MVP Launch Slides
Business & Technology Strategy
Start Small
Understanding the Power of the
Minimum Viable Product
Warm Up: Day One
Amazon
1994
Google
1998
Apple
1976
Imagine the very first day these companies launched.
What did they look like? What features were missing?
What is an MVP?
A Minimum Viable Product is the simplest version of a product that allows you to start the learning process as quickly as possible.
Fast
Simple
Functional
Case Study: YouTube
- Date: April 23, 2005
- Uploader: Jawed Karim (Co-founder)
- Context: The very first video ever uploaded to the platform.
"If this platform is now worth billions, what do you expect the first video looked like?"
Video Loading...
Embedded media
"Me at the zoo" (19 seconds)
Discussion Analysis
Quality Check
Grainy video. Windy audio. Unscripted. No editing. Why didn't they wait for better cameras or hire a host?
The "Value" Proposition
Despite the low quality, what did this video prove was possible?
It worked.
It was shareable.
It was "good enough."
Activity: Launch Your MVP
Your goal is to design the "Year 1" version of a new app.
1
Dream Big
Imagine the perfect, feature-rich version of your idea.
2
Be Ruthless
Strip away EVERYTHING that isn't 100% essential to the core function.
3
Sketch Ugly
Draw the "Year 1" interface. It doesn't need to be pretty; it needs to work.
Reflection
?
Why is "shipping" (launching) often more important than perfection?
?
What creates more risk: launching early with bugs, or waiting 2 years to launch perfectly?
"If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late."
— Reid Hoffman (Founder of LinkedIn)
