1. Building a Successful MVP

2. What You Will Learn
• What is an MVP?
• What are the different types of MVPs?
• What does the MVP actually test?
• Examples of “good” MVPs
• Individual Assessments

3. What is an MVP?
“The minimum amount of effort you have
to do to complete exactly one turn of the
Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop.”
- Eric Ries

4. Don’t Be Misled…
MVP ≠ a functioning product

5. In Simpler Terms
MVP = Experiment
(Think: Minimum Viable Experiment)

6. Goals of MVP
• Maximum validated learning with
minimum effort.
• Minimum opportunity cost.
• Rapid testing and iteration.

7. When do MVPs Get Created?
1. Problem or Solution Hypothesis
2. Make a Prediction
3. Outline Assumptions
4. Identify Riskiest Assumption ✔
5. Define Success Criterion

8. Riskiest Assumption

9. Where do I Begin?
• Not all MVPs are created equal.
• MVP most appropriate…
i. For your business model
ii. Both minimum and viable
iii. Learn whether it succeeds or fails

10. Types of MVPs
1. Problem Exploration
2. Product Pitch
3. Concierge
(in order of increasing opportunity cost)

11. Validation
1. Success criterion.
2. “Signal.”
3. “Foaming at the mouth.”

12. Early Adopters
“Foaming at the Mouth” means:
1. Have the problem
2. Aware they have the problem
3. Searched for a solution
4. Hacked a solution
5. Paid for a solution

13. Problem Exploration
An interaction focused on customer’s
problems to understand past behavior
and urgency.

14. Problem Exploration
Opportunity Cost: Very Low

15. Examples of Problem Exploration
1. Scene of the Customer
Highest geographic density of your
customer use case.

16. Examples of Problem Exploration
2. Doppelganger
Someone already executing on your
idea.

17. Examples of Problem Exploration
3. Conversation Starter
Getting your customer’s attention and
activating their imagination.

18. Examples of Problem Exploration
4. Menu of Features
Fake features to ascertain which ones
the customer is most interested in.

19. Product Pitch
Exchange of product for some form of
currency: time, money, or work.
Tests the Riskiest Assumption
associated with your Solution
Hypothesis.

20. Product Pitch
Opportunity Cost: Very Low  Low

21. Examples of Product Pitch
1. Decreasing Discount
Decrease the discount over time for new
sales.
Think: Invalidation = discount rejected

22. Examples of Product Pitch
2. Innovator
Learn innovators’ tactics and see if you
can productize them into a solution.

23. Examples of Product Pitch
3. Better Alternative
Get the customers of the existing market
leader.

24. Examples of Product Pitch
4. Meta
Have your customer design the first
version of your product.

25. Concierge
Manually delivering on the solution, as a
service to the customer, to see if the
delivery matches the customer’s
expectations and makes them happy.

26. Concierge
Opportunity Cost: Medium

27. Examples of Concierge
1. One Use Case
Making your product function for only a
single use case.

28. Examples of Concierge
2. Real Life Simulation
Illusion of backend functionality or
infrastructure.
Think: Validation = Reason to Build Out

29. Interactive
What MVPs have you already created?

30. Remember…
Focus on testing your
Riskiest Assumption

31. Thanks
ryan@leanstartupmachine.com
@ryanmaccarrigan