Article

Learning from the Concierge MVP

Coleman McCormick · Res Extensa (Coleman McCormick) Free Beginner

A tight, practical breakdown of what a concierge MVP is actually testing, using the Food on the Table example step by step. It makes the key point that the personal service is not the product, it is a learning activity aimed at your riskiest assumptions. Read it when you want the concept explained clearly without a book-length commitment.

  • The concierge service is a learning tool, not the product.
  • Aim it squarely at your leap-of-faith assumptions.
  • Find something customers love before worrying about scale.
Open on resextensa.co ↗

It answers 2 questions

  1. I want to test my idea before writing any code. What actually is a landing-page or concierge MVP and how do I run one right?
  2. 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. 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
  4. A YC partner turns 'talk to users' into a repeatable 5-question interview script you can use this afternoon. It's The Mom Test... YC Startup Library Video · ~25 min How to Talk to Users Eric Migicovsky (YC / founder of Pebble)
  5. Video · ~13 min How to Plan an MVP Michael Seibel (YC)
  6. 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
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →