Minimum viable product (MVP) is a product with minimal but sufficient functions to satisfy the first consumers.
Companies often come to us wanting an online store. And not just any store, but one “like Amazon.” They show us our project and say, “This one, amazon.com, is amazing! Make it for us.”
And every time, we have to explain that this “amazing” project is 10 years of work, redesigns, difficulties, sweat, and tears from managers. They look at the result and think it’s easy. They want a skyscraper, but the budget only covers a barn. And that’s without a roof.
Many come with the mindset of “let’s do it right away.” Two-hundred-page technical specifications are written, flowcharts are drawn, every imaginable wish list is compiled. Integrations with ERP, CRM, online payment, door-to-door delivery, and an AI-powered recommendation system are planned.
And then life happens.
The course changes, a key employee leaves, the business hits hard times, the country undergoes perestroika, or a global financial crisis hits—and this entire beautiful, complex, but unworkable project goes down the drain. Because the initial idea was not to dream, but to launch.
I explain this before every project: if you want it to work, you need to start with the simplest and most necessary, not with the ideal. Create a minimal framework. One that you can maintain yourself. One in which you know exactly what every detail is for.
And we start not with design, not with filters and user experience, but with what your business is built on. If you resell phones, you need:
- A clear purchasing process – where to get the product, where it’s coming from, and who will ship it.
- A catalog – maybe simple, no frills, but with prices, photos, and at least some specifications.
- The ability to accept an order – even if it’s just a “leave your phone number” button.
- The person who accepts the order will call back and close the deal.
This is what MVP is
The bottom line is simple: if you want to launch an e-commerce website, start not with a pipe dream, but with something that works. It may be broken, it may not be polished, but it’s already functional. Everything else will come if you survive until then.
