MVP Creation and Testing

I built a full MVP in 90 minutes using AI. Here's the exact process. Most developers using Cursor are doing it completely wrong. They jump straight into React or Next.js, feed the AI some vague requirements, and wonder why they get spaghetti code that breaks every time they make a change. I used to do the same thing. Spent weeks wrestling with AI-generated components that looked good initially but fell apart the moment I needed to iterate. The secret isn't better prompts or newer AI models. It's the foundation you build BEFORE the AI starts coding. Here's my exact 2-hour MVP process Step 1: Validate the idea first Don't code anything until you know people actually want it. Talk to users, confirm the pain point exists. Step 2: Create a Product Requirements Document Write out exactly what you're building. Features, user flows, success criteria. Give the AI context, not confusion. Step 3: Build in pure HTML first No frameworks. No complexity. Just structure the app exactly how you want it. Get the bones right. Step 4: Layer on CSS with AI assistance Now make it beautiful. Use AI to create a design system in JSON format. Feed it screenshots of designs you love. Step 5: Apply the design to your HTML structure Perfect the visual foundation. Colors, typography, spacing. Make it pixel-perfect. Step 6: Convert to any framework instantly Want iOS? Have Cursor convert to Swift. Want web? Convert to Next.js. The foundation is solid, so the conversion is clean. Heres my takeaway from this process. 90-minute MVPs instead of 2-week disasters Clean, maintainable code that actually works Zero framework wrestling or component hell Ability to pivot platforms without rebuilding The magic happens when you build the foundation first. Most developers skip this step and wonder why their AI-generated code is a mess. Structure beats speed every time. I've used this methodology to build 3 successful prototypes, and it's literally the foundation of what I'm building with Precursor - automating this exact workflow for developers. What's your biggest frustration when building with AI tools like Cursor?

How to Go from Idea to MVP with AI Thanks to AI, you can go from idea to simple MVP (Minimum Viable Product) - without writing a single line of code yourself. AI makes it easier than ever to transform concepts into live products quickly. Investors want to see a product, ideally one with traction or paying customers, to prove your idea has legs. When customers pay for your solution to their pain point and the market is big enough, you know you're onto something. Let me share a real example I just completed: creating a pricing calculator for usage-based billing. While this particular case was a widget for a blog post, the MVP-building concept remains the same. Tools used: - Claude AI (writing, debugging, and iterating the code) - Cursor (IDE for code edits) - Terminal (Mac) - Vercel (hosting) The key to success? Getting the right output from AI requires the right input. Be detailed with your prompt and explain your concept as clearly as possible. Here's my process: 1. Asked Claude to create a pricing calculator based on specific requirements 2. Claude built the initial code 3. When I encountered an error, I asked Claude to debug it 4. Once I had a working prototype, I asked Claude how to make it live 5. Claude guided me through installing the code locally, pushing it to GitHub, and connecting GitHub to Vercel for deployment 6. Finally, I added the iframe code (provided by Claude) to my blog post Time invested: 2-3 hours of elbow grease Traditional approach: 2-3 weeks, 1-2 developers, $5,000-8,000 The best part? After Claude walked me through the process a few times, it became second nature. Also, you'll notice Claude explained why it did what it did so I learned on the fly - bonus! For more complex features like CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) and user logins, you'll need a database and API layer. Tools like lovable.dev connect directly to Supabase for this. Need a paywall? You'll need a payments API integration. While these add complexity, AI can guide you through most steps. So why hire a developer at all? For an MVP, if you're ambitious and want to test your product without significant investment, you can follow these steps. However, if you get stuck or don't have time, developers (also leveraging AI) can help. Once you have users and need more features or complexity, that's when hiring a developer makes sense. Wait until your product has traction and the investment has a higher potential ROI. As a non-technical startup founder for many years, I'm beyond excited by AI's power to build and test true MVPs, and I want to empower others to do the same. Let me know if you find this helpful or if you want me to expand on either how to build an MVP using AI (and/or low/no code tools) or when to hire a developer. #mvp #startups #aiengineers #hiredeveloper

