From Idea to Product
4 concepts · ~18 min · Beginner
Learn how to validate your idea, build an MVP, find product-market fit, and choose the metric that drives your entire company.
What You'll Learn
- ✓Build an MVP in 30 days that validates your core hypothesis
- ✓Measure product-market fit with the Sean Ellis 'very disappointed' test
- ✓Choose a North Star Metric that aligns your entire team
- ✓Map your marketing funnel and identify the leakiest stage
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Product
💡 The Concept
An MVP is the smallest version of your product that delivers real value to early users and generates validated learning. The goal isn't a 'crappy first version' — it's the fastest path to proving whether customers will pay for your solution. 74% of startups fail because they build something nobody wants.
⚠️ The Trap
The trap is building too much. Founders spend 6-12 months building a 'complete' product before showing it to a single customer. By then, they've burned through runway and assumptions. Dropbox's MVP was a 3-minute demo video — it validated demand before writing a single line of code.
🎯 The Action
Define the ONE core problem you solve. Build only the features needed to test if users will pay for that solution. Launch within 4-6 weeks. Your MVP should be embarrassingly simple — if you're not embarrassed by v1, you launched too late.
Scenario Challenge
You want to build a tool that uses AI to generate personalized meal plans. Your co-founder wants to spend 4 months building the AI engine, recipe database, and mobile app before launch. You have $50K in savings and no external funding.