One of the most common mistakes I see founders make is building too much before launching. They spend months (sometimes years) perfecting features that users may never want, burning through runway while competitors move faster.
The concept of a Minimum Viable Product sounds simple: build the smallest thing that delivers value. In practice, determining what “minimum” actually means is surprisingly difficult.
The MVP Trap
Here’s a scenario I’ve witnessed repeatedly: A founder has a great idea. They sketch out the product vision, all the features, integrations, and capabilities that will make it amazing. Then they start building everything at once.
Six months later, they’re still not launched. The product is 70% complete across ten features, but nothing is fully polished. They’re running low on funds and energy, and they still don’t know if anyone will actually pay for what they’re building.
This is the MVP trap: confusing “minimum viable product” with “first version of the full product.”
What Viable Actually Means
A viable product isn’t a watered-down version of your vision. It’s the smallest thing that:
- Solves a real problem for a specific user
- Delivers enough value that someone would use it (ideally pay for it)
- Generates learning about what to build next
Notice what’s not on that list: comprehensive features, perfect UI, or scalable architecture. Those come later, informed by real user feedback.
Finding Your Core Value
Every product has a core value proposition: the one thing it does that matters most. Finding it requires ruthless honesty:
Ask yourself:
- If users could only do ONE thing with my product, what would it be?
- What’s the simplest way to deliver that value?
- What can I remove and still have something useful?
For DDS Track, the delivery management platform I built that was later acquired, the core value was simple: helping delivery drivers know where to go next and helping managers know where their drivers were. Everything else (reporting, route optimization, customer notifications) came later.
The Feature Prioritization Framework
When scoping an MVP, I use a simple framework with founders:
Must Have (Launch Blockers)
Features without which the product cannot deliver its core value. Be aggressive here. Most things aren’t actually required for launch.
Should Have (Fast Follows)
Features that significantly enhance value but aren’t strictly necessary. Plan to add these in the weeks after launch.
Nice to Have (Future Roadmap)
Features that would be great eventually. Write them down and forget about them for now.
Won’t Have (Scope Creep)
Features that seem related but don’t serve your core user. Explicitly excluding these prevents mission drift.
Signs You’re Over-Building
Watch for these warning signs:
- “While we’re at it…” - This phrase almost always leads to scope creep
- Building for hypothetical users - You’re solving problems for users you imagine rather than users you’ve talked to
- Premature optimization - Building for scale before you have users
- Feature parity obsession - Trying to match established competitors feature-for-feature
- Perfect over done - Endless polishing instead of shipping
Signs You’re Under-Building
The opposite problem exists too:
- Core workflow is broken - Users can’t complete the main task without workarounds
- Critical trust signals missing - No way to contact support, unclear pricing, missing privacy policy
- Unusable without explanation - You have to personally onboard every user
- No path to revenue - You’ve built something free with no monetization mechanism
A Practical Approach
Here’s how I work with founders to scope MVPs:
Week 1: Problem Validation Before building anything, ensure the problem is real and painful enough that people will change their behavior to solve it. Talk to potential users. Understand their current workarounds.
Week 2: Solution Sketching Map out the user journey. What’s the first thing they do? What’s the core action? What happens after? Keep it simple: three to five screens maximum.
Week 3: Scope Cutting Take your sketch and cut it in half. Then cut it again. What’s left? That’s closer to your MVP.
Week 4+: Build Build the smallest version that works. Use existing tools and services wherever possible. Focus on the core experience, not edge cases.
The Launch Mindset
Launching an MVP requires accepting that your product isn’t finished. That’s the point. You’re not launching to impress everyone. You’re launching to learn.
Reid Hoffman famously said, “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” There’s wisdom there, though I’d soften it: if your first version does one thing well, you’re in good shape.
What Comes After Launch
An MVP isn’t a one-time event. It’s the start of a feedback loop:
- Launch something small
- Measure what users actually do
- Learn what’s working and what’s not
- Build the next increment
- Repeat
The features you add after launch should be driven by user behavior, not your original roadmap. Often, what users want is different from what you expected.
The Bottom Line
Building less isn’t about cutting corners. It’s about being strategic with limited resources. Every feature you don’t build is time and money you can spend on finding customers, improving your core experience, and learning what actually matters.
The goal isn’t to build the smallest possible product. It’s to build the smallest product that lets you start learning from real users.
Struggling to scope your MVP or figure out what to build first? Let’s talk. I help founders navigate these decisions every day through my startup consulting practice.