The minimum viable testing process for evaluating startup ideas
"An MVT, on the other hand, does not attempt to look like the eventual product. It’s rather a specific test of an assumption that must be true for the business to succeed."
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Good content.
MVT is creating a post on Indiehackers. Can't change my mind.
Love it.
What I love about this process is that it allows you to learn so much along the way, as well as save resources and sanity. As they put it in the article:
"In an MVP, you try to simulate the entire car. In an MVT, you are just testing whether the drivetrain is more powerful with an electric engine or a gas one."
An MVP process can feel random at times. You're going fast, but running with assumptions and not a strategy. MVPs can also lead companies to over-build and overthink a product.
With MVT, you take the time to build a strategy — and once you have it you can move quickly. That allows you to "more appropriately match the realities of startups: It takes two to four years to know if you’re right."
MVT identifies hypotheses you have about a market and creates tests that focus on those hypotheses and not a grand vision. He offers some great examples in the piece.
Totally agree. The startups I've worked with have used a similar approach. It took me a while to get used to but I learned to really appreciate it. A note of caution that they note in the piece:
"Once you have an MVT that’s successful, it is important to avoid “The Traction Treadmill.” Zero out the revenue you made in the MVT. Use the success to fundraise, but don’t use it for “Month over Month” growth. Instead, start again from zero and focus on launching a product that has product/market fit"
Benchmarking is super imporant.