MVPs Are Actually A Money Pit; Try This Instead

You know that social media post format where someone says “Unpopular opinion: [insert opinion that’s not unpopular]”?

“Unpopular opinion: Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza!”

“Unpopular opinion: Die Hard is a Christmas movie!”

Snoooooore.

Here’s my actual, potentially unpopular opinion: The approach that most agencies take to Minimum Viable Products is a money pit for clients. 😬😬

Why is this an unpopular opinion? Because building MVPs for clients is the bread and butter of most tech agencies and senior staff augmentation agencies like mine.

Here’s why I think Minimum Viable Products are a money pit for most clients (and what we do instead)

Why MVPs don’t work for most clients

The biggest problem with the traditional approach to MVPs: Agencies often fail to consider if the product they’re building WILL ACTUALLY MAKE THEIR CLIENTS ANY MONEY.

Most agencies fail to:

• Brainstorm with their clients about how they can monetize the MVP

• Direct them towards experts who could help them monetize the MVP

• Introduce them to investors who could help them get money and then monetize the MVP

And this is pretty convenient for the agency, right?

When they’re focused on building out extensive features for this magical MVP, their billables keep clicking along and the agency keeps bringing in more money.

Another issue with MVPs? There’s no universally agreed upon definition of “Minimum Viable Product” - which is frustrating for both clients and engineers.

Agency 1 might think an MVP should work for Apple devices, Androids, and desktops; Agency 2 thinks a desktop-only MVP is fine. Maybe Agency 3 thinks building your MVP with a low-code platform is the way to go.

Every agency has a different idea of what makes for an MVP, and if this is your first one, you’re sort of at the mercy of whatever agency you sign with.

If you’re spending months of your life (and lots of money!) on your MVP, you should end up with something that is actually sellable. 

How we figure out what your Minimum Viable SELLABLE Product should be

Is it slower and more work to create a Minimum Viable Sellable Product, rather than any old MVP? Yes.

But wouldn’t you rather, you know, make money on the thing you created?!

Here’s how we figure out what your Minimum Viable SELLABLE Product should be

1. We thoroughly research the problem your MVSP is solving + existing solutions for that problem

Is this a problem that consumers or businesses are actively looking to solve? Doordash solved the problem of wanting to order takeout from restaurants that didn’t offer delivery. Thriftup solved the problem of wanting to buy secondhand clothes online with ease.

If there’s already an app or platform that’s attempting to address this problem, are customers happy with it?

Our client Walla is a fitness studio management platform; they have one huge competitor and a few smaller ones. However, Walla’s dedication to boost profitability, save time, increase retention, and engage more clients with the industry’s best experience, is so clear and compelling  we knew they would be successful, quickly.

2. We identify the target audience and understand their needs through customer interviews

Let’s say we were helping our client create a new social media platform (spoiler alert: we are.) We’d start by talking to people in Connyct’s target audience and asking them questions like: 

• How do you feel about Facebook, Instagram, and X?

• What features do you wish these apps had? (Or features you wish they’d retire?) 

• What would make you want to use an app like this? 

• What would make you NOT use an app like this? 

As you’re conducting these interviews, you’ll learn surprising things. You might discover that nobody cares about filters, so you don’t need to bother building them or that people haaaaate suggested content and just want to see posts from the people they follow. Which is good news because then you don’t have to worry about coding in suggested content!

You can read the whole article (and see the 4 further steps we take to help you develop your MVSP here).

Listen, I totally understand the desire to launch your first product as quickly as humanly possible - I get it! 

But spending a little bit of extra time to make sure your MVP is, in fact, sellable will save you so much money and stress in the long run. And with the right agency (*cough*  Neutech cough) you can launch your market-fitting, income-generating MVSP in 3 - 4 months. 

If you have an idea for a great product and you’d like to chat, you can grab a spot on my calendar here!