MVP for your project

What MVP really means for me

MVP is one of those terms that everyone uses, but everyone understands differently.

For some, it’s a prototype. For others, it’s a demo. For someone else, it’s a “cheap version of the product”.

In my practice, MVP is something much more specific and much more pragmatic.

MVP is a reality check.

Not for your idea — but for your business.

A proper MVP should answer three fundamental questions:

1. Marketing reality

Is there real demand?

Not assumptions. Not “it sounds cool”. Not “my friends like the idea”.

But real signals:

• real interest
• first users
• first reactions
• first leads
• real behaviour, not opinions

If the market doesn’t respond — no amount of technology will save the product.

2. Technological reality

Is this sustainable to build and operate?

Not just “can a developer build it”, but:

• can it scale
• can it be supported
• can it be secured
• can it evolve
• can it survive real usage

There is a big difference between a demo that works once and a system that works every day.

3. Financial reality

Does the model make sense economically?

Not in Excel fantasies, but in practice:

• cost of development
• cost of maintenance
• cost of scaling
• cost of acquiring users
• margin potential

If the economics don’t converge — it’s not a startup problem, it’s a business model problem.

Why MVP is not a prototype

This confusion is extremely common.

A prototype is mostly about technology:

• can we build it
• how does it work
• how does it look
• how do components interact

A prototype answers the question:

“Is this technically possible?”

An MVP answers very different questions:

• who needs this
• why they need it
• how they use it
• whether they are ready to pay for it
• whether a business can be built on top of it

In simple terms:

Prototype = code validation

MVP = product validation

A prototype can be part of an MVP.

But MVP is never just a prototype.

My approach to building MVPs

I don’t build MVPs as disposable demos.

I build them as controlled product sandboxes.

Infrastructure first: product sandbox

Every MVP starts with a real environment:

• VPS
• Docker
• isolated infrastructure
• controlled environments
• scalability from day one

Not a local demo.

Not “it works on my laptop”.

A real product environment — just minimal.

Only core functionality

No “let’s add everything”.

Only:

• key user scenarios
• core business logic
• critical product flows

Without:

• feature noise
• visual overengineering
• premature optimisation
• “nice to have” distractions

MVP is about signal, not decoration.

Real testing

Not only code testing.

But testing:

• users' behaviour
• usage patterns
• product logic
• business assumptions
• system limits

MVP is not about “it works”.

It’s about “what did it prove”.

Examples from practice

YachtPricer

YachtPricer didn’t start as a full platform.

It started as a narrow MVP focused on one question:

Can we automatically collect competitor pricing data and turn it into actionable pricing decisions?

The MVP validated:

• that data can be collected reliably
• that automation is technically viable
• that charter companies actually need this
• that manual pricing is a real pain point

Only after that, the platform architecture, workflows, RBAC, analytics and scaling logic were built.

Without this MVP, it would have been very easy to build a beautiful system nobody needs.

SeatMaps

SeatMaps started not as a “platform”, but as a technical-business MVP:

Can we integrate airline seat maps into real booking workflows in a stable and reusable way?

The MVP validated:

• API integration feasibility
• real-world data complexity
• performance constraints
• usability in real workflows

Only after that, it made sense to think about productisation, architecture and scaling.

What the client gets as a result

Not just a demo.

Technology clarity

Clear understanding of:

• chosen tech stack
• architectural logic
• scalability model
• technical limits

Live demo environment

A real working product:

• accessible
• testable
• extendable
• usable by real users

Practical documentation

Not formal documents, but:

• architecture logic
• system structure
• growth points
• risk zones
• development options

Strategic clarity

The most valuable result:

• should the project scale
• where the real value is
• where the risks are
• where illusions are
• where money is

Final thought

MVP is not about saving money.

MVP is about reducing stupidity. 🙂

Bad MVPs save budget and burn years.

Good MVPs save years and protect budget.

A good MVP is not a small product.

It’s a smart entry point into a real business.

If I had to reduce it to one sentence:

MVP is not about minimalism.

MVP is about clarity.

Clarity of demand.

Clarity of technology.

Clarity of economics.

Clarity of strategy.