This article summarizes the content from a previous entrepreneurship course I attended.

1) Definition of MVP

In the IT sector, especially in B2C businesses, the relevance is significant, though it may differ in other fields.

• MVP

  1. Minimum Viable Product = A product with the minimum necessary features

  2. The goal is to quickly release and test it, containing only the Core Key Function **** to validate the team’s hypothesis.

• Why create an MVP?

  1. It starts with acknowledging that you don’t know the market well.

  2. It’s nearly impossible for the entrepreneur to get the answer right on the first try.

  3. It’s the easiest, fastest, and most accurate way to validate hypotheses.

Intuitively, compare a team that creates one MVP per year with a team that creates four different MVPs each season. After a year, it will be clear which team has found product accuracy.

Most teams skip market analysis, hypothesis development, MVP design, and testing.

2) Difference with or without MVP

• Case A) Team without MVP

  1. Assumes that a specific hypothesis is already validated and tries to implement a near-perfect product.

  2. If the hypothesis is wrong, they realize it only after spending too much time and resources.

  3. It’s no different from guessing.

• Case B) Team with MVP

  1. Turns a hypothesis into a quick test and validation cycle.

  2. If the hypothesis is wrong, they can quickly adjust it and find the right answer.

3) Considerations When Designing an MVP

1. Build and show it directly.

   • Communicating and validating through words has limitations (e.g., surveys, FGIs).

   • It’s important to judge based on user actions, not words. Create and show something visually or functionally, then observe the reaction data.

2. Keep it simple and intuitive.

   • Only validate the core hypothesis you are testing (avoid testing multiple related hypotheses).

   • It’s easier to create an MVP when focusing on validating a single core hypothesis.

💡 Since MVPs are likely to fail and require revisions, it’s unnecessary to invest heavily in them.

4) Representative MVP Examples

Ably started with the hypothesis that users would love a shopping app featuring personal influencers' styles. They launched with a web app containing two core features.

• Ably

  1. Hypothesis: Users will like and purchase from a shopping app featuring influencers.

  2. MVP: A web app with two core features

     1. Detailed pages featuring influencer selfies.

     2. Inclusion of influencer profiles.

  3. Result: Generated about 300 million KRW in transactions in the first month, confirming the hypothesis.

• Toss

  1. Hypothesis: Many people want a simple remittance app.

  2. MVP: Created a launch page asking interested people to leave their phone numbers.

  3. Result: The large number of phone numbers left confirmed high user demand.

• Baedal Minjok

  1. Hypothesis: People will increasingly order food delivery via an app instead of by phone.

  2. MVP:

     1. Collected offline flyers and showed the information in the app.

     2. Employees manually called restaurants to place orders received through the app.

  3. Result: Gained many users and orders, leading to the development of an automated process.

5) Definition of PMF

• PMF = Product Market Fit

  1. A state where the product and market align.

  2. The product’s concept, features, and strategy match the market’s needs.

• After validating core hypotheses through MVP, attack the market in that direction, leading to rapid business growth.

• Achieving PMF is the goal of all early-stage startups.

6) How to Find PMF

(1) The Process of Finding PMF

• Validate core hypotheses through MVP by analyzing user data.

What level of data is required?

(2) When Can You Tell You Have Found PMF?

• User metrics like the percentage of organic users, return rates, and NPS (Net Promoter Score) data are indicators. But these metrics were not particularly helpful in the early stages.

  1. The sample size may be too small to be meaningful.

  2. It’s hard to judge what is considered good (e.g., weekly return rates of 30-50%, MAU growth rate).

• Marketing efficiency can be a better early signal.

  1. Significantly low CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) likely indicates PMF. → This means users agree with the concept. → This was the process followed when planning new projects at Ably.

  2. Testing marketing alone without building the product can be a good strategy. → Like Toss, creating just a launch page and running ads (recommended).

7) What to Do After Finding PMF?

1. Focus on the essence.

   • Rather than doing something new, ensure the service runs properly. With increasing users, orders, and interactions, focus on maintaining the core service.

   • When PMF is achieved, there is no mental space to think about or try new things.

2. Secure more funds and team members to scale up quickly.

   • Competitors will start to emerge rapidly.

   • It’s important to grow and execute quickly.

💡 Finding an MVP is tough, but achieving rapid market penetration after validating the MVP is also challenging.