Minimum Viable Audience

A term from Seth Godin: the smallest group of people you can build for and delight, rather than trying to appeal to everyone from the start.

Why it matters

Serving a small, specific audience deeply is how products earn love and word of mouth, which then spreads. Chasing everyone usually means resonating with no one, so starting narrow is a feature, not a limitation.

For example

A newsletter starts by delighting 1,000 climate-tech founders rather than chasing everyone, and grows through their word of mouth.

Related terms

Beachhead Market Ideal Customer Profile Minimum Lovable Product

Go deeper

See how founders actually handle this on Building the product, part of the Starting Up hub.

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