Building an MVP For Startups: Key Steps 

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, about one-fifth of all startups fail during their first year. As to the reasons behind failing companies, lack of financing, running out of cash, and turbulent market conditions are the ones to blame. In such a case, building an MVP for startups with a reputable software development company increases your chances of shipping a successful product. 

Considering the above, let’s explore several important steps in MVP development services for startups. Focusing on these helps companies understand the ins and outs of the process. Besides that, highlighting common mistakes is crucial for building the right product. Let’s begin!

MVP development for startups: 6 key steps

The importance of MVP for a startup is hard to overestimate. With the key steps we present further, you will have a good starting point. So, here are the 6 key steps in MVP development for tech startups: 

1. Market research and competition analysis;
2. Ideation and value proposition;
3. Mapping user flows;
4. Setting priorities for various MVP features; 
5. Launching the MVP;
6. Learning for the launch and moving toward product development. 

Step 1. Market research and competition analysis 

Proper market research is a great starting point for all business processes. How does it work? Before implementing your idea, you must know whether it will fit the existing market. The key aspect here is to ensure the idea meets a potential user’s needs. So, to engage in market research, keep an eye on competitors, collect feedback from the target audience, and hire a market analyst if your budget allows it. This is the foundation for building MVPs for startups.  

Step 2. Ideation and value proposition 

Next, it is time to consider what value your new product will bring to the customers. Even if you know the market, you need to determine how users you try to target will benefit from what your business offers. Keeping the above-mentioned information in mind, you need to define the MVPs value proposition and outline the user needs that will guide the process of MVP development for the startup. Users should gain something from your product, and defining exactly what it would be is utterly important before you start building the prototype. 

Step 3. Mapping the user flows  

With market research and value proposition at hand, you should start a design process. Look at your product from the user perspective, and go through the hypothetical process of how a person would interact with the MVP after its launch. Map these user flows to have a guiding beacon of how the product will operate when developed. This is among the best practices when it comes to creating MVPs for startups.  

Step 4. Setting priorities for various MVP features 

One of the mistakes businesses face with outsourcing is unclear project requirements. Similarly, one of the problems with building MVP for startups is defining a set of features it should have. So, not to make this mistake, you should prioritize various MVP features, paying particular attention to the ones meeting user needs.  

Furthermore, use different categories based on prioritization. Label features as having high, medium, or low priority. Having the categories above is crucial for knowing what features you can afford and what should be developed later on when a new investment is raised.  

Step 5. Launching the MVP 

With everything you have up to this point, it is the climax of building an MVP for startups – preparing your product for the launch. This step can be hard to complete. In that case, you can always turn to a well-recognized vendor like nCube that will help you with building an MVP for startups using modern software development technologies. An MVP should not be of lower quality than the final product. It still must need user needs and have an appealing design. The key reason MVPs fail – they don’t meet the expectations of users. 

Step 6. Moving toward full-fledged product development 

Finally, launching an MVP is not the endgame. Now, with the product on the market, you need to learn from it. MVP solutions for startups provide a great deal of feedback if you know how to listen. Get details from users on their interaction with an MVP. Let your QA team do the job and determine what users liked and disliked. Essentially, it would help make the final product as flawless as possible. After all, you don’t want your users to be the ones revealing errors and bugs.  

Mistakes to avoid and rules to follow during MVP development for startups 

When building an MVP for startups, especially if you do it on your own, there are some common rules to follow: 

1. Avoid solving the wrong issue and targeting the wrong users;
2. Never skip user flow mapping, and never avoid visualizing the user experience;
3. Never underestimate the importance of feedback after the launch; 
4. Avoid using unsuitable development methodology – it’s best to stick to Agile and Waterfall.

Equipped with these rules, you have a better chance to avoid mistakes when building MVPs for startups. Otherwise, you risk finding yourself where users don’t respond to your MVP, and all those efforts and investments are in vain.  

Closing thoughts

Building an MVP for startups is tricky. That may be why many young businesses do not know how to do it correctly. Yet, following the insights above, you see the entire process and can complete it without major hiccups. Furthermore, if there are still some aspects that don’t ring the bell of feeling complicated, there are always software development companies that can help to build MVP for a startup from scratch.