Imagine spending months building a product, only to hear crickets at launch. 😱 Before coding, ask yourself: “𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?” I once stopped a founder who wanted us to develop his product from diving into development too soon: “𝘎𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵.” So, instead of us jumping directly into coding, He tested the idea with a 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 & 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 and discovered critical tweaks that saved months of effort. 🔥 𝟲 𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗩𝗣 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆: ✅ 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 - Skip assumptions. Five real conversations reveal more than weeks of guesswork. ✅ 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 – Create a simple page & see if people sign up. Buffer’s founder validated demand this way! ✅ 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼 𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 – Show value before building. Dropbox’s MVP was just a 3-min video—75K signups followed! ✅ “𝗪𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝘇” 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 – Manually deliver the service while users think it’s automated. If they love it, build later. ✅ 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝘆 – Pre-orders, deposits, or dummy “Buy Now” buttons reveal real demand. ✅ 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 & 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 – If people actively seek solutions but remain unsatisfied, you’ve found a gap. 🎯 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲: Set a validation benchmark. Example: “20%+ 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯-𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦 = 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥.” 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 – 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗩𝗣 𝘂𝗽𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁?  Share your best hacks! Your tip could save someone from building something nobody wants. 💡🚀

I don't think people know what they mean when they say "minimum viable product" (MVP). What it stands for and its implementation are nebulous to say the least. So I hear you saying, alright smartypants, so what is an MVP? Its is the most basic version of a product that still allows you to test your key hypotheses about customers' interests and behaviors. The goal is to put a product into the hands of users as quickly as possible to gather insights and iterate based on real feedback. With me so far? Ok now lets define the two most important words in there - Minimum and Viable - some more. Minimum: This refers to the smallest set of features needed to successfully deploy the product. The emphasis is on 'bare essentials' to test the most important hypothesis about the product. Viable: This means the product is sufficiently good to satisfy early adopters. The product should not only function to solve the basic problems but also deliver enough value that users are willing to adopt it and provide feedback. An MVP is crucial because it minimizes the resources spent on untested features and focuses on core functionalities that meet customer needs. It allows a startup to: - Test its hypotheses with minimal risk. - Learn from real user feedback. - Iterate quickly before additional features complicate the product. Lets take a real life example to bring this to life: Airbnb Its hard to recall now but Airbnb's MVP was three air mattresses in their living room and a simple website, which they called "Air Bed and Breakfast." What Made Airbnb's MVP Effective? Immediate Problem Solving: The MVP directly addressed a pressing need—accommodation for conference attendees when traditional options were unavailable. Low Complexity: The initial setup required minimal investment and effort: a basic website, some air mattresses, and the willingness to share their living space. Direct Feedback Channel: Hosting guests in their own home allowed the founders to interact directly with their users, gaining insights that were crucial for refining their concept. Scalability Test: This initial experiment tested not just the demand for such a service but also the feasibility of scaling this idea into different markets and events. The MVP strategy is about learning as much as possible with the least effort, reducing wasted development hours, and speeding up the learning curve about the market's actual needs and desires. It's not just about bringing a product to market; it's about bringing the RIGHT product to market and evolving it based on informed insights from actual users.

How do you know when to ship? I was chatting with a friend last night who’s building her startup, and she asked: “Do I launch with just one feature or a few?” “What actually shows value to a user?” “When do I stop building and just put it out?” Here’s where we landed, based on hard lessons and Lean Launchpad muscle memory: 🔹 Your MVP should be a test, not a product. The goal isn’t to impress users. It’s to learn from them. Steve Blank says it best: “A startup is not a smaller version of a big company. It’s a temporary organization in search of a repeatable business model.” So don’t build like a company. Build like a scientist. 🔹 One critical feature > polished multi-feature stack. If it doesn’t solve a clear job to be done — it doesn’t matter. Find the pain people already feel. Solve just that. Nothing else yet. 🔹 Ship when you're embarrassed but curious. Reid Hoffman: “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late.” If you’re still trying to perfect, you’re probably hiding from feedback. 🔹 If you’re not testing hypotheses, you’re just building blind. What’s your riskiest assumption? What do you need to learn next? Your MVP should answer those two questions. 🔹 Don’t overbuild. Do fewer things, faster. Y Combinator’s rule: “Build something people want.” You won’t know what that is until you let them touch it. For ex. Uber started with just one thing: book a black car. 👇 Curious to hear: how do you decide when to start shipping?

