Thread by @varunm30

We all thought Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) are a great way to get started, right?!

Apparently, not everyone agrees!!

Why?
🟢 MVPs are the best to prove potential ROI
🔴 MVPs lower the quality curve of the ecosystem

🧵 So, here is what should you do with your MVP:

1st line of thought:

🟢 MVPs are great because they help entrepreneurs launch without investing a lot of money and time before knowing if the product would ever sell.

They help understand the potential to make good on your investment (time, effort & money).

2nd line of thought:

🔴 MVPs lower the quality curve of the ecosystem because they deliberately offer substandard products.

You mostly find incomplete products in the name of MVPs. This brings more shitty solutions into the mix.

Both these lines of thought are true.

How should this affect you/your MVP?

⮕ As long as you're testing your solution properly & you're providing substantial value, you're good!

Let's look at what your customers should be able to do with the MVP & what you should focus on. 👇🏽

⭐ Here's what your customers should be able to do with your MVP:

➊ Discover the MVP
➋ Try it out (trial/demo)
➌ Decide on value vs cost
➍ Get started on experiencing the core value ASAP
➎ Get customer support & give feedback
➏ Opt-in/out for the next phase or get a refund

A lot of entrepreneurs offer their MVPs for free.

A free pilot for a limited time might make sense but if you're not testing if a customer would PAY for the value your product creates then it's a mistake!

⮕ Test pricing & at least 1 hypothesis per core function in your MVP.

So, you build an MVP that focuses on:

➊ Solving problem
➋ Engages emotionally
➌ Great user experience

Here's a visual representation of the value you need to provide through your MVP (Eisenhower Matrix). 👇🏽

If the MVP is missing any of the above-mentioned elements (which is the case more often than not), then the MVP is considered to be poor/incomplete.

So, launch once you have a proper MVP.

Do not rush. I repeat, do not ever rush!

⮕ Timing is important.

https://twitter.com/varunm30/status/1466448616730488833?s=20

If you want to dive deeper into MVPs, here are some threads to read:

💎 20 Lessons on Building a Minimum Viable Product by @dickiebush:

https://twitter.com/dickiebush/status/1296231186214330368?s=20

💎 A Minimum Viable Product Is Not a Product, It's a Process by @arjunmahadevan:

https://twitter.com/arjunmahadevan/status/1417197233280372741?s=20

💎 MVPs are misused. 4 thoughts about better MVPs by @jensenharris:

https://twitter.com/jensenharris/status/1001662472305106944?s=20

You get the maximum amount of validated learning about customers through MVPs.
-@ericries

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Follow me, @varunm30, for more threads on entrepreneurship, startup acceleration & corporate innovation.

If you enjoyed this, retweet this 1st tweet 👇🏽

https://twitter.com/varunm30/status/1469654090644869130?s=21