𝗠𝗩𝗣 𝘃𝘀 𝗠𝗟𝗣: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆
Every founder asks the same question before shipping. How much should you build before you let people in?
Two frameworks offer answers. The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and the Minimum Lovable Product (MLP). They both focus on shipping small. But they solve different problems.
Choosing the wrong one costs you money and time.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗩𝗣?
An MVP is a stripped-down version of a product. You build it to test one specific hypothesis.
The goal is to find a signal. A signal tells you to build or to pivot before costs rise.
Examples: • Dropbox: Drew Houston made a four-minute video instead of building the full tech. The waitlist grew to 75,000 overnight. • Airbnb: The founders rented air mattresses in a house to see if strangers would pay to sleep on a floor.
An MVP asks: Will anyone use this?
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗟𝗣?
An MLP is a small version of a product that people enjoy using.
An MVP might be something people tolerate. An MLP is something people reach for. You cut the number of features, but you make the remaining features perfect.
Examples: • Superhuman: They focused on speed and craft to win users from existing email tools. • Linear: They built a tool so well-made that users refused to switch back to old software.
An MLP asks: Will users come back and stay?
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲
Use an MVP if your biggest risk is demand. • You are in an untested market. • You have a short runway. • You are building B2B tools where users value workflow over looks.
Use an MLP if your biggest risk is retention. • Demand is already proven. • Competitors have already set a high quality bar. • You need users to switch from an existing tool.
Ask yourself these four questions:
- Is the risk demand or retention?
- Has a competitor set a high bar for quality?
- How much runway do you have?
- Do you know exactly who your first user is?
Do not pick MLP because you fear criticism. Do not pick MVP because you hate design. Pick the strategy that matches your goal.
Source: https://dev.to/astikin27/mvp-vs-mlp-how-to-pick-the-right-launch-strategy-13bo