Getting to Your Minimum Viable Product (MVP

Getting to Minimum Viable
Product (MVP)
A Framework Created by Execution Matters – A Startup Advisory Firm
§ Sam Wong
§ Startup Advisor, Author, Interim Co-Founder; May 28, 2019

} Sam Wong – Startup Advisor, Author, Interim
Co-Founder
} Five-time serial entrepreneur
} 1x CEO, 1x CTO, 3x VP Engineering / TechOps
} 2 successful exits, 1 startup still thriving
} 2 startup failures (and great lessons learned)
} 21 Secrets of Successful Startups
} Startup Execution
} Startup Fundraising
} Startup Talent
} Startup Life
Execution Matters Provides Proven Coaching
2
www.ExecMatters.com
Sam Wong – Founder, Execution Matters; Author
www.21secrets.biz
Copyright © 2019, Execution Matters. All rights reserved.

Agenda
}01 Introduction
} The Importance and Challenge of Nailing Your
Minimum Viable Product
}02 MVP Framework
} How to Approach Building Your Minimum Viable
Product in a Startup
}03 MVP Scope
} How to Determine the Functionality for Your
Minimum Viable Product
}04 MVP Value
} How Getting MVP Right Leads to Healthy Startups
Copyright © 2019, Execution Matters. All rights reserved. 3

Introduction
The Importance and Challenge of Nailing Your Minimum Viable Product01

5
60% of Key Success Factors Involve the Product
Execution
& Team
Business
Model
FundingTiming
Idea
Product
Founders need to pay careful
attention to the product
development as it affects the
majority of a startup’s critical
success factors

6
But How Do You Get to MVP?
“The MVP is the right-sized product for your company
and your customer. It is big enough to cause
adoption, satisfaction and sales, but not so big as to
be bloated and risky.”
- Frank Robinson
CEO, SyncDev
“Everything should be as simple as it can be, but not
simpler.”
- Albert Einstein
Theoretical Physicist
“The minimum viable product is that version of a
new product which allows a team to collect the
maximum amount of validated learning about
customers with the least effort.”
- Eric Ries
Author, The Lean Startup
These quotes describe
MVP, but do little to
help you build your MVP.

} Not Enough Money
Startup Challenges
} Not Enough Time } Not Enough Resources

Typical Early-Stage Startup Funding Journey
Concept
(Not Funded)
Bootstrap
Funded
Seed
Funded
Series A
Funded

MVP Framework
How to Approach Building Your Minimum Viable Product in a Startup02

Making Sense of MVP – by Henrik Kniberg
Copyright © 2019, Execution Matters. All rights reserved. 10Source: Henrik Kniberg, https://blog.crisp.se/2016/01/25/henrikkniberg/making-sense-of-mvp

11
Your Product Development Journey
Current State
!User wants improvement
Earliest Showable
"User curiously enlightened
Earliest Testable
#User visualizes potential
Earliest Likable
$User’s life greatly improves
Earliest Lovable
%User becomes evangelist
Earliest Usable
&User’s life improves

12
Getting to Minimum Viable Product (& Beyond)
Example using a package delivery company
Current State
Earliest Usable Earliest Likable Earliest Lovable
Earliest Showable Earliest Testable

Phase 1: Current State
!
Concept
(Not Funded)

Phase 2: Earliest Showable Product
!
Bootstrap
Funded

Phase 3: Earliest Testable Product
!
Seed
Funded

Phase 4: Earliest Usable Product
!
Series A
Funded
MVP
* For this example, the earliest usable product is likely the MVP. Other businesses may designate an earlier or later stage as MVP.

Phase 5: Earliest Likable Product
!

Phase 6: Earliest Lovable Product
!

Evolutionary Phases of Product Development
Copyright © 2019, Execution Matters. All rights reserved. 19* Content is illustrative only (your mileage may vary)
Earliest Showable Earliest Testable Earliest Usable Earliest Likable Earliest Lovable
Product
Goal
Get the foundation built,
warts and all
Get something usable,
even with extreme
limitations
Get something in use, even
with multiple limitations
Get something that starts
momentum
Get something that
accelerates momentum
and builds fans
User Benefit
Little – barely better than
existing state
Very limited; slightly better
than existing
Somewhat better than
existing with limitations
Significantly better than
existing
Doesn’t just reduce costs,
but creates value
User
Involvement
Observation / feedback
only; no hands-on
Hands-on with only 1-2
specific use cases
Hands-on use in very
controlled environment
Limited, hands-on use Generally unrestricted use
Ideal User
Reaction
User curiously
enlightened ! User visualizes
potential " User’s life improves # User’s life greatly
improves $ User becomes
evangelist %
Audience
Size1
2-3 authoritative users
with signed NDA
Very limited handful of
users with signed NDA; <
10 users
Limited set of beta users;
~10-25 users
Early release candidate;
~100+ users
Actively marketed; 1,000+
users
Delivery
Truck
Example
Chassis and wheels only
Add folding chair, steering
system, brakes
Add engine, fuel system;
upgrade power steering
and seat
Add transmission, package
shelving system; enclose
cab
Add truck body, wireless,
GPS, lift gate; upgrade
engine
Ideal
Timeframe
1-2 months 2-4 months 3-6 months 4-8 months 12+ months
1 Typical target audience size depends heavily on the nature of the product and risk of liability

