Everything starts with an idea. No matter how promising it sounds, you must have a question. The question “Is my idea good for the customers?” keeps everyone in the middle of the way. With the huge number of start-ups springing up right now, the competition is fierce and stakes are always high.  It can be rewarding but at the same time a challenging job. Survival is not a piece of cake.

As an entrepreneur, you must take the risk, but it has to be well thought and calculated. As Warren Buffet said, “Don’t test the depth of the water with two legs.” It is really important for start-up founders to realize at an early stage whether their concept is actually feasible or not. Is it really going to serve the purpose? Is my solution actually addressing the problem? Is it truly going to benefit customers? Because developing a new mobile app by solely considering your idea can be a disaster! It is necessary to get feedback at an early stage to know the willingness to purchase the product. Well, MVP is the answer to all your questions. It does not just help you authenticate the idea but understand your customers’ requirements more precisely. That’s how smart entrepreneurs run their start-ups.

Let’s understand,  what exactly is MVP?

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a development technique in which a new product or website is developed with sufficient features to satisfy early adopters. The final, complete set of features is only designed and developed after considering feedback from the product's initial users.

The famous image representing the whole idea behind MVP.

The MVP should deliver the very essence of the product idea in the simplest form. Based on the context, this form could differ, meaning that MVP can differ per project.

Benefits of Building an MVP

When we are approached by businesses in the idea formulation phase of mobile app development, we find that many platforms stand to benefit from building an MVP up front. We often recommend the MVP, or minimum viable product, route because it helps in determining the practicality of an idea is at its core. Creating an initial MVP does not mean releasing an unfinished product. Your MVP should still accomplish your main goals, but save the bells and whistles for V2. Coming from a non-tech background, one of the first things he/she learned to work at a development shop was that a website or application is never really done. It’s constantly evolving, developing, and pivoting based on the needs of the user and the goals of the business. Focusing on the main functions of your application as a starting point comes with a long list of benefits.

1. Getting To Market Sooner:  Competition is constantly present, so a business stands to benefit from any advantages possible. Being the first to market provides a leg up on the competition, gaining valuable recognition before similar apps are on the scene.
2. Avoiding Overwhelming Users:  A major hurdle in acquiring or converting users lies in their ability to grasp the concept of an app. Beyond designing UX with the user in mind, building an initial product that is simple enough for a user to easily understand can aid in overcoming this barrier.
3. Getting Real User Feedback Before Adding Features: User feedback gets watered down when too many features are introduced, making it harder to draw conclusions about the core functionality of the application. Streamlining what components users are interacting with allows them to provide deeper insight into the overall concept, rather than being bogged down insignificant details.
4. Avoids Wasted Time And Resources:  A client who approaches us with an extensive list of features for their initial product will often be met with a longer timeline and a higher estimate to build it. Whether you’re a startup or an enterprise level client, no one benefits by wasting time and money. Creating an initial MVP accomplishes the ultimate goal while saving man hours and cutting down on costs.
5. No Product Is Ever Finished: We know you don’t want to release an unfinished product to market, and neither do we. We would never recommend that. What we would advise is that no product is ever really complete, so if you are waiting until your application is finished you will never launch. Leaving room to grow once your application is in the hands of users ensures that you’re are growing in the right direction.
6. Lessens Chances For Bugs:  Have you ever opened an application that unexpectedly quit on you in the middle of the action? Frustrating. We want to avoid that. Throwing everything but the kitchen sink in means less time devoted to core functions and a greater likelihood of having bugs within the application.
7. Makes Implementing Changes As Simply As Possible: Venmo didn’t start out seeking to be Venmo, and Uber offered a fraction of the benefits it does today. Features can always be added on, but changes can occur more quickly when you begin with a less complex product. You may be one easy pivot away from the next best thing, but going too far down a specific path with your initial product can deter any simple adjustments.

The Real Life Example
Let’s have a look at  the most successful start-up of our times that kicked off with MVP

Uber
Uber launched in 2010 with the beta version. The first version of its mobile app was very basic. You could locate and connect with drivers and make payments over the phone. Garret Camp and Travis Kalanick, the founders of Uber tried this app in San Francisco and received feedback from the targeted segment. Based on that, they have created a multi-billion dollar app over a period of time and revolutionalized transport all over the globe. Today, Uber has much more features such as fare spitting, gamification elements and other complex functions that didn’t exist at the time of its first release.

Not just this, there are many more start-ups that started underdog and today they are the inseparable part of our lives!!!.

Wrapping up

Start small and go big with MVP. It enables you to enter the market and make the most of your product with minimum expenditure. It is all about validating your hypothesis and identifying the right features to resolve a particular issue.

While this is not a one size fits all method, considering creating an MVP initially has clear benefits that could ultimately mean the success of a mobile application in the long run.