MVP development for startups: step-by-step guide

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a cost-effective way to confirm whether your business idea truly addresses the problem you believe it does. And yet, many startups fail to develop an MVP and go straight into full product development.

With around 12+ years of experience as a full-cycle software development company. We have expertise in developing MVP products. We assist many startups in shaping their product concepts and bringing them to life within the shortest time.

This blog post will explore how to build a successful MVP, including benefits of MVP development for startups, different types of MVP and how partnering with an MVP development company like IT Path Solutions can help you build a product that closely matches your requirements.

What is an MVP?

A minimal viable product is a beta version of a product that addresses specific problems for its target audience and that include only essential features. The key goal of MVP development is to collect feedback from users and validate your concept before fully developing the product.  Once an MVP is launched, it can be gradually upgraded with new features until it becomes a full-fledged app.

The MVP (Minimum Viable Product) approach is especially advantageous for startups, as it enables you to validate assumptions, understand your audience’s true needs, and implement data-driven enhancements, all while minimizing upfront time and resource investment. This strategy helps reduce risks and ensures the product aligns with market demands.

In the context of web app development, the MVP process often prioritizes essential features app developmentlike account creation or content sharing, postponing more advanced functionalities, such as analytics or detailed user profiles, for later stages.

For mobile app MVPs, the focus might be on intuitive navigation and key interactions, such as booking or tracking, to quickly measure user interest. MVP software development aims to provide the essential tools needed to address a core business problem, leaving advanced features and integrations for future iterations.

Benefits of MVP development for startups 

Now, let’s discuss some benefits of MVP development for startups.

Validates your idea

Creating an MVP as a startup is one of the most effective ways to validate your idea.

Validating your idea helps determine whether your product has the potential to thrive in the market or if a pivot to a new concept is necessary. This approach can save significant time and resources if your initial idea falls short of achieving product-market fit. Achieving product-market fit is crucial for the success of your product.

Faster Time-to-Market

An MVP can be developed and launched quickly, enabling startups to introduce their product to the market sooner. This Speed is essential for startups and helps them gain an early foothold and outpace competitors.

Save time and resources

Creating a feature-rich website, app, or software product from scratch can be expensive, especially for startups operating with limited budgets and resources. At IT Path Solutions, we specialize in developing MVP that prioritize core functionality, minimizing costs and accelerating the process of delivering your product to users. 

Attract investors and stakeholders

An MVP demonstrates the startup’s ability to execute and showcases market interest. This proof of concept can make the startup more attractive to investors, increasing chances of securing funding.

Reduce business risks

An MVP reduces the risk of building a product that doesn’t resonate with the target audience. By testing the idea with an MVP, startups can identify potential issues and pivot if necessary before committing significant resources.

What are the Different Types of MVPs? 

A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a fundamental concept in product development that focuses on launching a product with the minimum features required to satisfy early users and validate ideas. Here are the different types of MVPs commonly used:

Concierge MVP

• In this approach, services are delivered manually to test the demand and refine the offering.
• Example: A startup manually matches customers to products before automating the process.

Wizard of Oz MVP

• Users believe they’re interacting with a fully functioning product, but behind the scenes, processes are handled manually.
• Example: A food delivery app where orders are processed manually while appearing automated.

Piecemeal MVP

• Combines existing tools or services to create a product without building everything from scratch.
• Example: Using third-party tools like Shopify or WordPress to test an eCommerce idea.

Single Feature MVP

• Focuses on launching with just one core feature that addresses the primary customer need.
• Example: Instagram’s initial focus on photo sharing with filters.

Landing Page MVP

• A simple webpage that describes the product, collects user interest, or tests demand before building the product.
• Example: Dropbox used a video demonstration on a landing page to gauge interest.

Email MVP

• Uses email to validate a concept by offering a service and measuring responses from recipients.
• Example: Manually sending email updates to test a subscription-based news service.

Prototype MVP

• A basic, often non-functional, version of the product designed to gather feedback.
• Example: A clickable prototype for a mobile app.

Crowdfunding MVP

• Uses platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo to gauge interest and secure funding for the idea.
• Example: Pebble smartwatch validated its concept through a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Software Development MVP

• Builds a working version of the product with essential features to get early users and feedback.
• Example: A beta release of a software application.

