Forget MVPs, embrace MVLs

A More Efficient Path to Venture Validation

The ubiquitous mantra of the startup world? Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Get something simple out there, test the waters, and see if your business idea has legs. Yet, whispers are growing among savvy entrepreneurs – whispers of MVP inefficiency, of wasted time and resources poured into solutions unaligned with genuine market needs.

Aaron Dinin, PhD, author of "The Lean Startup for the Rest of Us," is a leading voice in this quiet revolution. He argues that MVPs, while offering a path to validation, simply aren't efficient enough. Building even the most basic product consumes precious time and capital – resources better invested in understanding the problem before rushing to a solution.

Dinin proposes a powerful alternative: Minimum Viable Learnings (MVLs). Forget prototypes and beta launches. Instead, focus on uncovering demand signals, concrete indicators that a real problem exists and begs for a solution. These signals – landing pages, customer interviews, explainer videos, and even pre-orders – offer low-cost, rapid insights into what people truly want.

The essence of MVLs lies in prioritizing learning over building. By diligently seeking demand signals before crafting potential solutions, entrepreneurs avoid the costly pitfall of creating products nobody needs or desires. MVLs become a potent weapon against wasted effort and misdirected resources, empowering ventures to build with confidence, knowing their solutions resonate with a genuine market void.

Here's the crux of Dinin's argument:

• MVP Inefficiency: While validating ideas, MVPs still require building something, a resource-intensive endeavour.
• MVLs: The Demand Signal Advantage: Instead of building, MVLs seek evidence of a problem worth solving, often through inexpensive, rapid tests.
• Learning Before Building: MVLs prioritize understanding customer needs above premature solution-building, ensuring market alignment.
• The Value Proposition: Embrace an MVL strategy, where learning reigns supreme. Avoid MVP pitfalls and build solutions people crave, not products they discard.

So, the question begs: MVPs or MVLs?

In my expert opinion, MVLs hold immense promise. MVPs, while potentially useful in specific scenarios, can be overly expensive and time-consuming. MVLs, conversely, offer a more efficient and effective path to validation. By prioritizing learning about your customers' needs, you circumvent the resource drain of building products destined for indifference.

Of course, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. The optimal strategy depends on your unique business idea and available resources. Yet, if you seek a rapid, efficient path to validation, MVLs deserve serious consideration.

Ready to embrace MVLs? Here are some expert tips:

1. Define the problem: What are you trying to solve?
2. Identify your target audience: Who needs your solution?
3. Develop a hypothesis: What do you think your audience wants or needs?
4. Design a test: How will you validate your hypothesis?
5. Measure the results: What do your test results tell you?

By following these steps, you can tap into the power of MVLs, learning what your audience truly desires before investing precious time and capital in developing solutions destined for success.

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