Agile SprintsAgile SprintsAgile Sprints
20
So Where in This Will You Find the MVP?
Earliest
Showable
Earliest
Testable
Earliest
Usable
Earliest
Likable
Earliest
Lovable
Time
Somewhat Uncommon MVP
Most Common MVP
Somewhat Common MVP

MVP Scope
How to Determine the Functionality for Your Minimum Viable Product03

Typical Product Requirements Process
Brainstorm
Features
Prioritize
Features
Build
Features

Typical Feature Brainstorming Process
Christina Morillorawpixel.com

Typical Feature Prioritization Process
Sorted Feature List
Feature
3
Feature
2
Feature
1 1-Must Have
2-Should Have
3-Want to Have
1-Critical
2-Very Important
3-Somewhat
Important
4-Somewhat
Optional
5-Completely
Optional
1-Must Have
2-Should Have
3-Want to Have
4-Nice to Have
Prioritization Scale

Typical Feature Prioritization Result
27
10
5
3
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1-Must Have 2-Should Have 3-Want to Have 4-Nice to Have
# Features by Priority
Problem: How do you determine
the features that go into the MVP?

Recommended Prioritization Method
} Features should be evaluated on their:
} Business benefit
} Technical complexity
} The combination of these two ratings
combine to create a prioritization table
} Tip: clearly define the criteria used to
determine each individual rating
} Example with technical complexity:
1 2 3 4 5
2 3 4 5 6
3 4 5 6 7
4 5 6 7 8
5 6 7 8 9
Technical Complexity
BusinessBenefit
Low High
LowHigh
Grade Range
Very Low < 2 man days
Low 2-5 man days
Medium 6-10 man days
High 11-15 man days
Very High > 15 man days

Nine-Point Prioritization Improves Accuracy
2
5
8
9
7
5
4
3
2
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Priority 6 Priority 7 Priority 8 Priority 9
# Features by Priority
Earliest
Showable?
Earliest
Testable?
Earliest
Usable?

Business Benefit Value Costs Competition
1-Completely
Optional
Creates some value
(1.1x?)
Slightly reduces costs
(10% less?)
Not a factor
2-Somewhat
Optional
Creates wanted value
(1.5x?)
Reduces costs (30%
less?)
Maintains wanted
parity
3-Somewhat
Important
Creates needed (2x?)
value
Reduces core costs
(50% less?)
Maintains needed
parity
4-Very Important
Creates substantive
(5x?) needed value
Dramatically reduces
core costs (80% less?)
Key differentiator
5-Critical
Don’t even bother building the product
if this feature isn’t included
} Challenge: measuring
business benefit is hard
} Business value is often
subjective
} Solution: define your
detailed criteria for assigning
a grade
} Possible criteria:
} Value
} Cost
} Competition
} Scalability
} Interoperability
} Availability
Sample Business Benefit Rating Scale

} Questions to ask:
} Does the customer have this feature today?
} What does the customer do if the feature is not built or ready?
} How much pain does the customer feel if the feature is not included?
} Is there a workaround if the feature is not included?
} What if you only build part of the feature? Is there a way to split the
feature into multiple sub-features?
} Does any other competitor have this feature?
} Is there another similar feature that is a reasonable substitute?
} Is there a way to spec the feature differently to reduce its cost?
} How does the business benefit of this feature compare to:
} Another feature with the same business benefit grade?
} Another feature with the next lower grade?
} Another feature with the next higher grade?
} Remove your emotions from the process, as they make wants
appear to be needs
Be Ruthless When Assessing Business Value
Thinking very critically and making hard decisions improves the result
Photo by Ivan Cujic

MVP Value
How Getting MVP Right Leads to Healthy Startups04

Typical Startup Funding Journey
Concept
(Not Funded)
Bootstrap
Funded
Seed
Funded
Series A
Funded
How do you know
how much to raise?

Fundraising: How Much to Build a Home?
} Estimate quickly
} Aim high
} Hope you got it right
} Spend a little time to
determine the scope
} Spend a little more time
to determine budgets for
each cost category
} Aggregate the individual
costs and add a little
padding
Typical Approach Recommended Approach
But hope is not
a strategy!

A Thorough MVP Plan Impacts Overall Plans

Which Climber is Prepared to Scale Mt. Everest?

} Use a framework to
guide progress to MVP
Summary
} Ruthlessly
prioritize features
} Move fast & leverage
experts – lack of time &
money work against you
Current State
Earliest Usable Earliest Likable Earliest Lovable
Earliest Showable Earliest Testable
1
2
31 2 3 4 5
2 3 4 5 6
3 4 5 6 7
4 5 6 7 8
5 6 7 8 9
Technical Complexity
BusinessBenefit
Low High
LowHigh
Concept
(Not Funded)
Bootstrap
Funded
Seed
Funded
Series A
Funded

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