How to build a Minimum Viable Product

Launching a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) could be a useful approach for your business.

By creating a streamlined, early version of your product or service, you could quickly get important feedback and make informed decisions without spending too much time or money.

Read on to find out how MVPs work, the potential benefits, and steps you could take to create one.

What is a Minimum Viable Product?

An MVP is the simplest version of a product or service that you can offer to customers.

The main aim of an MVP is to gather valuable feedback from users and test if your business idea works before making a bigger commitment.

For physical products, an MVP might be a basic model with just the essential features.

Developing products can be costly, so entrepreneurs sometimes use prototypes, small production runs, or crowdfunding pre-orders to test demand early on.

For services, an MVP might mean launching a basic version to learn more about customer preferences and make improvements based on real user experiences.

Starting with a full-featured product or service is likely to require more time, effort, and resources.

This approach could be risky depending on your circumstances, as it may not provide opportunities for early feedback or real-world testing – unlike an MVP.

A number of well-known businesses started with Minimal Viable Products.

Facebook launched with only essential features to validate user interest, while X (formerly Twitter) at first provided only basic status updates.

Airbnb’s MVP was a simple website that listed the founders’ own apartments for travellers to rent.

Is an MVP the same as a prototype?

It’s important to note that a Minimum Viable Product is not the same as a prototype.

A prototype is a preliminary model used to test and refine design concepts, while an MVP is a functional product or service released to early users.

Why start a business with an MVP?

Starting with a Minimum Viable Product could offer several key benefits for small businesses, helping to:

• save time and money – by focusing on developing only the essential features, you could significantly reduce the time and cost involved in bringing a product or service to market. This lean approach may allow you to allocate resources more efficiently
• reduce risk – launching an MVP might lower the risk of failure by testing your business ideas early. This lets your business test the market and make data-driven decisions based on user feedback
• enter the market faster – with an MVP, you may be able to get to market more quickly, gain a competitive edge, and start building a customer base while improving your product or service
• learn from real customers – an MVP can give you the chance to learn directly from customers, gathering insights into what they need and prefer. This feedback could be invaluable for improving your product or service
• prioritise key features – by focusing on the essential parts of your idea, an MVP could help you concentrate on what truly adds value to the customer before you expand upon it.

There are some common misconceptions about MVPs, such as the idea that they are almost the same as the final product or that they are low quality.

In reality, an MVP is a tool to help you test ideas and gather feedback from real users.

This process could support ongoing improvement and development, giving you time to work towards your ideal final product.

It’s important that your MVP still meets a minimum quality standard, accurately reflects your brand values, and provides customer satisfaction.

By learning from users early on, your start-up could make better decisions and build a stronger product or service.

A step-by-step guide to building an MVP

Step 1: Define your business idea and target customer

Creating a successful MVP could begin with a clear business idea and a deep understanding of your target customer.

Consider researching your ideal customers, what they value, and what problems they face to help you develop detailed customer personas.

These may include demographic data, behavioural patterns, motivations, interests and goals.

Customer profiles could help you visualise and understand your customers, and help you keep your product development user-focused.

To create these profiles, you could use tools such as Xtensio, Miro, or HubSpot’s Make My Persona.

Step 2: Identify the core problem your product solves

Every successful MVP addresses a specific problem.

You could begin by asking what issue your product fixes and why it matters to your target audience.

A simple technique called the 'five whys' could help find the root problem.

Sakichi Toyoda developed this method, which was used at Toyota to identify the root causes of problems in manufacturing and engineering.

Here’s how it works, using the example of an MVP for a sportswear brand:

• start by stating the problem – people find it hard to stay comfortable when exercising outdoors in different weather.
• ask, “Why does this matter?” – because they want to exercise all year but don’t want to buy lots of different outfits.
• ask “why?” again – because most sportswear is made for only one type of weather.
• keep asking “why?” – do this up to five times, until you reach the main reason behind the problem.

This process could help you discover the core problem your MVP should solve.

Step 3: List and prioritise core features

Once you know what your customers need, decide which features are essential to meet that need
You could start by listing all the features your product or service might offer.

Then, prioritise them based on how much value they add and how well they solve the main problem.

One way to do this is by using the ‘MoSCoW’ method. This approach helps you sort features into four categories:

• must have – essential features that are needed for your product to work
• should have – important features, but not vital for the first version
• could have – nice-to-have features that can be included if there’s time or resources
• won’t have – features that are not a priority for the initial launch.

By organising features in this way, you could focus your resources on building the most important parts first.

Step 4: Create a basic version

With your prioritised list of features, you can start building the most basic version of your product or service.

This version should be just enough to test with real users and collect feedback.

You could use tools like InVision, Figma, or Sketch for digital prototypes, or create a basic model if it’s a physical product.

Gathering feedback at this stage could help you improve your product before a full launch.

Step 5: Launch to a small group of target users

Once your MVP is ready, you could then introduce it to a select group of target customers or early adopters.

Ideally, these customers would be open to trying new products and could provide useful, honest feedback.

You could find early adopters through friends and family, by contacting companies that fit your ideal customer profile, through social media platforms, or through a websites.

Working with this group may help you test your ideas and improve your product before a full launch.

Step 6: Collect and analyse user feedback

Collecting feedback from users is important at this stage.

You could use surveys, interviews, or analytics tools to gather useful information about how people use your product or service, and how satisfied they are.

Looking at this data could help you understand what works well and what might need improvement.

One example of this step in action is X, which began as a side project within a podcasting start-up called Odeo.

Its earliest version was tested by employees and friends before being shared more widely.

However, the turning point came in 2007, when Twitter was showcased at a media and tech festival.

This helped the founders gather valuable feedback and refine the service before a public launch.

Step 7: Learn and adapt quickly

The final step is to use the feedback you’ve gathered to make fast, informed improvements to your product or service.

By repeating this process, your MVP could meet real user needs.

You could do this by working in short cycles, making small changes, and checking in regularly with your team (an approach known as ‘Agile development’).

This could improve your MVP and set you up for future growth and development.

Common mistakes to avoid

When developing a Minimum Viable Product, there are several common mistakes that may slow down your progress.

By avoiding these pitfalls your start-up could have a better chance of success:

• adding too many features too early – this could take the focus away from your main goal and delay your launch; focusing on the core features that solve the main problem could be the most effective approach
• ignoring customer feedback – engaging with customers or users and considering their suggestions may help to ensure your MVP meets real market needs
• waiting too long to launch – an MVP is meant to be functional, not perfect, so you can start learning and improving
• measuring the wrong things – focusing on data that shows how users interact with your product, such as user feedback and satisfaction, could be more useful than just looking at web traffic or sign-ups
• lacking a clear goal – if your MVP doesn’t offer a solution to a specific need, it could be harder to know if your idea is working or what needs to change.

Start small, learn fast

By starting small, your start-up could build a strong foundation for future growth.

In the early stages of a start-up, time and money are often limited, and an MVP usually needs less time and investment than a finished product or service.

If you haven’t developed an MVP before, support is available – both in terms of business advice and funding.

You can contact the Business Support Service at any stage in your business journey to speak to experienced business advisors for advice and guidance on starting, running or growing your business.

Growth Hubs are also available to provide local businesses with advice and support.

If you wish to fund your MVP, consider researching the government grants available for start-ups and finding out about seed funding.

You might also consider applying for a Start Up Loan – the government-backed personal loan can offer your business up to £25,000 and includes a year of free business mentoring.