Michael Seibel - How to Plan an MVP

The Nugget

  • Launching quickly with a very basic, simple version of your product (MVP) is essential for startups to validate if they can deliver value to users. Getting feedback and iterating based on user interactions is crucial for success.

Make it stick

  • 🚀 Launch something bad quickly.
  • 💬 Hold the problem you're solving tightly, hold the customer tightly, and hold the solution you're building loosely.
  • 💡 Cut your spec during your sprint to ensure you focus on what's truly important.
  • 🛠️ Don't fall in love with your MVP; it's just the beginning of your journey.

Key insights

Importance of an MVP

  • An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is crucial for startups to test the value they can deliver to users with a basic version of their product.
  • Launching quickly, getting early customers, and iterating based on feedback are key steps in the startup journey.

Launch Strategy

  • Launch quickly with a simple version of your product to get feedback early.
  • Focus on getting any customers initially rather than aiming for a big, press-worthy launch.
  • Learn from customer interactions with your product to validate its effectiveness.

Building an MVP Quickly

  • Time-box your spec to only include features you can build in a short timeframe.
  • Write down your spec to stay focused on what you need to build.
  • Cut down your spec during your sprint to ensure you meet your deadlines.
  • Avoid getting attached to your MVP as it's just the starting point for further iterations.

Key quotes

  • "Launch something bad quickly. That's it. The rest is basically going to be re-summarized versions of that same thing."
  • "Cut the stuff that clearly isn't important. If there's no non-important things, start cutting important things."
  • "Get anything out in the world. Once you have anything, the momentum to keep going is extremely strong."
  • "Don't fall in love with your MVP. It's just step one in a journey."
This summary contains AI-generated information and may have important inaccuracies or omissions.