MVP Chapter #6: How to Build an MVP?

If there is one takeaway from what we have covered in this MVP series till now, it is this - building an MVP is the best thing you can do to reduce your risk and launch your product to success. But still, many startups underestimate this step and pay a hefty price later.

Shrewd entrepreneurs understand this. So let’s move towards the basics of MVP development and see how you can replicate the success of other products. For that, first, we are going to introduce you to the three objectives to achieve while developing your MVP. Then we will move on to show you the step by step procedure. Ready?

Building basic goals of MVP

There are three facets of testing an MVP and you have to check all three to call it successful. Each of these facets is essential and any issue in even one can hamper your MVP development. So now let me introduce you to these facets in detail.

1. Testing an MVP’s feasibility

This is the most crucial facet out of all the three. Why? Because if your MVP fails to fulfill its intended purpose, then it doesn’t matter how quickly or inexpensively you build it. It doesn’t matter.

2. Building it the quickest way possible

How quickly can you build your product? Your ability to build your product quickly determines the demand you can fulfill. It also has a huge impact on whether you gain the first-movers advantage. In our connected world, you can seldom keep your idea a secret. Thus, you need to move fast.

3. Building it inexpensively

What if your idea isn’t as good as you thought? What if you aren’t able to earn the required profit margin? Finding an inexpensive way to build your product can help you with this. It will reduce your financial risk and can increase your profit.

How to build an MVP?

Step 1: Find out the problem you want to solve

Isn’t it obvious? You think but many entrepreneurs are dumbfounded when asked what is it they are solving. If you don’t want to be one of them, first of all, gain clarity of the problem you want to solve - What is it? Who is your target audience?

But what if you don’t have any idea? Many successful startups exist today because of a poor experience faced by someone - bad service, not being able to do something, or not being able to find a solution. If you have had such an experience, that’s your potential business idea!

Step 2: Analyze your competitors

Do you have competitors? That’s good! You can use their positives and negatives for your benefit. In addition to that, having competing businesses that are thriving means that there is a market for a product like yours.

So, find your competitors and analyze their websites. How much traffic are their websites generating? What are their biggest sources of traffic? What keywords are they targeting? You can use SEO tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, and Ubersuggest for finding an answer to these questions.

Also, find out what their product reviews are on forums. Their positives create the base of your product. but building upon their negative reviews makes your product stand out.

Step 3: Define the buying journey of your target audience

You may have heard of the sales funnel. This is similar to that. All you have to do is define the steps your target audience needs to take to buy your product or service. It is relatively easy, but let me share with you two tips to make the most out of it: -

1. Make the transition from one step to the other as smooth as possible.

2. Keep the number of steps to a minimum.

3. Don’t fret much over this. Take inspiration from successful websites in your industry and replicate them.

Step 4: List out the least possible features required to get things going

Here you will have some hard decisions to make. You may have some groundbreaking ideas to enhance the functionality of your product. But, at this stage, they may be more of a distraction rather than a great add-on. You can always build them later with upgrades.

Focus on the core of the problem you are trying to solve and find out which features in your product are absolutely essential to solve it.

Step 5: Build your MVP

Building an MVP is tricky. Why? Because even though it is an MVP, your target audience wants quality. They won’t spare you because you are just starting out. This is the harsh reality. Thus, your MVP needs to be of top quality.

You have many options to build a great MVP: -

1. Hire an in-house team of developers

2. Hire freelancers

3. Hire remote developers from an MVP development company

But out of these three, hiring remote developers is the best option if you are looking for quality at minimum investment. It lets you start your project in a short time and use top talent across the world to develop your MVP.

How can I build an MVP for my product idea quickly?

I recommend you to delegate the development of your MVP to professionals instead of doing it on your own. You can hire in-house developers or freelancers. But their limitations makes working with remote developers the best choice as they are cost-effective and more reliable.

What is the difference between POC and MVP?

Proof Of Concept is the first stage of turning your idea into a reality. It simply shows whether the model of your product is feasible or not. Once that test is cleared, you can move on to developing its working model called Minimum Viable Product or MVP. MVP is used to test the market, gather customer feedback, and launch your product quickly.

What to do after building an MVP?

An MVP is never the best product. Thus, you need to test it once you have developed it.

1. Does it fulfill the purpose?

2. Does it give the customers the best experience?

3. What problems your customers face?

4. How can I get even better?

5. Does it have any bugs or is it secure?

Testing and improving is necessary or else people won’t take long to abandon it.

How can I find a great MVP development company?

You don’t have to as you are already with one! But why should you trust us? Here is why: -

1. We have over 15 years of experience in developing websites, web apps, and mobile apps.

2. We have worked with clients from over 10 countries and across various industries such as real estate, fintech, e-commerce, etc.

3. You save up to 60% on your cost of developing an MVP with us.

4. We take the full responsibility for completing your project.

Contact us now to start building your MVP now.

What makes up a great MVP?

A great MVP: -

1. Takes less time to build as it helps you focus only on the truly important traits of your product.

2. Is relatively inexpensive to build and thus, reduces your risk.

3. Functions properly so you test the market.

Conclusion

In this series, we have covered the path from “What is MVP?” to how to build it. But there is still some more ground to cover. But before that, if you are looking to hire remote developers to build your MVP, look no further than us.

If you are looking to get an estimated cost, you can calculate it using our MVP cost calculator by answering just a few questions.