I'm BANNING code reviews for MVPs immediately. We spent 2 weeks reviewing code for features that got 0 user engagement. Here's the data that changed everything: WITH code reviews: -  Average MVP delivery: 14.3 weeks -  Average cost: $47,000 -  Time to first customer feedback: 16+ weeks WITHOUT code reviews: -  Average MVP delivery: 8.1 weeks -  Average cost: $20,000 -  Time to first customer feedback: 9 weeks The faster MVPs had HIGHER success rates. Not because the code was worse, but because speed gave founders something more valuable than perfect code Here's why: LEAD DEV: "But we need thorough code reviews for quality!" ME: "Quality for WHO? 96% of startups fail. Our clients need market validation, not perfect architecture." LEAD DEV: "What about scalability?" ME: "95% of MVPs die before they need to scale. We're optimizing for the wrong metric." LEAD DEV: "This goes against everything we learned in engineering school!" ME: "Engineering school doesn't teach you that speed to market beats perfect code for early-stage startups." Customers don't care about your code quality.  They care about solving their problem. MVPs aren't about building the perfect product.  They're about proving a hypothesis as fast as humanly possible. If something breaks? Fix it fast. Ship the patch in hours, not weeks. Our new "MVP Velocity Protocol": 1. ✅ Security reviews (non-negotiable) 2. ✅ Basic functionality testing 4. ❌ NO code reviews 5. ❌ NO refactoring for "best practices" 6. ❌ NO premature optimization The result? Our clients are validating ideas 6 weeks faster and with 44% less budget burn. One founder told me: "Your 'messy' MVP helped me realize my idea was wrong before I spent $50K. Now I'm building something that actually works." IMPORTANT:This applies ONLY to MVPs. Once you hit product-market fit and have real users, we implement full code review processes immediately. Founders: Would you rather have perfect code that launches in 4 months, or "good enough" code that validates your idea in 6 weeks?

A working MVP is a red flag. When we started Recall.ai , we didn’t launch with a beautiful product. We launched with docs. Just an API and some bare-bones reference docs. And we were the first customer. We used our own API for every meeting. Every bug, every broken edge case, we hit first. That was the point. We were building something that wasn’t ready. We were trying to answer one question: Is this even worth fixing? When a few early customers asked to use it anyway, despite the friction, we knew we were onto something. Only then did we start building out real features. A real MVP isn’t built to impress. It’s built to test. If your MVP looks polished and “just works,” ask yourself: Are you validating the idea or avoiding the answer?

🚀 Reflecting on the First 30 Days: Lessons You Can Take From Launching Our Latest MVP At UP.Labs, we launch up to 6 startups a year, and each day is a new learning opportunity on what makes a great MVP. Today, I want to share insights from one of our MVPs, which went from concept to launch in just 3.5 months. After 5 weeks in the market and thousands of dollars in sales (see graph), here's what we've learned: 🎯 Focus on the Problem Worth Solving Identifying a genuinely pressing problem has been our guiding star. It's tempting to tackle multiple issues at once, but we've found that narrowing our focus to one significant problem enhances clarity and product impact. Staying focused makes finding product-market fit easier and more effective. ⏩ Speed of Execution Our team's mantra: "Be the fastest iterating company." Theoretical solutions cannot compare to actual user feedback. Launch as quickly as possible to start learning from real users. 👤 Be Your Own User When launching your product, use it in production and experience its pain points daily. This firsthand use has provided us with clear insights and highlighted real challenges, shaping our iterative process. 📊 Metrics and Feedback A few days spent integrating the right tools for user metrics and feedback have been transformative. This investment has significantly sped up our ability to test, learn, and iterate, leading to faster enhancements and bug fixes. 🛠️ Embrace Manual Processes Our MVP involved several manual tasks. While automation was an option, manually handling these processes provided deep insights and influenced our product development toward being more user-centric. 📈 Data Integrity Data accuracy is paramount—we learned this the hard way. Always double-check and audit your data to ensure a reliable user experience. As we continue on this journey, we remain committed to solving meaningful problems, rapidly iterating based on real-world usage, and refining our approach meticulously. 💡 Key Takeaways: Solve the right problems, launch quickly, monitor rigorously, and iterate relentlessly. I’d love to hear from others navigating their MVP journeys. What have been your biggest lessons in the early days? #StartupJourney #MVP #ProductLaunch #Innovation #TechLeadership #FeedbackLoop

