People who have successfully raised money from VC's, Friends & Family - could you offer some advice on MVP development.
I currently have around 70k to brand, design, develop, and run an MVP idea that I've already validated.
I am curious to know if I should brand the business and get a fully clickable prototype designed with a few separate user flows that is branded and beautiful. Then pitch that idea to investors.
Or if I should get a working mvp developed, convert people to users then pitch that idea.
I am reaching out to different agencies and freelancers to get quotes. I am undoubtedly over my head and don't want to be taken advantage of. I want to do what would be best to raise the attention of investors/F&F to develop this platform the correct way. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
How have you validated the project without folks getting value from it yet?
I've used the process that we are productizing in my business daily for the past three years. We surveyed our current user base and received positive feedback that they would not only use the product but they would pay for it!
Gotcha. Is it fair to say you’ve validated the problem space, but are now looking to validate the solution with a product vs a service?
I would quickly build as much of the planned scope as you can with clickable prototypes.
It will be faster to make / get feedback on, quicker to change as you learn and will make it easier to throw things out.
In most cases I'd say it's way better to build an MVP and focus on getting some initial traction. Unless you already have a track record, it's unlikely that you are going to raise money with a clickable prototype (no matter how beautiful). If you have an MVP and start making revenue you may not even need to talk to VCs!
As always, it depends a bit on the idea and your background, so feel free to share details if you want better feedback.
I appreciate your feedback Gabe! I agree that the MVP is the way to go for the time being.