How to Succeed with Your Business Idea Through ‘MVP (Minimum Viable Product)’
With just your phone, you can now rent a house from far away or share someone’s car. But these companies did not become so big right away.
They started out small and had to do things to get bigger. One important thing is called an MVP which stands for ‘Minimum Viable Product‘. This helps them grow into global giants.
Understanding MVP
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
“MVP” stands for “Minimum Viable Product”. If you have a startup idea, it means creating a product with only the core features quickly and cheaply to gauge customer response in the market.
Why is MVP Necessary?
Is your team’s idea approved? Startups can fail if they don’t try out their ideas first. This can put the company in danger. It is important to see if people want it before investing a lot of money in making the product or service.
A minimum viable product is not a polished final product, but rather a basic test to determine if a business model is viable and profitable. The purpose is to gather data, indicators, and customer feedback to determine if it’s worth implementing a high-quality commercial version.
Advantages of MVP
< 1 > Time and Cost Savings
< 2 > Creating a minimum viable product is efficient in terms of time and cost savings.
– Essentially, the core of MVP is to make a product containing only the core features at minimal costs (or no cost at all) in a short period.
< 3 > Helpful for Profitability Judgment and Refinement Strategy
< 4 > The ideal situation involves validating the product’s success with the MVP, progressing to the next improvement stage, and executing the final version. By following this approach, you can reduce the possibility of any flaws or mistakes and have sufficient time to come up with solutions.
In addition, building a minimum viable product can help you realize that the features of your original product idea may not align with user preferences. Addressing this difference can lead to a successful product launch based on the core concept.
– Minimizing Business Risks
– When creating a product, it is important to make sure that people like it. If people don’t like the product, then you may not be successful. To reduce risk, try to create the product quickly and with as little money as possible. You can also look for new ways to use what you have made if things don’t work out!
Understanding MVP through Actual Examples
Airbnb’s MVP, “Website“
(Image Source: Airbnb website)
The accommodation details include the location, contact information, address, and a few pictures.
Airbnb is a successful website now, but it did not use to be that way. Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia wanted to make some extra money, so in 2007 they came up with the idea of Airbnb. They had a small website that was different from the one today. This is an example of using something called an MVP.
With attendees of a large conference in San Francisco struggling to find accommodations due to hotel overbooking, they decided to test if offering their private apartment as an alternative would be a feasible solution.
They offered an air mattress in the living room, free Wi-Fi, and free breakfast, and created a simple website posting pictures of the apartment and the price per night. They succeeded in attracting three guests. This website was Airbnb’s MVP!
When showing people a place to stay, give them the address and contact information. Also show them some pictures of the accommodation.
(Image Source: Airbnb website)
This was a Minimal Viable Product because it only had the most basic things. It only had the location, contact, address, and some pictures of the accommodation. This was to see if people wanted to use this product called AirBed & Breakfast. If enough people were interested, then it would be successful.
–Now they have a map that shows where each property is located. They also have a list of properties from multiple owners.
Of course, Airbnb did not immediately take off after this. The current Airbnb was born after a process of refinement based on this MVP.
They expanded beyond the original San Francisco area, adopted a new approach of adding properties from other owners, and added the ability to write reviews, reflecting user needs during this refinement process.
As the Airbnb example shows, an MVP can help validate whether a product is needed in the market. It doesn’t provide the answer itself but serves as a key to finding opportunities for growth!
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Uber’s MVP, “PHP Application”
Uber, the ride-sharing app, is often considered the origin of taxi apps. Uber is also recognized as a startup success that introduced the concept of car sharing through an MVP and gradually refined it.
One of the Early Versions of Uber (MVP)
-Unlike the current app, everything was handled manually
Uber’s minimum viable product was a PHP web application that looked like a mobile app.
It had only the following basic functions:
– Users could call one of the few taxis that the company actually owned
– The app was only available in the San Francisco area and only on iPhones
– Downloading from the app store was not possible (users had to send an email to the founder to receive a special code to use)
– In the first version, in-app payment was not possible, and after several iterations in the beta stage, payment functionality was added
Uber manually handled all taxi calls with this MVP, which had only basic functions. Later on, the system evolved so that drivers could receive and manage orders themselves.
Further, they transitioned from the initial business model to establish a channel for direct communication between drivers and customers.
As the Uber example shows, by creating an MVP with only the bare minimum features before starting to code, testing the idea, iterating, and refining, they managed to set their business on a path to success!
Creating an MVP
Things to Note When Creating an MVP
Now that you understand the functions and roles of a Minimum Viable Product, there are points to consider if you are a company aiming to create an MVP.
Many companies, in the planning stage, tend to add too many additional features, resulting in a deviation from the purpose and intention of MVP development. Remember the essence of an MVP and that it is crucial to focus only on core features!
Tips for Creating an MVP Planning Document
1. Classifying core features vs. non-core features
2. Refocus on the core needs of potential customers (users)
When writing a planning document, classify ‘core features’ and ‘non-core features’ and concentrate on including only the core features in the MVP.
Decisiveness is needed here to postpone additional features for later. Then, consider the ‘original product idea of the team’ and ‘features actually needed by the users (customers)’. Refocus on the core needs of the users.
Hiring a Freelance Developer
Now it is time to start developing the MVP. If you do not have enough people to help with this, or if you need someone who knows a lot about development, you can hire freelance developers.
It might be hard to find the right one for your company because you need to ask many different people and compare their answers.
It might be hard to find the right one for your company because you need to ask many different people and compare their answers.
If you want to skip the time-consuming and cumbersome procedures and find a freelance developer that meets your team’s development requirements, register your project on Elancer.
With the largest scale in the country and a talent pool of over 390,000 IT talents on Elancer, a dedicated manager will help you find the optimal developer partner!
➤ Looking for a developer who’s just right for your project?
Elancer is a great freelance market in Korea to help you find IT experts. Experts can help you check if your business idea is good and help it become successful. They can create websites, mobile apps, and more.
Hire experts from Elancer to make sure your business idea will work!