Building an MVP is not about shipping less. It’s about learning faster. With AI, you do that even better. ⚠️ 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝗩𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱. It’s still one of the most powerful ways to validate an idea. Without wasting time building features no one needs. Here’s a quick breakdown of MVP types and tools that help you move fast: 🟡 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗩𝗣𝘀 → Concierge MVP: deliver value manually to a few users → Wizard of Oz MVP: fake the backend, observe real behavior → Piecemeal MVP: stitch tools together to simulate the product → Email MVP: offer the value using only email 🟡 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗩𝗣𝘀 → Landing Page MVP: test interest before building anything → Fake Door MVP: test demand with a feature that doesn’t exist → Pre-order MVP: see if people will pay before you build → Explainer Video MVP: demonstrate the value in a short demo 🟡 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁-𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗩𝗣𝘀 → Single-Feature MVP: focus on just one core value → No-Code MVP: launch fast using tools like Webflow or Softr → Content MVP: solve a problem using guides or templates → Crowdfunding MVP: validate demand with real money MVP is still relevant because it works. It helps you focus on real problems. It keeps your roadmap grounded in evidence. It gives your team clarity and purpose from day one. You don’t need a full product. You need just enough to test the riskiest assumption. Here are 5 modern alternatives that build on MVP thinking: 🟢 𝗠𝗟𝗣 → Minimum Lovable Product Focuses on joy, loyalty, and early emotional connection 🟢 𝗠𝗠𝗣 → Minimum Marketable Product Built to be sold, not just tested. It’s ready for launch 🟢 𝗠𝗔𝗣 → Minimum Awesome Product Delivers high polish and strong engagement out of the gate 🟢 𝗦𝗟𝗖 → Simple, Lovable, Complete Feels delightful and whole, even if it’s small AI tools make MVP development even faster. Go from idea to live prototype in hours, not weeks: 💡 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 → Chat-based prototyping with clean UI 💡 𝗕𝗼𝗹𝘁 → No-setup builder with fast integrations 💡 𝗩𝟬 → Minimal front-end builder for lean MVPs 💡 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘁 → For dev teams building code scaffolds 💡 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗿, 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲, 𝗚𝗶𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗯 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘁 → For vibe coding These are not for polish. They are for validation. To test direction, structure, and value. Fast. 🟡 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀: → Don’t build to impress. Build to learn → Use simple visuals to show it’s a test → Prioritize features by what you need to learn → Start small. Iterate fast. → Let real data guide your next step 📌 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗩𝗣𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴? https://lnkd.in/e5Ssvcgi Many other resources are inside the Product Map! 👉 productmap.io ♻️ Repost if you’re building smart, not slow 💬 What’s your favourite MVP type to start with? Drop it in the comments!

Most startups fail because they build something nobody wants. I've been there. Over the years, I've used 4 types of MVPs to launch successful products FAST! Here's how it works: 1. The Zappos Way When Nick Swinmurn had the idea for Zappos, he didn't have any inventory. So, he created a website with pictures of shoes from local stores. When a customer placed an order, Swinmurn would go to the store, buy the shoes, and ship them to the customer. This allowed him to test the demand for online shoe sales without investing in inventory upfront. Lesson: You can often validate a business model manually before automating it. It's not scalable, but it's a low-risk way to test the waters. MVP used: Simple website with pictures 2. The Groupon Method When Andrew Mason had the idea for Groupon, he didn't start by building a complex website. Instead, he used a simple WordPress blog to post daily deals. The blog was basic, but it allowed Mason to test the concept and gauge customer interest. And it worked. Lesson: Your MVP doesn't need to be feature-rich on day one. Start with the bare minimum and iterate based on user feedback. MVP used: WordPress blog 3. The Flexiple Way: Using Google Sheets as an MVP When we first started Flexiple, we didn't have a full-fledged platform. Instead, we used Google Sheets to manage the entire process. We had 3 sheets: 1 ⇒ For freelancer applications 2 ⇒ For client projects 3 ⇒ Tracking payments and invoices. Yes, it was a manual process. But, it allowed us to validate the demand without making a costly product. Within a few months, we had processed over $100,000 in payments through our Google Sheets MVP. That was the validation we needed to start building out our platform. Lesson: Even simple tools like Google Sheets can be powerful MVPs. The key is to focus on the core functionality and validate the business model before scaling. MVP used: Google Sheets 4. The Dropbox Approach When Drew Houston had the idea for Dropbox, he didn't start by building a full-fledged product. Instead, he created a simple video that demonstrated how the product would work. Then, he shared the video on Hacker News, and within a day, the beta waiting list had grown to 75,000 signups. Lesson: You don't need a real product to validate demand. Sometimes, a simple demo or mockup is enough to gauge interest. MVP used: Simple video With an MVP, your goal is to validate your ideas quickly and cheaply. Remember, you want progress, not perfection. Your MVP only grows in interaction with customers, not in isolation. So, get it in front of them ASAP! #startup