“Dreaming about owning a software or app-based startup costs nothing, but building one requires strategic planning.” Most of the successful app-based startups we admire today began with a simple yet powerful approach- MVP Product Development.
Whether it’s Instagram, Airbnb, YouTube, Twitter, or any billion-dollar business, all of them had one thing in common – lean start with strategic scaling. They were the early adopters of MVP development approach.
Today, smart early-stage founders are choosing the lean startup methodology to avoid high financial risk, validate real user demand, and accelerate time to market. Therefore, MVP is now the core strategy for every entrepreneur.
Thus, in this blog, we have brought the insightful views of our Founder & CEO, Mr. Arvind Saini, a 12+ year experienced software product engineer and founder. Based on our interview with him, we have prepared a practical and step by step playbook for aspirational founders planning to launch a digital product with an MVP approach to optimise the product’s success rate. Let’s take a deeper dive.
Table of Contents
Founder’s Note Before We Proceed
“A business idea is not just a practical decision, but it is an emotion for the founder. One wishes to invest his everything in his business idea right from the beginning – efforts, time, and money.
But founders must control such emotional impulses and take a practical approach. Startups are experiments, and successful experiments require patience and the right environment. MVP development for startups provides the right experiment environment, and if the founders keep their patience, success is 100% attainable.
Remember, take it slow, stake it slow. While planning an MVP, avoid emotional impulses to overbuild. If you follow a systematic path with patience for success.”
Arvind Saini, CEO & Co-Founder
Step #1: Understand What is MVP in Software Development?
Minimum Viable Product development is a practical and step-by-step approach for the lean startup methodology. Lean methodology focuses on low financial risk and faster time to market. All the founders must understand the true essence of custom MVP software development.
An MVP product is the earliest functional software or app built with only key core features. MVP development services focus on testing the product-market fit, user behavior, and market demands in real-world conditions. An MVP product starts humble and evolves by refinement based on real user feedback.
Key Takeaway: What is MVP Product Development?
MVP product development is a minimalistic development approach that focuses on building an app or any software product with only the key functions to solve the primary problem, test real user demand, validate assumptions, and gather user feedback. The MVP approach saves a business founder from staking a large amount of money, time, and effort.
What Founder Pain Points Does the MVP Approach Solve?
An MVP must focus only on the core functionality in the first phase of development. Say, for example-
- Instagram: Came as a photo-sharing app. No chatting, stories, and reel functions.
- Airbnb: Launched as an air mattress on rent provider. No property bookings.
- YouTube: Started as a video uploading and watching platform. No live streams and monetization.
- Twitter (Now X): Focused on a 40-character status update platform. No threads.
- Spotify: Instant licensed music streaming. No AI playlists, and no podcasts.
MVP development directly addresses the core pain points of a business owner. Such as-
- Investment Optimisation
MVP approach helps a business avoid overinvestment – in terms of time, money, and effort. To build an MVP, a business needs to invest only in the core functions, avoiding fancy enhancers. This way, the business saves a great deal of time, money, and effort.
- Product Market Fit (PMF) Verification
Building an extravagant product without realising its market fit is the main cause behind product failure and financial losses. MVP approach helps a business check the Product Market Fit through testing on real users.
If a business focuses on the core metrics during the first phase of MVP launch, such as user adoption, engagement, retention, and feedback, then finding the real demand and scope of improvement for a product becomes easier.
- Real User Feedback > Product Refinement for Real Users > Demand Optimisation
An MVP product gathers real user feedback as it is often tested on a small target audience segment. Gathering user feedback helps refine your product as per what the real users want.
When a business aligns its product with the user requirements, the product adoption and retention rate automatically increase, and the demand rises.
- Risk Management & Success Rate Optimisation
Overall, when a business proceeds with low risk, refining the product continuously on the basis of what users actually want, the risk is managed well. Eventually, the success rate optimises.
Step #2: Validate The Problem Your Product Solves
A business idea should revolve around what user problem(s) it solves. Validating the problem is a necessity even before the launch.
As stated earlier, the decision to launch a business must be a more practical approach than an emotional one.
