Product
MVP Types
Based on Rabit Solutions — Examples of MVP.
An MVP is the initial version of your product containing only the core features essential to solving a real problem for your target customers. The goal is to validate market interest with the minimum investment of time and money — before building something nobody wants.
Choose the MVP type that best fits your available resources (time, money, people) and the nature of what you're delivering.
1. Landing Page
Build a page that describes your product, presents its advantages, and collects signups or pre-orders. Useful for gauging interest, building an early audience, and gathering feedback before writing a line of product code.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Cheap and fast to set up | Conversion rate is low (1–3%) |
| Easy to pair with online ads | Hard to fit all key information on one page |
| Easy to test and optimise | A poor-looking page can damage your brand |
2. Explainer Video
A short video that shows what your product does and why people should want it — without the product existing yet. Dropbox famously validated their idea this way before building anything.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Communicates the idea simply | Can be expensive to produce well |
| People watch video more readily than reading | Getting the message right takes time |
| Shareable on social media | Hard to explain complex products in a few minutes |
| Good for brand building |
3. Concierge MVP
You perform every function of the service manually, working directly with each customer to deliver the result. You're not automating anything — you're doing it yourself to learn exactly what the end product needs to do.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| No development cost | Very time-intensive |
| Direct, face-to-face customer feedback | Requires salesmanship to get people to try it |
| Works with just a handful of users | Only optimises the core service; UI/UX comes later |
4. Wizard of Oz MVP
The customer sees a polished, seemingly functional product — but behind the curtain, humans are fulfilling every order manually. The illusion lets you test real market demand before building real infrastructure.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Fast and cheap to stand up | Manually fulfilling orders is labour-intensive |
| Can use ads and social media to generate demand | Customers may feel misled if they discover the reality |
5. Piecemeal MVP
Stitch together existing tools and services to deliver your product rather than building anything from scratch. You're combining the utility of what already exists to create something new.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Minimal upfront investment | Coordinating multiple products adds complexity |
| No development time required | Ongoing subscription fees can add up |
6. Single-Feature MVP
Strip the product down to one core feature and make that feature work exceptionally well. The discipline is in deciding which feature deserves the focus.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Solves one specific problem for a specific audience | Requires some real development investment |
| Fast to market at relatively low cost | Choosing the right feature is genuinely hard |
| Easy to expand later |
The minimalist nature of your initial offering shouldn't worry you. The point is to learn, not to impress. Don't rush to launch a polished product that nobody wants.