Video · ~45 min

How to Launch an MVP

Michael Seibel and Eric Migicovsky · Y Combinator (Michael Seibel and Eric Migicovsky) Free Intermediate

How to Launch an MVP

A longer office hours style session where two YC partners answer real founder questions about scoping and launching a first version. Hearing them push back on founders who want to build too much helps you calibrate your own MVP. Watch it when you are stuck deciding what to cut before you launch.

  • Launching is a step in learning, not a finish line
  • Cut features that do not test your core assumption
  • Getting it live beats making it perfect
Watch on YouTube ↗

It answers 5 questions

  1. How long should building an MVP take?
  2. Should I build an MVP at all, or can I validate without one?
  3. What is an MVP and what's the smallest one I can build?
  4. What's the difference between an MVP and just a cheap, half-finished product?
  5. What is a concierge or Wizard of Oz MVP and when should I use one?

Read with it

  1. The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past... momtestbook.com Book · ~130 pages The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick
  2. The permission slip to recruit users by hand, do things manually, and deliver 'insanely great' experiences to your first few... paulgraham.com Essay · ~15 min read Do Things That Don't Scale Paul Graham
  3. The origin text for the modern MVP and validated-learning vocabulary every founder now uses. Read it for the mental model that... theleanstartup.com Book · ~330 pages The Lean Startup Eric Ries
  4. Michael Seibel, who ran YC, makes the blunt case for shipping something almost embarrassingly simple and learning from real... Y Combinator Startup Library Video · ~10 min video How to Build an MVP Michael Seibel
  5. Turns the vague feeling of product-market fit into a number you can move. Ask users how they would feel if they could no longer... First Round Review Article · ~20 min read How Superhuman Built an Engine to Find Product/Market Fit Rahul Vohra
  6. Video · ~13 min How to Plan an MVP Michael Seibel (YC)
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