Rather than hassling to develop a product, a founder must ask the following questions to himself-
- Anticipating Opportunity: What problem does my app/software idea solve?
- Target Audience: Who faces this problem?
- Total Addressable Market: How frequently do users face this problem?
- Market Demand: Are these users looking for a solution?
- Competition: What existing solutions help the users to overcome this problem?
- Product Differentiation: How does my product offer more value to the users? Or why is my solution better than others?
- Revenue Scope: Will a user pay for my solution? If yes, then up to what amount?
If there is a strongly positive answer to most of the questions above, then deciding to go for the development is not a risky move.
Finding the Revenue Scope:
However, to find the answer to the last question, which is revenue scope, a founder may opt for market research techniques such as-
- Direct Interviews from a segment of the target audience. It may include friends, relatives, neighbours, classmates, etc. Basically, the people in the surrounding area who may form a part of the target audience.
- Surveys are a method of interviews. A founder may choose paid or unpaid surveys – either online or offline.
- Alternatively, landing page testing can also be a helpful approach. In landing page testing, the founder may launch a single-page website for the product and see whether conversions are happening.
- However, direct interviews are a better approach.
- Furthermore, in the social media-led universe, holding polls and questionnaire campaigns on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X can also help.
Step #3: Define the Scope of the MVP Product Development
The scope of MVP product development must be crystal clear to the founder and their chosen development team. Staying focused on the core functionality is very important in the MVP approach.
Therefore, it is best to select the 3 to 5 core features that your MVP must offer to represent your main business idea. To understand better, let’s consider one example.
An app mainly has 3 types of functions:
- Core functions: The main problem the app solves
- Performance Enhancers: Additional Features that help improve the user engagement.
- Advanced Features: High-end automation features and personalization.
Now, consider the example of the Instagram social media app that penetrated the market as a photo-sharing app. It scaled from core functions to advanced ones like:
Phase I (Core Functions):
- Photo sharing as posts.
Phase II (Performance Enhancers):
- Story Sharing (Disappearing Content within 24 Hours)
- Video Sharing
- Direct Chatting & Calling
Phase III (Advanced Features):
- Reels and Filters
- AI-Powered content recommendations,
- Creators’ Dashboard for Analytics, and most recently, the-
- AI photo Editing, followed by the launch of
- Edits – an exclusive video editing app by Instagram
Categorising your planned app development features in phased rollouts serves as the backbone of MVP app development. The app development team can use the following table for scope definition.
Prepare A Table for MVP Scope Definition
| Feature Name | MVP Mandatory | Enhancer | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| User Login | ✅ | ⬜ | ⬜ |
| Admin Dashboard | ✅ | ⬜ | ⬜ |
| Analytics | ⬜ | ✅ | ⬜ |
| Core Function (The Main Business Idea) | ✅ | ⬜ | ⬜ |
| AI Automation | ⬜ | ⬜ | ✅ |
| Personalisation | ⬜ | ⬜ | ✅ |
When a founder categorises the required features this way, the MVP scope remains on the right track.
The above table is just for example; the business founders must list all the features and functions they are planning. And then categorize them properly.
Founder to Founder Key Suggestion: Control Emotions & Have Patience
During the interview, Mr. Saini added, “While categorising the app features into MVP-level, enhancer, and advanced, the founders must control emotions and must avoid the impulses to introduce fancy features as core functionality in the MVP.
The focus must remain only on solving the core problem – your way. For example, a ride-hailing app should focus on ride booking with the key feature that makes it different from current market players – Uber, Ola, and Rapido. That’s it. Launch the core app first, test on real users, have patience, and refine the product as per the user feedback.
If you hurry to introduce high-end automations during the MVP phase (until they are the main product differentiator, you will end up overbuilding and over-risking. For more clarity, founders can directly connect with our team. We provide free product consultation services for aspirational founders.”
Step #4: Choose A Reliable MVP Development Company or Team
When you have defined the scope of your MVP, approach a reliable MVP development company to discuss your app idea.
