A recent study found that 17% of startups fail because there's no market need for their product, while 27% fall prey to the absence of investor interest and financing. Why would a startup create and launch a product without user or investor interest, though? Likely because they didn't validate their product idea with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

MVP is somewhat of a buzzword in the startup world, with many founders considering it an essential step in their startup journey. However, building an MVP is not just about creating a prototype or cutting down features. It encompasses a lot more.

Below, we discuss how to build MVP for your startup in 2024 and which mistakes to avoid in the process.

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What is a minimum viable product (MVP)?

In software development, a minimum viable product (MVP) is a production version with just enough features to satisfy early adopters and gather feedback for future product development. It's a way for startups to test their idea with real users and validate their assumptions before investing time and resources in building a full-scale product.

Think of it like cookie dough. You could spend hours making a whole batch of cookies to find out that the recipe is not as good as you thought it would be. Or, you could simply taste the cookie dough first to see if the flavor is right and make changes accordingly.

Historically, MVPs have been pretty straightforward. There was less competition, and the target audience wasn't as tech-savvy. For example, when Amazon started, its initial development phase involved narrowing down from 20 to 5 of the most marketable online products. Even from there, Jeff Bezos trimmed down to just one product—books—and created a simple website around it.

Today, it's a different story. Launching an MVP means creating a baseline product that will garner the attention of potential users and stand out among competitors. In other words, it should be simple but functionally and aesthetically impressive.

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How to build an MVP for your startup in 2024

An MVP is not the first step of product development. By the time you get to an MVP, you should have already identified a problem worth solving, conducted market research, and created a prototype.

That's precisely the approach we take at Belighted. Starting with a strategy workshop during which we discuss your target market, business model, and value proposition, we move on with the product plan to the design sprint phase, where we convert your idea from paper to prototype. Next comes MVP development. Here, we're all set to create a usable, reliable, functional, and user-friendly product.

Now, let's learn how to build an MVP in-house.

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Step 1: Define a problem

For your product to be successful, it should solve a real-world problem for your target audience. Start by identifying a pain point or a problem.

For example, if you're building a ride-hailing app with female safety in mind, the problem could be the lack of safe and reliable transportation options for women at night. Similarly, if you want to build an AI course authoring tool, the problem could be the lack of integration with Learning Management Systems (LMS) in existing tools.

For the problem to be relevant, it must be painful enough for users to seek a solution. Also, it should affect your target audience and not be a generic problem.

But how do you find a problem? One way is to look at customer reviews of products in similar markets or conduct surveys. Use this information to determine what people usually complain about.

Alternatively, you could be a domain expert. For example, as a marketer, you know that existing social media scheduling apps lack the ability to schedule Instagram stories. With this knowledge, you now have a problem to solve.

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Step 2: Conduct market research

Now that you have a problem, you can conduct market research around it. The good news is that you don't necessarily have to physically go out there to conduct research. A Qualtrics report found that 87% of marketer researchers conduct about 50% of their qualitative research online or remotely.

During your research, do the following:

• Analyze your competitors.
• Identify any similar products or services that already exist in the market. Take note of what they're missing.
• Calculate your potential market size.
• Identify your target audience.  
• Look for gaps and unmet needs.

There are many ways to conduct this research, such as through online surveys, online communities, mail, mobile surveys, proprietary panels, etc. According to Statista, online surveys are the most popular research method, and 85% of researchers use them. Mobile surveys are in second place, followed by proprietary panels.

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Step 3: Build a prototype

Prototypes are the precursors to the MVP. They're your early attempts to visualize a solution that works. Some types of prototypes you can build include:

• Sketches: These are simple hand-drawn designs of your app or product. They allow you to quickly outline ideas and visualize the overall layout.
• Wireframes: A wireframe is a visual representation of your app or product's layout that gives an idea of its user interface and functionality.
• Paper Prototypes: You can also create paper prototypes by printing out your wireframes and physically moving them around to test the flow and functionality.

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Step 4: Prioritize MVP features

At Belighted, we believe the MVP to be a functional version of your product. It should have all the core features of your solution, which we choose based on the user testing feedback and user stories we collect during the design sprint.

That's what you should do when building an MVP, too. Select the most important features to solve your user's pain points and show your unique value proposition. Avoid feature creep, which occurs when you add too many features to your MVP and end up with a bloated, unmanageable solution.

Take Spotify as an example. When it first started out, its founders, Daniel Ek, and Martin Lorentzon, mainly focused on latency. They knew online streaming was a vacant market and wanted to fill it. At that time, it wasn’t about bombarding users with every feature they could possibly want but simply filling the gap.  

Daniel Ek, Spotify founder, said that they spent a lot of time focusing on latency because, back then, no one else was doing it. They wanted people to feel that they have all the music in the world in their pockets, with instant access. Ek believes, ''Obsessing over small details can sometimes make all the difference.''

Even though Spotify kept its unique value proposition intact, it didn't go overboard with features during MVP development. Initially, it was as simple as searching for a song, clicking play, and listening. Everything else, like playlist creation and song sharing, came later.

But how do you determine which features are a must for your MVP? The user stories from your market research phase should guide you. Let's say your research for the ride-hailing app found that women feel unsafe because no one knows of their whereabouts when they travel at night.

Based on this knowledge, your MVP could include a simple ride-booking user flow plus an option to share the ride information with a trusted contact. Besides addressing the key pain point, this feature shows potential users your app's unique selling point.

