo-sharing app with very limited features and provided a platform for users to update their locations.

Earlier features like filter applications were later introduced after the feedback gotten from the users and each update introduced were focused on the needs of the users.
 
What they achieved

• Took advantage of the growing trend of digital photography.
• Attracted early investors.
• Gathered user insights leading to the app’s focus on simple aesthetics.
   

8. Amazon

You wouldn’t be surprised to know that Amazon started out as an online book store, allowing users to browse through a large catalog of books without leaving their homes.

They focused on the friendliness of their platform and secure payment methods, which helped boost brand trust early on. They branched out to other product categories over time because of the feedback gotten from the users and have evolved over time.
 
What they achieved

• Showcased the power of e-commerce early on.
• Gathered enough customer feedback to influence their expansion strategies.
• Established a strong brand identity and gave them a competitive edge.
   

Related: 11 Best Books for Startup Founders
 

9. Uber

Uber is another minimum viable product example that took advantage of the IT thing of the moment, which was GPS Technology. They used the power of GPS technology to help users track nearby taxis for their needs.

This was born out of the desire to simplify and digitalize the transport system which has become a thing of norm in the present. The focus was on convenience and reliability and the feedback gotten from the success of the minimum viable product solidified the need for a digitalized transport system.
 
What they achieved

• Showed there’s a need for a digitalized transport service.
• Influence the features of the app after learning from users.
• Turned into a worldwide transport network.
   

10. Product Hunt

Ryan Hoover launched Product Hunt in 2013 as a basic email list to share new products each day. Users got curated lists of new software, apps, and other tech products sent right to their inboxes.

This approach improved the user experience and motivated developers to submit their products to get exposure and feedback. As the platform expanded, it became a key resource for startups to test interest in their products before launch, allowing them improve their products based on real-time user input.
 
What they achieved

• They became the main source of discovering new tools and apps.
• Got feedback from users to boost active community involvement among startup founders and learners of tech.
• Created a strong community and name in the tech world teaming up with key companies and helping build a space where entrepreneurs work together on new ideas.
   

11. Zappos

Zappos was founded by Nick Swinmurn and the product started out as an online shoe retailer with a website offering a limited selection of shoes for sale like a listing service.

One of the classic minimum viable product examples that had utmost commitment to providing premium customer service, which set them apart and transformed the simple project into reaching $1 billion in sales in 2008 before it was sold to Amazon in 2009.
 
What they achieved

• Solidified the demand for online shoe shopping.
• Established a user base early giving them a competitive edge.
• Built a loyal customer base and increased their value enough for investors to show interest.
   

12. Tinder

Tinder started as a simple dating app launched in 2012 by Sean Rad, Jonathan Badeen, and a small team at Hatch Labs and it was targeted at college students and was rolled out in various universities. The simplicity of the swipe ‘right or left’ technique made the Tinder MVP addictive and fun for a younger demographic.

Tinder, being one of the most fun minimum viable product examples, was able to gather valuable data and feedback which contributed to the implementation of new features and the improvement of the Tinder app.
 
What they achieved

• Changed and added a twist to the online dating platform, which gave them an edge over various competitions.
• Gathered relevant user feedback and used it to improve app personalization and functionalities.
• Accomplished global reach which surpassed the initial target of just being a platform for college students.
   

Read Also: 15 Best Startup Podcasts for Founders
 

13. LinkedIn

What started as a simple professional networking platform in 2003 has scaled to an international platform that connects millions of professionals and businesses worldwide. The minimum viable product of LinkedIn was a basic website just like Zappos, where users could create profiles, list their professional experiences and establish a connection with other users.

They initially focused on connecting users based on already existing relationships using the power of mutual connections, but as more users joined the platform, the feedback gotten from every user was used to implement more robust features like job postings, endorsements and many others you might already have an idea of.
 
What they achieved

• Achieved global reach and surpassed the initial target market.
• Gathered important user feedback that was used to improve the functionalities of the LinkedIn platform.
• Provided one of the best platforms targeted towards professionals and the corporate community.
   

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Versus Minimum Marketable Release (MMR)

After a successful MVP what next? Well, glad you asked, because you then move on to the Minimum Marketable Release (MMR for short). MMR is the version of a product that has enough features to be marketed and sold to users. It represents development in the product and is aimed at delivering solid value to users and generating revenue in the long run.
 

Differences between an MVP and an MMR

Categories	Minimum Viable Product (MVP)	Minimum Marketable Release (MMR)
Purpose	Its purpose is to gather user feedback and learn about user needs and their desired features.	To create a product that is ready for the market and can generate revenue. It focuses on meeting the needs of a wider audience.
Features	It only includes the feature that takes care of a specified problem for the user.	It includes different sets of features and functionalities that enhance user experience and provide enough value for users.
Development Stage	This is one of the first versions of the product that comes out in the product development cycle.	The MMR comes out after the minimum MVP and builds on the feedback gathered from its testing.
Target Audience	Its aim is to attract early users who are ready to try new ideas and give helpful feedback.	MMRs try to reach a wider audience, including everyday users who want a working product that meets their needs.
Marketing Strategy	Marketing for a minimum viable product is low-key and aims to get feedback, build initial interest and awareness.	Marketing for an MMR involves highlighting the product’s value, features, and benefits to draw in more users.

 

Getting acquainted with these successful minimum viable product examples influences the decision you have to make as a startup founder or a tech expert with a brilliant idea that needs execution. These are the roadmaps that will scale your brilliant idea to a globally used product.

 

Next Steps: Building Your Minimum Viable Product

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