Read in
12
min
Building an MVP That Doesn’t Suck: 6 Rules to Follow
If you’re reading this, you’re probably building your MVP — or thinking about it. Great. But slow down. Before you hire a developer or dive into Figma, consider this: an MVP isn’t a product, it’s a test. Here’s how to build one that doesn’t waste months of your time.
Author
Amina Johnson
Published on
Jul 4, 2025
Blog Categories
product-development
Design
1. Validate the Problem First
Don’t start with your solution. Talk to 10 people in your target audience and ask them about their pain points. If they’re not frustrated, bored, or losing money — your product might not matter.
2. Pick One Use Case, Not Five
Your MVP should serve one purpose for one type of user. Anything else is a distraction.
“Build for a narrow audience to create wide impact.”
3. Cut Your Feature List in Half
Every feature you add to an MVP increases build time, bugs, and confusion. Ask: what’s the smallest version of the product that can still prove value?
Examples:
Newsletter → Just a landing page + email form
SaaS → Just a demo with limited login
Marketplace → Just a listings page and DM link
4. Don’t Over-Invest in Design
You’re not building for Dribbble. You’re building to test. Focus on clarity and usability. If people get value despite the design, you’ve validated the core idea.
5. Use Tools You Don’t Have to Code
You can test 80% of MVPs using:
Notion
Webflow or Framer
Airtable
Zapier or Make
Typeform
Google Sheets
MVPs don’t need to scale. They need to ship.
6. Ship, Learn, Iterate
Launch early. Share it with real users. Watch them use it. What confused them? What did they love? Use this feedback loop to guide v2 — not assumptions.
Final Thought:
Your MVP isn’t about perfection — it’s about progress. Stop building in silence. Start testing in public.
