18 MVP ideas that won’t break the bank

Many startups fail because they jump ahead and create a final, full-feature product and deliver it straight to market. The only way to progress in a startup is through learning. So, launching a full-feature product is a waste because it won’t actually help you learn.

Your minimum viable product (MVP) is the cheapest and smartest way to start learning and experimenting.

2 types of MVP

There are two main types of MVP: low-fidelity MVPs and high-fidelity MVPs. Which one you choose will depend on where you are on your journey. Let’s break them down:

Low-fidelity MVPs are used to:

• Gain a better understanding of your customer’s problems.
• Check how valuable a solution to this problem may be for customers.
• Investigate whether or not the problem is worth solving.
• Explore what kind of solution would be most effective for the customer.

High-fidelity MVPs are used to:

• Find out how much customers are willing to pay for your product.
• Find early adopters who will be your first customers and help spread the word about your product.
• Help you define and optimize your marketing strategy, such as your value proposition, call to action, and communication channels.
• Identify the best potential growth strategies.

There are a few things to consider when choosing which type of MVP to use, such as risk, timescale, and cost. Before you start your MVP project, ask yourself these questions:

• What could your biggest potential risk be and how could you avoid it?
• How much time do you have to build your MVP and wait for reliable results?
• What can you afford? Think about the most effective way to spend your money, don’t spend too much on your first tests, and remember that you’re not trying to make your customer happy at this stage—your main goal is to learn.

Let’s now look at 18 types of MVPs that you can use to test if your idea is profitable and scalable.

Low-fidelity MVPs

1. Customer interview

A customer interview isn’t a sales pitch for your product; it’s an honest unscripted interview. It’s also a great way to find information about your product and the problem you’re trying to solve.

Think about asking questions around price, product, promotion, and purchase behavior to get a well-rounded understanding of your audience’s requirements.

High-fidelity MVPs