Congratulations on being one of the most creative startup founders with a brilliant product idea. What next? Most of the products you see today had to validate their ideas using real user feedback. This is your next move.

Building a product without validation on the market is known as startup suicide, which is where the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) comes in. Like Dropbox, Airbnb and Facebook did, releasing an MVP into the market to test your idea allows you to know if that idea is worth iterating on or moving on from.

This article will be your guide in the process of MVP development for startups, the types of MVPs, the KPIs you need to measure when building your MVP, using the MVP approach and your MVP startup kit.

What’s A Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

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A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the version of a product with the basic features that provide value to early users who then in turn provide feedback for future product development.

The MVP is the compass that lets startup founders know if there’s a market for their product which, if successful, can lead to maximum improvement and growth using the feedback gotten from the intended target audience.

Without verifying the presence of a market during the initial stage of your MVP development, you risk wastage of human and financial resources.

Related: 13 Successful Minimum Viable Product Examples

MVP Development For Startups: Why Is It Important?

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There is no one-size-fits-all success for startups, but there are proven steps that can help reduce the risk of ending up in the reported 90% of startups that end up failing.

MVP development is an important step for startups because it provides a low-risk and efficient way to validate ideas, build awareness and gather user feedback.

Some of the other benefits of using an MVP to validate your product are;

Reducing development costs and time
Validating market demand early
Attracting early investors and securing funding
Help you make informed decisions when it comes to feature prioritization

Your initial idea might not be of enough value to your audience, but with their feedback, you have the opportunity to go back to the drawing back, without having wasted a lot of resources.

At the end of this guide on MVP development for startups, you will know the next actionable steps to take to accomplish success.

Types Of MVPs (Minimum Viable Products)

You need to understand that Minimum Viable Products fall into 2 main categories; Low Fidelity and High Fidelity MVPs.

Each of them serves a distinct purpose depending on your resources and insights your team aims to gather. Underneath each category, we have different types of MVPs and what they’re meant to achieve.

Low Fidelity MVPs

Low Fidelity MVPs are simple, less-polished product versions that focuses on testing the core idea. They are quicker to build and are used to gathering initial feedback with minimal investment. These types of MVPs focus more on basic ideas and concepts rather than complex functionalities.

Read Also: 11 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Building An MVP

Types Of Low-Fidelity MVPs

Landing Page MVP
This MVP is just a simple one-page website that has the details of the product’s core value and its potential benefits. The purpose of a landing page MVP is to gather leads based on user engagement using the call-to-action(CTA) and gauging potential user interest.

The landing page will include; Visuals, Key messaging and a clear call-to-action button. The cost of this is really low and provides interesting metrics that can help you make informed decisions. An example of a brand that utilized this MVP is Dropbox, which initially used a landing page to capture emails.
Explainer Video MVP
This is usually short but very engaging. You should be able to capture the attention of the user long enough to understand the concept of the product and its values.

The explainer video is the perfect tool used to break down complex product ideas into layman’s terms without the product being available yet.

The purpose of this MVP is to validate the idea and see if the concept of the product appeals to your prospective users. Dropbox combined the power of the landing page MVP with the explainer video to get the ultimate result.
Paper Prototype
This is usually hand-drawn or sketched digitally. It lets users see the design and interact with the product’s basic navigation on paper.

This is extremely low-cost and it allows users to see the prospect of the product without investing in digital development. However, this might not be the best MVP because of its lack of interaction, interest and lack of functional insights.
Email MVP
An Email MVP uses email to describe the product and gather insights into user interest. This could include a description, call-to-action and an invitation to pre-order.

Its purpose is to validate interest and gather early leads or feedback using emails as a direct communication channel. This is also a great tool for brand awareness and lead nurturing.

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

High Fidelity MVPs

High Fidelity MVPs are versions of the product that closely resemble the final product. These MVPs take longer to develop and cost more, but they provide a realistic experience that allows you to test for usability, features and user satisfaction.

Single-Feature MVP
The name already explains it all. This is a product that includes one core feature and it focuses on the primary value that the product aims to deliver.

There are no fancy functionalities to go with it because its main purpose is to validate the core functionality and test whether this feature alone is enough to keep users engaged.

Instagram being the perfect example, started off as a photo sharing app with filters before they upgraded to being a full social media platform.
Wizard Of Oz MVP
The Wizard of Oz MVP takes on the form of fully functional to users, but the backend processes are carried out manually rather than through automation.

When it comes to this product, users interact with it as they would a finished product and user behavior can be observed without the need for a full technical build-out.

If you choose to go for this MVP, keep in mind that it is quite labor-intensive, not scalable and could breed potential issues if users realize the manual work done behind the scenes (Privacy could come into play).
Digital Prototype
This is an interactive model of the product that is usually built with design tools like Figma or InVision. This allows users to click through different screens which is useful for testing the product’s flow, usability and design in a realistic environment.

Digital Prototype provides feedback on UI/UX design and user flows and allows your team to address usability issues. Although it limits the feedback you get on backend functionality.
Crowdfunding MVP
A crowdfunding MVP usually features a prototype, video presentation or visual design showcasing your product. It involves pitching your product on platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo where users can back your project financially.

