Minimum Viable Product: Create your prototype

Photo by Louis Mornaud at Unsplash

The minimum viable product (MVP) is the next step in bringing your business to life after you already have a plan in place for the type of organisation you want to build, the problems to be solved and the tools necessary for that. This is part of the “How” phase of creating a company and product to satisfy one of the market’s needs.

In order to really revolutionize the environment you are in, it is necessary not only to have a disruptive business idea and know how to make it come true: you must also test that in the market and gather feedback from your customers and partners.

In this article, we from the TrEntSoc will explain why and how to build the MVP for your business. Stick with us for the next couple of minutes and find out!

Why you should do it

The main purpose of making an MVP is that it requires less effort and investment to make it. It is merely a low-fidelity prototype of what you aim to create in the end as your company’s main product.

With that Low-fi in hand, you bring it out into the market and let your target audience test it. From those initial interactions with the customers, you can then analyse the reception of the MVP and decide if you should build the final version of your product. If yes, then it is easy to go from there and you can even make some adjustments based on the feedback; if no, then you lose little time and money from giving up on it compared to what you would lose with your finished product.

It works wonders whether you are a B2C - think of a startup that launches a Beta version of an app or website, for example - or even a B2B-focused organisation looking to test the market before fully committing.

How to create it

TrEntSoc has put together a list of X steps to quickly build the MVP for your business. If you want to learn even more about it, we also recommend taking courses available on Coursera, which offers a free trial for new students. Now unto the step-by-step:

Understand the market and your customers

This step is also part of building your business and developing your initial ideas for a product or company. Before you go testing the market, first it is important to understand in which areas there is a gap or issue to be fixed and reflect on how you can fill that role.

A good way to do that is through focus groups with consumers, interviews and also market research. Once you know the market and map your customers what are their pain points and what kind of solution they are looking for, it will be easier to see what products could aid them.

Idealise your product

Then, when you are aware of the issues present in the market and what your customers want, it is time to put pen to paper and create your solution to their problems. Define all of the features that should be present in your product and show how they address the gaps identified.

Also, try to ask yourself the question “why would these people use my product?” and always keep that in mind during the product development process.

Develop a low-cost version

Before you can build this idealised product, scale it down to its essential features and build a prototype only with what is integral to the problem solution. Optimal design and additional perks can be left for later after you have seen whether the customers adhere to your main idea.

Keep your minimum viable product simple to understand, use, and, most importantly, cheap to build.

Gather initial investment

For building your MVP you will some funds, even if not as great as the ones necessary to build the end product. In these first few stages of development, try to gather friends, family and other early enthusiasts of your ideas to help investing so you can finish the prototype.

Go to market and test

With the minimum viable product in hand, it is now time to test it with the first few customers and validate the idea. The key to catching people’s attention right away is making it simple to use, intuitive and have the purpose of the product clear from the start.

Analyse feedback

Finally, you want to measure the feedback and relevant provided to you by these initial customer interactions with the MVP. That way, you gain valuable insights as to what needs to be changed for the final product and may even learn of necessary features you did not consider from the start.

If there is an opportunity to pivot or an issue with the product that must be resolved before the public becomes more accepting, it is because of this feedback that you will be able to catch it.

So these are the main steps of building your own Minimum Viable Product and doing it is important for validating your business idea. Stay up to date with our blog to find more content over the next few weeks. See you, then!