Glossary · startup
MVP
Definition
An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the first version of a product containing only its core features. The goal is to reach market quickly and test a hypothesis with real user data. Learn before building everything — minimizes risk and cost.
Detailed explanation
MVP comes from Eric Ries's Lean Startup methodology. The first step of the 'Build-Measure-Learn' loop, an MVP answers 'do users actually want this?' with minimum investment.
MVP vs full product: Full product takes 12-24 months, MVP 4-12 weeks. Full product = all features, MVP = only core workflow. Full product $50K-500K, MVP $5K-50K. With MVP data you can pivot cheaply; with a full product, pivoting is expensive.
MVP traps: 'Not minimum enough' (too many features), 'too minimal' (unusable), 'wrong metric' (measure activation rate, not user count). Common mistake in Turkey: starting with code before design.
Use cases
→Market-fit testing for new SaaS product
→Validating mobile app idea
→POC before B2B software sale
→Demo product for startup investment round
→Digitizing existing business process
Pros
- +Fast time-to-market (4-12 weeks)
- +Low initial investment
- +Learning from real user data
- +Pivot flexibility
Cons
- −Technical debt risk (speed vs quality)
- −'MVP vs beta' confusion
- −Early user expectation management
- −Scaling issues (next-phase plan essential)
Related terms
Related services
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