MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the simplest version of a product that can be released to early users to validate core assumptions, gather feedback, and begin learning — with the minimum amount of effort and cost.
In depth
The term was popularized by Eric Ries in The Lean Startup. The key insight is that most features are assumptions — an MVP forces you to identify which assumptions are critical to validate and which can wait.
A good MVP is NOT a half-built product. It's a fully working version of your core value proposition, stripped of everything that isn't essential to the first user's experience. Instagram's MVP was photo filters and sharing — no stories, no reels, no DMs. Airbnb's MVP was a simple website with photos of their own apartment.
Common MVP types: - Concierge MVP: you manually fulfill the service before automating it - Wizard of Oz: the product appears automated but humans do the work behind the scenes - Landing page: validate demand before building anything - Functional MVP: a working product with minimal features
Real example
A food delivery startup's MVP might be: order form → WhatsApp notification to the founder → founder manually calls the restaurant and dispatches a Uber driver. No app, no dispatch system, no real-time tracking. Once they've validated 50 orders, they build the technology.
Tools & calculators
Related terms
MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is the predictable, normalized monthly revenue generated from all active subscriptions. It's the north star metric for SaaS companies.
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the total cost of acquiring one new paying customer, including all marketing and sales spend.
LTV (Lifetime Value)
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV or CLV) is the total predicted revenue you'll earn from a customer over the entire duration of your relationship.
PRD (Product Requirements Document)
A Product Requirements Document (PRD) is a document that describes what a product or feature should do — the problem it solves, who it's for, and what functionality it needs — before development begins.
User Story
A user story is a short, structured description of a software feature from the perspective of the end user, explaining who wants it, what they want, and why.
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