MVP: Minimum Viable Product, Maximum Viable
- Jakub Gołębiowski
- Sep 26
- 6 min read
My behavioral economics lecturer used to say, “A true economic experiment can only take place in a real economic environment.”
What does it mean?
Even the best market research doesn't tell the whole story. It's one thing to say in a survey that you'll buy a Porsche, but quite another to actually take out your money and buy one. That's why MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, is one of the most powerful tools for validating a business idea.
The MVP technique is useful not only for services and products, but also for any attempts to develop a company – advertising campaigns, sales, and management changes.
If:
you have a market hypothesis, but you don't have confirmation yet,
you don't know if the customer will really pay,
you have no data, only intuition,
you don't want to burn through your budget
This MVP is for you!
What is Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?
An MVP is a basic, working version of a product or service that allows you to start selling it. It doesn't have to be refined. It's not about perfection—it's about a minimal, working prototype that allows you to test your idea in a real market.
At the same time, an MVP can't be shoddy. If it's too weak, it can damage your image. Therefore, a balance between minimalism and usability, limited scope and real value is essential.
Where did MVP come from?
The concept of Minimum Viable Product was first coined by Frank Robinson in 2001. However, it gained widespread popularity thanks to Eric Ries , the author of the Lean Startup concept . MVP has become a key element of this method – as a way to test a business hypothesis at minimal cost.
Eric Ries defined an MVP as a product that captures the maximum amount of validated customer learning with the minimum amount of effort and resources . It's an experiment that replaces guesswork with observation of actual behavior.
MVP was previously inspired by the lean manufacturing philosophy – initiated in Toyota factories – which assumed the elimination of waste and continuous process improvement.
How to create an MVP? Key steps:
Define minimum features: Select the absolutely essential features that the product must have to fulfill its core purpose. The rest can be added later.
Create a simple prototype: You don't have to build a full product right away. Just something that will show users the idea and allow them to use it. Sometimes this can even be a landing page, an animation, a test newsletter, or a demo.
Test with live users: Launch your MVP on a small scale and gather feedback from real people. Their feedback will show you what's working and what needs improvement.
Analyze and iterate: make changes based on the collected data. The goal of an MVP is precisely to quickly adapt to what customers really want. An MVP is always a learning curve. Almost always, after implementation, it turns out that the customer wants something different than we expected.
The most important rules at every step of MVP:
Minimize costs wherever possible. The less you invest upfront, the easier it will be to make changes or withdraw if something doesn't work out.
Learn! As Eric Ries said, “Build → Measure → Learn. Not: Build → Pray.”
Don't be afraid of embarrassment. It's a possible, but necessary, lesson. "If you're not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late." — Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn
Why is MVP so important?
It minimizes investment risk. Instead of plunking down tens of thousands of zlotys, you test a small version of an idea.
You move faster. Instead of spending a year developing a product, you have a trial version in two months.
You collect real feedback. You don't talk to customers about something that doesn't exist. You show them a working version and ask what they think.
Where does MVP work?
MVP can be used for more than just building products. It's also a great approach to:
advertising campaign (message test)
new brand (Minimum Viable Brand – claim, narrative, tone test)
service offer (test packages)
pricing (A/B price testing)
How to measure MVP success?
The number of users isn't enough. Hard data counts:
Did anyone pay?
Is it coming back? (retention)
Would you recommend it? (NPS)
Is scaling worth it? (CAC vs. LTV)
Set specific milestones: first 10 customers, 100 signups, 3 paid orders, etc.
What is the main mistake when creating an MVP?
MVP has become an excuse for pissing off.
Instead of being a learning tool, it often became a sloppy, half-finished product. This distorted the idea. Therefore, alternative concepts began to emerge:
MVE (Minimum Viable Experiment) – an experiment instead of a product.
MAP (Minimum Awesome Product) – an MVP that impresses despite its simplicity.
Minimum Lovable Product – MVP that provides emotional value.
Modern research shows that an effective MVP isn't about low cost, but about quickly testing key hypotheses and providing data that supports decision-making.
MVP Readiness Checklist
Is your MVP ready? Check:
Do you know what problem you are solving?
Do you know who has this problem?
Can you describe value in one sentence?
Does the MVP contain the absolute minimum that will allow the client to achieve the desired effect?
Do you have a way to measure interest and feedback?
Do you know what you will do after receiving the first data?
MVP Examples from History
Zappos – the first digital MVP in history
Zappos founder Nick Swinmurn wanted to see if people would buy shoes online. Instead of immediately investing in warehouses, logistics, and technology, he did something simple:
He went to the local shoe stores.
He took pictures of the shoes.
He uploaded them to a simple website.
If someone placed an order, they went to the store themselves, bought the shoes and sent them to the customer.
At first, he contributed a little to the business—for the website, purchasing the shoes, and shipping. But that amounted to hundreds of dollars, and he didn't need an entire warehouse worth tens of thousands of dollars. This was a pure MVP —the simplest possible version of the product, allowing him to test the most important business thesis: would anyone pay for shoes bought online?
He didn't build the technology until he was sure there was demand. This allowed him to save money, validate the idea, and gather the data needed for further development.
Dropbox
Instead of building infrastructure, they recorded an explainer video of the prototype and tested whether people would leave an email. This allowed them to gather thousands of interested people before the product was even built.
Buffer
They created a landing page with a product description and a "select plan" button. Only when someone clicked did the message "not ready yet – leave an email" appear. Only then did they begin construction.
Desire Lines
Designers of campuses, parks, and urban spaces sometimes first sow grass and allow users to freely use the space, and only then build formal walkways along well-trodden paths that best suit the natural needs of pedestrian traffic.
This is MVP thinking applied to urban planning.
Examples include University of California Davis, Dartmouth, and Michigan State University.
Video Courses
A friend of mine who sells online courses sells them first, and then records them. She can afford to do this because she's so good at it—she knows she'll deliver on her promise, but she doesn't get in front of the camera until she's sure there are customers for it.
How does she check if anyone will buy her course? She creates test landing pages, ads, and posts on social media.
MVP Summary
MVP is a tool that helps minimize risk and better understand the market. It's not only a way to save money but also to get closer to real customer needs. MVP is about one thing: testing before building.
FAQ: Most frequently asked questions and concerns about MVP:
Does an MVP always have to be a product?
Not necessarily. Sometimes it can be a service, a landing page, or even a demo that showcases the idea. The idea is to validate the idea with minimal effort and expense.
How long should the MVP process take?
It depends on the industry and product, but generally, the sooner the better. The goal is to test quickly and learn from mistakes.
What if MVP doesn't work out?
It's part of the process. That's why we create MVPs—to find out what works before investing more. Each iteration is a step forward.
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