The Importance of Minimum Viable Product
in Startup Success

'Necessity is the mother of all inventions.' Human beings have been inventing, discovering, and manufacturing ways and means to live peacefully and beneficially since the start of the human race. Around 2.5 million years ago, early humans created stone tools, such as flint knives, scrapers, and hammerstones, to aid in hunting, gathering, and processing food. Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the continuation of the same human saga, first coined by Frank Robinson in 2001, then by Steve Blank in 2005, and later refined by Eric Ries in 2009, with the concept of the lean start-up packaged in his book. Eric Ries defines MVP as 'The version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.'

Conscientious adults strive to achieve success, both objectively (income and wealth) and subjectively (life satisfaction, positive affect, and lack of negative effect). In pursuit of their dreams and goals, they explore, navigate, accept, and reject different possibilities they deem fit. This course of action carries from individual to individual, society to society, and country to country. Persuasive arguments can be made for and against the adopted course of action that helps in achieving a successful model. Therefore, policymakers universally identify one underlying fact: individuals, societies, business industries (small or big), and countries all strive to achieve success models and well-being for themselves.

Importance of Implementing MVPs for Start-ups

It's a methodology that has a low-risk financial cost but can cover all important parameters of testing, refinement, and growth step-by-step. In other words, it provides a low-risk testing ground before a multi-million dollar investment is made into a product. Adoption of this agile methodology ensures:

1. Showcasing of the product to the market as quickly as possible.

2. Validation of the product or an idea with users before going into large-scale development.

3. Getting feedback about the product's acceptability and rejection ability.

The above is possible only:

1. Before going into features built with clearly defined aims and objectives shared with teams representing the company.

2. Clearly defined business objectives about the goals of the products.

3. Available resources and how much time is available for testing.

4. What are customers' pain points, and how can they be addressed?

Development of an Effective MVP

It unfolds into three main components:

1. Competitive Analysis

The foremost aspect that you need to put a tab on is to help find out how your brand will showcase in the market in comparison to other brands. Therefore, question your strategy in terms of:

1. Brand objective.

2. List of competitors.

3. Competitors' strengths and weaknesses.

4. Rank your competitors.

5. Analyze their style of marketing the product.

2. Opportunity and SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This tested template is the cornerstone for MVP development solutions strategy can succeed, unless SWOT analyses are made in line with the company strategy. It has both internal and external factors that need to be addressed as follows:

1. Internal Factors (company's/team strengths and weaknesses and how they will affect the project outcome).

2. External Factors (opportunities and threats presented by the larger marketplace).

3. Carry out SWOT analysis (gather stakeholders and brainstorm the pros and cons of the project proposal).

3. Surveys, One-on-One Interviews, and Focus Groups

The domain of research methodology will provide a clear picture of the development of effective MVP solutions. Ergo, the following must be kept in mind:

1. Type of survey that is required (Online Survey, In-person, Focus Groups, Customer Development Interviews, usability testing).

2. Selection of the Team (who have the experience to know how to conduct the interview).

3. Customer Selection for Interview (educated, focused customers who know the product for the interview).

4. Prepare Questionnaire (Open-ended questionnaire, Closed-ended questionnaire, mixed-method questionnaire; these styles of questionnaires support MVP surveys).

5. ummarize findings from the interview/Survey. Are all pain points addressed? How do people view the product? Is the product a success or a failure? Give an honest conclusion for future course of action.

Testing the MVP for Validity

DevOps is the module that tests this validity using the aforementioned techniques:

1. Dogfooding (Testing your own product before your customers; if you feel good using the product, hopefully, customers will feel the same).

2. Feature Flagging (Gradually roll out new features, test and validate assumptions, reduce risk, improve experimentation, and enhance collaboration). By using feature flags, developers can iterate faster, reduce risk, and deliver more value to users.

3. Shipping to Your Customers (Validating assumptions, gathering feedback, iterating quickly, reducing uncertainty, building momentum).

Examples:

1. Dropbox's nascent iteration (2007): Drew Houston crafted a rudimentary video showcasing the file-sharing paradigm, sans actual functionality. This preliminary prototype served to validate the concept and garner feedback.

2. Airbnb's inaugural launch (2008): Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia unveiled a basic website offering air mattresses for rent in San Francisco, sans booking or payment mechanisms. This early prototype tested the market and refined the concept.

3. Groupon's initial foray (2008): Andrew Mason commenced with a simple blog offering deals to subscribers, sans e-commerce functionality. This preliminary prototype validated demand for local deals and paved the way for Groupon's growth.

4. Zappos' early endeavors (1999): Nick Swinmurn initiated a basic website offering shoe sales, sans user accounts or payment processing. This early prototype focused on validating the online shoe market and building a loyal customer base.

5. Facebook's initial iteration (2004): Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes launched a simple social network for Harvard students, sans newsfeeds, likes, or comments. This early prototype refined the concept and expanded to other colleges.

To Conclude:

If you want to build an agile methodology for a successful business, MVP is the way forward.