Classic MVP Types
Tami Reiss is the founder of The Product Leader Coach where she works with product leaders and teams to realize their potential by focusing on their strengths.
Thanks to the popularity of The Lean Startup, the term MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is now commonplace in the startup ecosystem. Unfortunately, it is often misused and the products built are either not Minimum or not Viable or worse not Products.
An MVP is supposed to be the smallest thing you can deliver that provides value to the user and allows the creator to learn something. One common mistake when building MVPs is insisting that it “needs more features”. Another is not setting it up in a way that metrics can be measured for learning.
So, how do you setup a good Minimum Viable Product so that you can learn about your users and customers. Here are a few MVP types to get you familiar with the basic options and well known companies that utilize the technique.
Wizard of Oz: “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”
The user experiences what seems like a magical technical interface that does things for them, when in fact there are humans hidden in the background doing the work. Zappos started with practically no inventory and purchased the shoes after customers bought them online before shipping. This allowed them to learn about how shoe shoppers bought online and what was important to them.
Concierge: “Let me take care of that for you”
Often confused with the Wizard of Oz, in this MVP the human company representatives are known to the users. They speak to them on the phone or email back and forth with customers. This option allows a startup to learn by listening directly to the people using their service. StitchFix started with the founders getting on the phone and talking to people ordering clothing through them.
Video: “Watch this video of how we’re going to change your life”
Sometimes you can explain what your product will do without having it work just yet. DropBox is most famous for this (watch the original video), but most crowdfunding sites utilize videos too. By showing the users what the experience will be, and gauging their interest, you learn what is most important to build.
Email digest: “I’ll bring the news to you”
Rather than creating a big content site, start by generating an email that is sent on a regular basis. This gives you a defined time to iterate on the format & content in the email and provides small feedback loops every time the email is sent out. ProductHunt started as a daily email with a single product, then it became lists in the email, and then an entire site defined by what users found engaging.
Landing Page: “Here’s a list of things we’re planning on doing for you”
By far the simplest MVP to create thanks to tools like SquareSpace, Instapage, QuickMVP and others. It’s a small website that uses text and potentially a few images to talk about what the company will deliver. Similar to the video, you’re gauging interest and attempting to validate your value proposition with potential customers, but it’s a lot easier to update a line of text than captured video. General Assembly utilizes landing pages for new courses they are considering launching. The page has a “Join Waitlist” button instead of one to register and if the waitlist is large enough, they produce the course.
There are countless other examples of successful companies that have launched an MVP to learn about their market before building a full blown product. What will you do to validate your assumption that your product is in high demand, and how will you measure it?
Hi! I’m Tami, the founder of The Product Leader Coach where I work with product leaders and teams to realize their potential by focusing on their strengths.
If you enjoyed this post, I am available for product leadership coaching or team training. Learn more about my services and upcoming children’s book.