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Step 5: Develop the MVP

Take the features you've selected into the development phase. Depending on your budget and expertise, you can do this in-house or hire a development team.

Before you test the MVP with real users, run it through a series of testing processes to identify bugs or usability issues. Here are two types of tests to conduct:

• Functional Testing: In functional testing, you check if the features in your MVP work as intended. It also helps identify bugs, if there are any.
• Stress Testing: The goal of stress testing is to evaluate the performance and stability of your MVP under extreme conditions. For example, you can simulate a large number of users logging into your app simultaneously to see how it handles the load.

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Step 6: Launch the MVP

Finally, it's time to release your MVP to the public. You can do this through app stores or social media. For example, you can upload your app to the App Store or Google Play Store.

It doesn't end here, though. Now, you need to collect user feedback and analyze MVP performance. You can use an analytics tool to measure user engagement and conduct surveys or interviews to gather user feedback.

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Step 7: Iterate and improve the MVP

At Belighted, we say that an app is never a finished product. You always have to find ways to improve it. The app users can provide a plethora of insight into which changes you must make or features you must add.

As you add more features, you need to validate them, too. For example, when social media apps like Instagram introduce new features, they use beta testing to test the feature with a group of users before releasing it to the general public. It's like a sample test to see how the feature performs and what users think of it. 

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Best practices for launching a successful MVP

Now that you know how to build an MVP app or software, let's look at some tips to make your MVP development process successful.

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Focus on core functionality

We've said it before, and we'll repeat it: keep the core functionality the main focus of your MVP. Don't try to cram in too many features or functionalities.

You might think you're providing more value for the users, but you're only making the product more difficult for them to use. The idea is to let users get comfortable with the product and then introduce new features gradually.

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Think user feedback collection methods through

Even before the MVP is in the deployment stage, you should know the methods you'll use to collect user feedback. You can also rely on user review monitoring platforms and analytics tools besides interviews and surveys.

The method you use will depend on your product's industry and target audience. For example, younger audiences may prefer social media polls or questionnaires, while more professional users prefer structured interviews or feedback forms.

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Have a monetization strategy in mind

Even if you're not charging users for the MVP, you should have a monetization strategy in mind from the early stages of development. For example, you may offer a freemium model or a completely paid solution after the MVP stage.

The MVP is not just a testing ground but also a valuable market research tool. It can give you an insight into the commercial aspect of your product. How much will users be willing to pay for it? What features would they be willing to pay for? The adoption rate and user satisfaction with the MVP can answer these questions.

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Work with a development team that uses a lean startup method

Dev teams that use Kanban, Scrum, or other Agile methods manage to deliver MVPs faster. They also identify issues quickly and pivot to a new direction if necessary.

At Belighted, we follow the Agile development process. Working in two-week sprints, we plan, develop, test, and review the product in terms of both user interface and programming. Learn more about our MVP development process here.

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How much does it cost to build an MVP?

The cost of building an MVP isn't consistent across all products. It varies based on factors such as product complexity, development timeline, integrations, platform, etc.

You should be prepared to spend anywhere from $25k to upward of $100k for a well-developed MVP. The cost may seem high, but the MVP serves as a foundation for your product. A strong foundation will ultimately result in a well-performing product.

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MVP cost breakdown

Here are some costs associated with MVP development:

• Complexity Level: Although an MVP is a simpler version of your final product, it still requires significant development effort. The more complex your MVP is, the higher the cost will be.
• Industry Focus: Some software products, such as healthcare or financial software, are more complex than others. In these cases, expect the cost of your MVP to be higher due to increased complexity and potential regulatory requirements.
• Integrations: Some MVPs have to work with existing applications or data sources. For example, a healthcare appointment scheduling app may need to integrate with electronic health record systems. These integrations can add to the cost of development.
• Technology Stack: The more advanced the technology stack, the higher the development cost. For example, MVPs built on the blockchain or with AI capabilities may require specialized expertise and resources, increasing the cost.
• Testing and Feedback Collection: MVP testing and user feedback collection contribute to MVP development because your MVP isn't complete without real-world feedback and improvements. You may need to budget for user testing and beta programs.
• Platform: The platform on which you build the MVP also impacts costs. Native mobile apps tend to be costlier than web-based MVPs due to the need for multiple versions for different operating systems.

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Mistakes to avoid during MVP development

Building an MVP isn't simple, especially if you lack in-house expertise. Startups often fail to show their product's potential in this early stage, eventually resulting in a failed venture.

We have listed some common mistakes to avoid while developing an MVP to prevent such failure.

• Trying to create a finished product instead of a minimum viable product
• Delaying user feedback by waiting until the product is "perfect."
• Ignoring technical limitations and overpromising features
• Attempting to scale the product right off the bat
• Assuming you know what users want without actually testing and gathering feedback
• Building an MVP that tests too many ideas at once

Check out our complete guide to learn how you can avoid these mistakes.

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Build an MVP that delivers

The main goal for any startup or business is to deliver a product that customers want, and an MVP is the foundation stone for this. The guide has covered how to build MVP, which costs to factor, and which mistakes to avoid.

However, MVP development can get overwhelming and costly without proper planning and execution. If that seems to be the case, it's best to work with an experienced team like Belighted that can handle everything from strategy to MVP and final product development.

We also assist you in the steps after MVP development, such as scaling the product and continuous improvements based on user feedback. Schedule a call to discuss your MVP development needs, and let us take care of the rest.