It allows your startup to secure funding and measure interest. Keep in mind that this requires a lot of marketing efforts to make it work, and it is very high-risk, but if successful, secure the funding your startup needs to scale successfully.

Using the Minimum Viable Product Approach

During the process of mvp development for startups, the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach is known as the lean startup strategy that focuses on the quick development of a product with just the minimum set of features necessary to meet the needs of early adopters and validate an idea with minimal resources.

Identify Core Problem And Solution

You need to understand the pain points and ensure your MVP addresses a core problem for your prospective target audience.

Define Key Features

This is where you list the important features critical for the product’s functionality. Keep in mind that getting sidetracked by flashy features that you think might be useful should be avoided.

Build Quickly and Test

In this phase, you have to focus on efficiency over perfection. Develop the product quickly and launch as soon it’s ready to solve the problems of the users.

Related: 11 Key Activities in Validating Product-Market Fit During MVP

MVP Development For Startups: 7 Key Steps

Building an MVP can be exciting and very tasking at the same time, which is why you need a framework that lets you know of the next move. Here are the key steps to building an MVP;

Determine the core issues
Identify your target audience
Define Essential Features
Use a Prioritization Framework
Identify your Limits and Capabilities
Research your Competition
Test and Validate

1. Determine The Core Issues

This is where you ask yourself important questions like “What problem is my product solving?”

This is to ensure you don’t get sucked into the excitement of adding too many unnecessary features in your MVP’s early stages and they aren’t solving any problems. This is the stage where you find clarity.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Once you’ve identified your core issues, then figuring out who your target users are comes next. Every product has its target audience and it’s not everyone.

You might be surprised to find out that some people aren’t fans of Instagram today, which says a lot. Your MVP should align with the demands of your intended audience.

3. Define Essential Features

Lay out all the essential features that would be needed to solve the immediate problem of your target audience.

In the words of Michael Seibel, Managing Director of Y Combinator; “You don’t need to build the perfect solution but something that would solve the problems of the desperate ones now.”

4. Use A Prioritization Framework

You can apply frameworks like MoSCoW which stands for ‘must-have, should-have, could-have, won’t-have’ to rank features based on the importance and effort needed.

Using this allows you to focus on high-value, low-effort features when building your MVP.

5. Identify Your Limits And Capabilities

This is where you need to evaluate the time, budget and technical feasibility needed to build the MVP. This makes sure that you’re choosing features that have practical value and are within the startup’s current capacity.

All the while avoiding features that could slow down development.

6. Research Your Competition

When it comes to MVP development for startups, thorough research of your competitors might save you from a lot of heartbreak.

Figure out what they lack in their products, how they connect with their audience and how you can improve on their shortcomings in your product.

7. Test And Validate

This is the reason why you put out your MVP in the first place. This is your chance to work on the feedback gotten from real-world users and refining your product.

Read Also: Top 11 Software Development Companies For Startups, Ranked.

MVP Development For Startups: KPIs To Measure

When it comes to MVP development, you have to know the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to focus on. They help you understand if your product is providing value to your users and if it’s on the path of scalability. The crucial KPIs to track when building your MVP are;

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

You can measure this by dividing the total marketing and sales expenses by the number of new users acquired within a given period. This helps you understand the costs involved in acquiring a new customer.

Customer Retention Rate

High Retention means your users are getting satisfied by your product and it has the potential to engage more users. Here’s how you can calculate the retention rate: Deduct the number of users at the end of the period from new users acquired and divided by the number of users obtained at the start of the period.

User Activation Rate
This shows the percentage of users who take the first key action that leads to them assessing your product’s core value. For example, completing a setup, KYC (Know Your Customer) or onboarding.

Time to Value (TTV)

This is an indicator of how quickly users experience the value of your product. Keep in mind that the goal is to shorten TTV (Time to Value) in order to retain user interest and demonstrate value quickly.

Churn Rate

This is to measure how many users stop using your product after some time. The goal is to identify reasons for the churn rate during product development and improvement.

Engagement Rate

This is where tracking metrics like session length number of sessions, feature use frequency and retention come in. The goal is to identify features that users see as the most valuable and make improvements based on usage patterns.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

This is where you measure user satisfaction and their likelihood to recommend your product to other people. You can measure this by using surveys. Ask users to rate how much they like the product and their chances of recommending it on a scale of 1-10.

Customer Feedback and Satisfaction
This is a vital KPI necessary for identifying user pain points and potential feature requests. The goal of this is to continuously improve the product based on real user experience and needs. You can collect and analyze user feedback, surveys and support tickets.

Now that you’ve successfully gone through this short article guide on MVP development for startups, it’s time to take actionable steps.

Assemble your team and resources to get started right away. Note that the quicker you get right to business the better for you, as you might not be the only one with the idea.

Next Steps: Building Your MVP

Looking to build your MVP? Guess what? Your search is over. RocketDevs is an expert at MVP development for startups. Our pre-vetted developers are screened to Silicon Valley coding standards, led by founders with experience from top-tier companies like Google and TikTok.

Get started with full-time developers today, risk free for 14 days, so your MVP development and launch goes off without a hitch.

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