“No Product” MVP

• Involves selling the idea or concept of a product without actually building it.
• Example: A “coming soon” announcement with a call-to-action to gauge interest.

How to build an MVP for your startup: step-by-step guide 

Start with market research

Market research is a more vital factor while you are developing MVP for your startup. Without market research, you won’t be able to build a successful MVP. These processes will find out everything you need to know about your target market, and help you to identify your target audience. Market research will help you position your MVP and get to a product-market fit. Analyzing your competitors will help you better position your MVP and identify gaps in the market you can exploit.

Research your users 

If you don’t know your users or audience, you can’t build products that meet their needs. Identifying users is also an important matter when you build MVP for startups. Research and identity audience and create audience persona based on large demography, gender,  behaviour, interest, professional summary and their interested social network. This will help you build an MVP that actually resonates with them and solves their problems.

Moreover, you need to set clear research goals that will keep your research focused and give you the best results. You can use qualitative and quantitative research methods to get the ideal result such as user interview, surveys, focus group, A/B testing, etc.

Define your MVP’s core features 

Defining its core features is the most important step when building an MVP for your startup. Defining the core features of your MVP is about focusing on the essential functionalities that solve your target audience’s primary problem effectively. Start by understanding the problem your product addresses and prioritize the features that provide the most value to users. Avoid unnecessary additions and keep the scope simple to ensure a lean and efficient product. By narrowing down to the must-have features, you can quickly validate your idea, gather feedback, and iterate based on real user needs.

You should conduct market research and collect feedback to determine what features are most valuable to your target audience and help them to solve the core problem which your users face.

Design and prototype to test your MVP concept

You should create a prototype before committing into full development to visualize your product and collect early feedback. Prototyping helps validate your idea, identify potential improvements, and fine-tune the user experience for better alignment with audience needs.

Turn Your Validated Prototype into a Functional Product

Transforming a validated prototype into a functional product is a pivotal stage in the product development process. It bridges the gap between conceptual design and a market-ready solution. 

Begin by analyzing the feedback gathered during the prototype validation phase. Carefully assess user insights to identify pain points, suggested improvements, and essential features. This feedback will serve as the foundation for refining your product to meet user expectations.

Select a scalable and robust architecture to build your product. Opt for a technology stack that ensures security, performance, and the ability to scale as user demands increase. A solid foundation is crucial for long-term success.

Launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that includes the core functionalities. Introduce it to your target audience to gather real-world feedback. Use this feedback to prioritize updates and improvements, ensuring your product evolves to meet market demands.

How Much Does it Cost to Develop an MVP for Startups?

Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a strategic approach that allows startups to validate their ideas with minimal resources. By focusing on core functionalities and user feedback, startups can efficiently bring their products to market. Here are key strategies to minimize MVP development costs:

Product Complexity

Simple MVP: Focuses on a single core feature with basic design and functionality.

Moderate Complexity: Includes multiple features, a refined interface, and more user interaction.

High Complexity: Incorporates advanced features like third-party integrations, AI, or large databases.

Development Team

Local Agencies: Offer high-quality development but at a higher cost.

Offshore Teams: You can hire offshore development teams to build high-quality and cost-effective MVP products and app development solutions, especially in regions like Eastern Europe, Asia, or Latin America.

Timeframe

MVP development typically takes 2–6 months, depending on the scope and requirements.

Technology Stack

Web-based MVPs are often simpler and faster to develop compared to mobile applications.

Cross-platform tools like Flutter or React Native can streamline development for mobile apps by sharing a single codebase.

Design and Features

UI/UX design, user testing, and core feature development significantly impact the resources required.

Including advanced functionalities or integrations increases the effort and time needed.

Maintenance and Scaling

Post-launch costs for hosting, maintenance, and iterative updates should also be considered.

Build Cost-effective MVPs with IT Path Solutions

Hopefully, this guide will help you build a valuable and profitable product. And if you need a consultation or a responsible team to work on your MVP project, we are always ready to help you with years of experience and in-depth knowledge of advanced techs. We build robust MVPs for promising startups and successful enterprises across industries like healthcare, fintech, and e-commerce.

Reach out to our team for expert consultancy or end-to-end MVP development services.