If you want to read a step-by-step guide to find the right tech partner, we have covered the same in one of our previous blogs.
Make sure that your chosen tech partner follows an agile software development approach and does not try to ‘sell’ extra features.
The chosen app development company should be product-minded and more interested in developing a ‘product’ for real users. Rather than just writing code.
Step #5: Stay Involved in Wireframing & User-Flow Definition
Once you have selected an MVP app development company for your project, your responsibilities do not end with outsourcing. A founder should remain the key project controller, commanding and taking regular follow-ups from the development team.
To make sure that the MVP app development process remains on track, stay involved in the wireframing and user-flow definition process. Keep the user journey short and simple with an uncluttered UI/UX design.
This way, the founder must get a clear feature list, user interface design, and user journey documents in hand for oversight.
Step #6: Define Your Brand Propositions
With the above 5 steps, a founder will get the final idea about what exactly the MVP app/software will do for the users. However, usually, every business founder decides the brand name and its values even before the product development; MVP scope definition changes the picture to a good extent.
Mr. Saini recommends – “Rethink your brand propositions after defining the MVP scope. When you start validating your product idea with an experienced team of developers, you find many new aspects that you can pitch to the users as the key differentiators with well-defined USPs.”
Step #7: Participate in UI/UX Designing, Encourage Prototyping & Validate Again
Now, when you have redefined the brand proposition, participate in the UI/UX design phase. When you choose a professional mobile app development company, you get dedicated teams for not just development, but also for graphic design.
As the graphics team works on the Figma of your MVP app, make sure you show involvement. Experts recommend encouraging prototype development of the application. A prototype is a clickable and working UI/UX design that provides a clearer idea of the user flow and overall user experience.
Before testing the MVP on the real audience segment, test the prototype on yourself and your internal teams. App prototyping gives another opportunity to further refine the overall app before development starts.
Step #8: Choose A Scalable & Standard Technology Stack for MVP Product Development
These days, one common mistake that most early-stage founders commit is choosing the ‘trending’ technology stack, considering the standard Tech Stacks like MERN and MEAN as outdated. But it is a myth.
Choosing the latest technology is not a smart move. In this fast-moving world of Information and Technology, where technologies are obsoleting at a rapid pace, picking the latest tech stack is a risky approach.
Say, for example, ‘Metaverse’ and ‘Cryptocurrencies’. Initially, during the pandemic, Metaverse and Cryptocurrency were the most trending technologies. However, today, both concepts are far from the limelight.
On the contrary, standard technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, AR/VR, development frameworks like React Native, Flutter, and programming languages like Python, etc., still seem timeless.
As the aim of the MVP product is to scale and evolve in the long run, only a promising technology stack can future-proof the idea.
Step #9: Test The Product on an Exclusive Target Segment (Beta Testing)
The propounder of Lean Startup Methodology, Mr. Eric Ries, a renowned Founder and Book Author, states that “The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else”.
Ries also opines that “The biggest waste in product development is building something nobody wants.”
In his book, Ries explains that startups must follow a systematic Lean Startup approach:
Build → Measure → Learn
By building an MVP product at an optimal cost and justified time and testing it on real users, the founders can measure the real outcomes.
Rather than focusing on the Vanity metrics like number of downloads, the valuable metrics such as user retention and engagement must be optimised.
To optimise engagement and retention, testing the MVP on real users, gathering real user feedback, and modifying the product accordingly is the key to success.
Why is MVP Product Development Important for Startups?
It is clear from the discussion above that MVP product development is crucial for startups. What makes MVP important for startups includes the following:
#1 Faster Time to Market
MVP product development helps a startup to penetrate a market 10x faster. The earlier the start, the earlier the success.
#2 Testing on Real Users
MVP products are tested on real users. It helps the startup owner evaluate the real product adoption, engagement, and retention rates. Based on this data, the startups can twist or refine the product to adjust to the user preferences.
#3 Product Market Fit Analysis (PMF)
Building a product that nobody wants is the root cause of the product failure. But how to find out what users want?
