Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Definition

See MVP—the leanest version of your product that teaches you what customers actually want rather than what you assume they want.

Example Usage

Our MVP is a spreadsheet wrapped in a web interface; it's not pretty, but it validates the core hypothesis.

Origin

Lean startup methodology, popularized by Eric Ries

Fun Fact

Some of the most successful MVPs were deliberately ugly because it forced users to focus on core functionality rather than aesthetics

Source: Lean startup and product development methodology

Related Terms

Beginner

Freemium

A business model where the basic product is free but all the useful features cost money, like a restaurant that gives you a free plate but charges for the food. It's the startup equivalent of a drug dealer's first-one's-free strategy, but legal and with worse margins.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

catch-up provision

A term in VC fund agreements where once LPs get their initial investment back, GPs get an accelerated share of profits until their normal split is reached. Basically letting the manager 'catch up' to their 20% after paying back investors.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

boomerang founder

An entrepreneur who returns to start another company after their previous venture was acquired or failed. They're either gluttons for punishment or genuinely addicted to the startup lifestyle.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

Ramen Profitable

The stage at which a startup makes just enough revenue to cover the founders' basic living expenses, assuming those expenses are limited to instant noodles and shared housing. It's the lowest bar of financial success that still technically counts as success.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

biotech

The magical realm where scientists play God with DNA and investors play roulette with their portfolios. Short for biotechnology, it's the industry that promises to cure cancer, extend your lifespan, and justify obscene R&D budgets—all while burning through cash faster than a lab incinerator. Whether it's CRISPR gene editing or synthetic biology, biotech is where biology meets business and hope meets hype.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

embark

To board a vessel or aircraft, or more metaphorically, to start something new and vaguely terrifying. Whether it's a cruise ship or a startup, embarking means you've committed and there's no backing out now.

🚀 Startup / VC

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