Minimum viable product (MVP)
What is a minimum viable product?
A minimum viable product (MVP) is the smallest version of a product that delivers enough value for early users to use it and give feedback, so you can test your key assumptions with the least effort. The term was popularised by Eric Ries’s lean startup.
An MVP can be a simple app, a landing page, a manual service behind a form or a prototype; the point is learning, not polish.
Why a minimum viable product matters
Building the full product before testing demand is slow and risky. An MVP gets real evidence early and shows what to build next.
Related marketing terms
Product-market fit is when a product clearly satisfies a real market need: customers want it, use it, keep using it and tell others.
Customer development is a method for startups to find a repeatable business by testing assumptions with customers step by step, before scaling.
Beta testers are early users who try a product before its full release, report bugs and give feedback in exchange for early access.
Early adopters are the first customers to try a new product, accepting rough edges because the problem matters to them and they like new things.