MVP product development is the key. When tested on real users, an MVP product offers detailed insight into the Product Market Fit. Within a quarter of launch, the founder gets clarity about the product’s real demand.
#4 Direct User Feedback → Product Refinement in the Right Direction
Collecting direct user feedback helps the startup mould or refine the product in the right direction. Building what your users want brings ultimate success.
Benefits of MVP Product Development for Startups
To sum up the benefits of MVP product development for startups, we may consider the following points:
- Low Risk: Building a full product without testing user demand is a high-risk approach. MVP product development focuses on minimalistic building. Eventually, the business risk is also minimal.
- Budget Optimisation: With limited product features and core functionalities, the development cost remains on the lower side. Thus, a founder is not required to stake his/her life’s savings to build a product without market fit clarity.
- Focus on the Key User Problems: MVPs focus on the key problems of the target audience more than fancy features and aesthetics. When users get a direct solution to a problem they face, the chances of product adoption increase.
- Crystal Clear Performance Insights: With faster launch to the market and testing on the real users, the demand and performance of the MVP products become crystal clear within months, and not years. Downloads, retention, engagement, drop-offs – all the key performance metrics are clear at an early stage.
- Opportunity to Build What Real Users Want: MVP approach encourages collecting real user feedback to refine a product as per the user preference. Eventually, the startup founders get an opportunity to build what the real users want.
- A Systematic Product Development: Through MVP, a startup gets a systematic development approach. The first version of the product focuses on the key problem solutions, and it is subject to refinement as per user preferences. Later on, additional features come in phased rollouts – everything based on real user feedback and suggestions.
- Better Funding Opportunities: A well-structured product liked by the users has better funding opportunities.
Remember – MVP is Not a Prototype!
A prototype is a working model of a digital product, such as an app or software application, that provides UI/UX design and user flow ideation built to test within the team.
On the contrary, an MVP is a working, fully functional product built for testing with real users. Therefore, founders must not confuse MVP and a prototype.
MVP Vs. Prototype Vs. Full Product
| Aspect | MVP (Minimum Viable Product) | Prototype | Full Product |
| Purpose | Focus on solving the core user problemCheck Product Market Fit (PMF) | Internal testing of the user flow and UI/UX design. | Deliver a complete product. |
| Functionality | Core features only | Clickable design.May include all features (but as models and demonstrations) | Complete feature development |
| User Access | Real Users | Team members like the Founder, developers, designers, marketers, testers, etc. | Real Users (larger target audience) |
| Development Cost | Moderate | Lowest | High |
| Goal | Gather real User FeedbackRefine the product as per user preferencesCheck PMF | Visualise & validate user flow.Check UI/UX design | Scale, monetise, and dominate the market |
| Risk Level | Low to moderate | Lowest | Very High |
Final Note
Digital product success comes from how wisely you validate your business idea, and MVP Product development is the key to real validation. MVP is not a basic version of your product, but an intelligent beginning. Choose the features wisely, control emotional impulses, and take a practical approach towards software and mobile app development. Validate your idea with real user feedback, and even before that, validate the idea with professional teams.
Any Further Doubts? – We Have FAQ’s
MVP product development focuses only on the solution to some core user problem. An MVP product helps a startup in idea validation, product market fit testing, and product refinement as per real user feedback. On the contrary, full product development focuses on building a complete solution with scalable design and complete suite of integrations and advanced features.
MVP development takes around only 50-60% time of the full-product development.However, the exact timeline depends upon the product complexity, backend logic, UI/UX design, features, and functions. Share your requirements to get exact timeline estimate.
MVP app development cost depens upon the scope of work, required features, functions, and UI/UX designs. There is no fixed cost. Please share your requirements and get a persoanlised quote.
Generally, MVP product development is suitable for all early-stage startups that need idea validation and testing on real users before scaling. However, if your startup model requires advanced features right from the beginning, then MVP strategy needs higher attention.
Building MVP without feature clarity is the biggest mistake that founder make during MVP development. Next comes, being unable to control emotional impulses and eventually overbuilding. Founders must define the features clearly, while keeping emotions under-control.
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