Why Your MVP Isn’t Minimum (or Viable) Enough

The Pitfalls of Overbuilding Your Minimum Viable Product

Photo by Rachit Tank on Unsplash

The concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has become a buzzword.

Entrepreneurs are encouraged to create an MVP to test their ideas, validate assumptions, and gather feedback from potential customers.

However, many founders fall into the trap of overbuilding their MVP, resulting in a product that is neither minimum nor viable enough.

Let’s explore why your MVP might not be as minimal or viable as you think and provide actionable tips to help you create a truly effective MVP.

The Purpose of an MVP:

Before diving into the pitfalls of overbuilding your MVP, let’s revisit the purpose of creating one.

Eric Ries, the author of “The Lean Startup,” defines an MVP as “that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.”

The key aspects here are “validated learning” and “least effort.”