A case against MVPs: Why I’ve grown to hate “The Lean Startup”

Eric Ries' book "The Lean Startup" popularized the concept of Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) as a means to validate product ideas and gain customer insights, but it inadvertently fostered a culture that overlooks the commercial complexities of product development. While MVPs are often seen as cost-effective, they can still be expensive and may encourage a "throw spaghetti at the wall" approach rather than strategic planning. The article argues that before investing in an MVP, product managers should do their homework by developing strong segment and business model hypotheses, ensuring they target the right customer segment and understand the likelihood of user willingness to pay. It emphasizes the importance of clarifying user segments and hypothesizing growth loops before testing MVPs, and suggests a refined learning cycle involving specific target groups, willingness-to-pay checks, and growth potential assessments. The author notes that common issues such as failed segment or business model hypotheses can occur, but they provide crucial learning opportunities to refine strategies and hypotheses, ultimately maximizing learning speed and increasing the likelihood of achieving product-market fit.