​​How to build an MVP for your product in 2 weeks 

In 2007, a major design conference was scheduled for San Francisco, and design enthusiasts and founders from all over the world were in town. Hotels were fully booked, and most founders without a house in the city were stranded. 

Three friends, Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blercharczyk, could not afford their San Francisco rent, so they put three air mattresses on their floor and created a simple blog offering “Air Bed and Breakfast” for $20 a night. 

That night, they got three customers, and the idea for an $80.36 billion Airbnb startup was born. The three air mattresses and the simple blog setup by the Airbnb founders on their first day were the product’s Minimum Viable Product (MVP). 

An MVP is the simplest version of a new product that enables a team to capture as much validated customer learning as possible with the least effort.

The goal isn’t to build a cheap or broken product, but to build just enough features to solve a core problem so you can test if people actually want what you’re selling before you spend millions of dollars building the full version. 

An MVP is a strong indicator of demand, as it predicts how well a product will perform in the market. It is also an important factor in securing venture capital funding, as it demonstrates that the product can sustain a viable business. 

Billion-dollar companies and their initial MVP 

The Idea of an MVP is not new in business circles. Many billion-dollar companies and brands existing today tested the market with an MVP before wooing investors and investing millions in their subsequent products. Here are examples of popular MVP’s and the worth of the actual business today. 

Dropbox ($6.44 billion) 

MVP: A Video 

Instead of spending months building complex cloud-syncing software, founder Drew Houston made a 3-minute demo video showing how it would work.

The video went viral on Hacker News, and their waiting list skyrocketed overnight. They proved the demand existed without writing a single line of the actual syncing code. 

Zappos: (Acquired by Amazon for $1.2 billion) 

MVP: An Image 

Founder Nick Swinmurn wanted to see if people would buy shoes online. He didn’t build a warehouse or buy inventory.

He went to a local mall, took photos of shoes, and put them on a basic website. When someone bought a pair, he would go back to the mall, buy them at full price, and mail them himself.

He proved people were comfortable buying shoes online before he invested a dime in stock. 

Amazon: ($2.26 trillion) 

MVP: Books 

Jeff Bezos knew he wanted Amazon to be the “everything store,” but trying to sell everything on Day 1 would have been impossible.

He focused solely on books. They were easy to ship, didn’t break, and had a universal catalogue. Once he mastered the logistics and built a customer base with books, he expanded to everything else.

How to set up an MVP for your product in two weeks 

Setting up an MVP for your product in two weeks requires a strong focus on what matters and a total neglect of niceties that don’t contribute to the core. 

Let’s assume your product is a house; the MVP could be a tent to see whether people will rent it. Hence, factors such as the tent’s colour or mattress type are secondary. To build an efficient MVP, factors like location should be at the forefront. 

Fourteen days is pretty tight if you are to nail an MVP. This is how to go about it. 

Phase 1: Focus on Value Proposition Forget Aesthetics

Identify the one core value proposition and focus on building it. If your app helps people find tutors, the core is the connection, and not the profile picture editor or the dark mode setting.

You can also use the rule-of-3 feature. List 10 features you want. Now delete seven. The remaining 3 are your MVP.

Phase 2: Avoid Coding Unless its Absolutely Necessary

Do not write custom code unless your product is the code itself, such as a new AI algorithm. You can use the Frankenstein Method. Examples of tools that can help you bypass coding are 

• Frontend: Use Carrd, Webflow, or Bubble for the interface.
• Database: Use Airtable or Google Sheets.
• Automation: Use Zapier or Make to connect them.
• Payments: Use Stripe Payment Links. It takes 5 minutes to set up.

Phase 3: Ditch Backend Development

Instead of building a complex backend, do it manually. For instance, if your app automatically generates a diet plan, let the user submit a form, and you manually email them a PDF. 

The user gets the value, and you save three weeks of backend development. This is how Zappos and DoorDash started.

Phase 4: Launch and Get Feedback

Send your link to 10 potential users. Quiz them on the business model by asking if they will pay a certain price for the product. 

Don’t ask, “Do you like this?” Ask, “Would you pay N50,000 for this right now?” This way, you know if there is a demand for your product and whether people are willing to pay for it. 

An MVP saves you the time and stress of building an unviable product. It protects you, the builder, more than anybody else. 

When next you have an idea and would like to execute, build an MVP instead of wasting months obsessing and creating an untested product.