Minimum Lovable Product

Also called MLP

Minimum lovable product: a first version that does more than barely function, it delights on the one thing that matters, so early users become fans rather than just testers.

Why it matters

In crowded markets, a merely viable product gets ignored. Aiming for lovable on a narrow slice, rather than viable across many, is often what earns the word of mouth an early startup needs.

For example

Instead of a barely-working MVP, Superhuman shipped a minimum lovable product that nailed speed and delight on email, so early users became fans.

Worth your time

Building Minimum Lovable Products Lenny's Newsletter · article A useful counterweight to the raw MVP idea, drawing on stories from Airbnb and WeWork about building the smallest thing people actually love. It helps you decide how much polish your test really needs so you learn something real and not just that a rough demo felt rough. Read it once you understand the basic MVP and want to avoid shipping something too thin to judge. Open lennysnewsletter.com →

Related terms

Minimum Viable Product Aha Moment Product-Market Fit

Go deeper

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

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