Dreamers make living worthwhile, but it’s the doers that make the world go round.
As the shift to digital remains unstoppable, it’s only right for leaders to continue actualizing their visions. Tantamount to the advancements the globe is exposed to today is the need for gaps to be bridged.
As such, the demand for heroes and problem-solvers has never been higher too.
Still, there’s never been a more opportune time in history for entrepreneurs to take a step back and assess how valid, worth it, and impactful their ideas truly are.
All of that said, here are 4 things one can consider before building their Minimum Viable Product (MVP):
MVP Question #1: What particular problem do I want to solve?
More than anything, it’s important that you understand what problem you’re solving. Given how tempting and easy it is to dive right into the building process—no-code tools are to thank for this—it’s convenient to forget how crucial it is to solve actual and gripping problems.
Although it’s completely normal to explore the no-code space out of the desire to learn, establishing an MVP is much more critical knowing that your product should be designed to cater to a particular problem.
Furthermore, it’s a must to remember that while it’s tempting to solve a host of problems, MVPs are designed to solve only one—albeit brilliantly at that.
Remember how Amazon started only selling books?
All that factored in, consider the primal problem you want to solve, and shelf the supplemental features for a much later time.
MVP Question #2: Is there a surefire market for this problem?
The saying “don’t fix it if it isn’t broken” applies to MVPs too. When you’ve fleshed out your idea and are certain what problem you want to solve, the next question you’d need to ascertain is: do other people share this concern?
Will bridging this gap be worth the time and resources I put into developing an MVP?
Will creating a dynamic web app hold a meaningful contribution to a segment—if, at all, this segment exists?
Many of the leaders who resort to creating MVPs today do it for their organizations, so they generally have a great grasp of whether or not it’ll click.
However, if you’re brave enough to admit that your MVP serves little to no value in bettering a process or streamlining a workflow, it might be best to hold off on your initial ideas.
At the end of the day, bankability plays a huge role in the solutions you create.
MVP Question #3: If it’s a common problem, how frequently does your target segment experience this?
Here’s a meaningful backdrop to help contextualize your vision: a great chunk of applications cater to a plethora of people. For marketplaces, it’s sellers and buyers. For ride-hailing applications, it’s drivers and riders. In other words, apps today mostly serve an audience of two.
When you begin answering this question, determine if your target user type is most likely to frequent your application, as well.
For instance, if you have a marketplace app that connects buyers and sellers, it’s safe to believe that sellers are most likely to use your app more since it’s their job to put out products, whereas the buyers may check the app once or twice a week if they’re looking for something to buy.
So when asking yourself if your target segment experiences the problem you want to solve frequently, it’ll be a lot easier to answer and figure out.
MVP Question #4: Is the problem you want to solve worth other people’s money?
Yes, you think your idea is brilliant, and yes, you believe that the problem your MVP is solving is worthwhile, but will your target segment be willing to pay for your solution?
These things factored in, you’ll have to consider two things: what their income status is and how invested they could be in the solution you have to offer.
As with every business, this aspect will constantly bear risks and uncertainty, but if you’re able to, at the very least, ascertain whether or not people have a sum in mind as to how much they’re willing to shell for your offer, your MVP could be off to a great start.
Of course, things like your segment’s income bracket and preferences will matter, too.
Should I build my MVP?
Whatever your answers to these questions are, know that no-code tools like Bubble are spectacular solutions to helping you concretize your ideas and plans.
You can theorize all you want but until you test the waters yourself, the answer will always be “maybe” or “no.”
Do you have an app you want to build? We’re the agency you want to partner with!
