The MVP mindset for building products without overcomplicating

Ever heard the saying, “Done is better than perfect”? This rings especially true in the world of startups, scaleups, and product companies when talking about the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

The MVP mindset is about building the simplest version of your product that allows you to test, gather feedback, and iterate. It's not about cutting corners but avoiding scope creep and perfectionism that could slow down your progress, especially when time is short and pressure is high.

Why do we need an MVP?

At its core, an MVP is about proving an idea works without investing too much time or resources upfront. It allows you to test your assumptions quickly and make adjustments based on real user feedback.

A key benefit is that it forces you to prioritize what’s essential and cut out the noise. In other words, what is the absolute minimum feature set we need to attract early adopters? What will convince the customer that our idea is feasible, reliable, and something they need?

It’s all about using the least amount of resources to build something that works, and from there, you can iterate and improve as needed.

And this doesn’t just apply to creating something brand new from scratch. The MVP approach can also be applied to adding new features, creating a new product iteration, or even developing a new version of an existing application. It’s a mindset that can be used at various levels of granularity to keep things moving and prevent you from getting stuck.

When you break it down, an MVP:

• Helps fight perfectionism and procrastination.

• Keeps you from getting stuck in the endless cycle of over-engineering.

• Saves valuable engineering hours.

• Provides a solid foundation for scaling and refining the product.

The road to product-market fit

The goal of an MVP isn’t just to put something out there—it’s about laying the groundwork to reach product-market fit.

Product-market fit means your product is optimized not just from a technical perspective, but from a market perspective. You're getting retention, customer love, and solving real pain points. It's that magical place where users start saying, “I can't live without this product.”

To reach this, your MVP is a testing ground—you use it to:

• Validate your product hypothesis.

• Gather real customer feedback.

• Test what works and what doesn’t.

As Paul Graham says, “Make what people want.” The MVP helps you figure out what people want before you invest heavily in features that may not matter. Read more about Paul's point of view on this article “good” here.

The danger of scope creep

One of the biggest threats to an MVP is scope creep—the slow addition of features or tweaks that keep expanding the project far beyond what was initially planned.

You start with one goal in mind, but suddenly, there’s a demand for more features, last-minute changes, and endless “wouldn’t it be cool if” ideas. Before you know it, you’ve created an overcomplicated product with no clear vision.

Having an MVP helps you focus on what’s important and not get trapped in an environment where everything seems like a priority. The goal is to avoid delivering a product that tries to do everything, only to end up doing nothing well.

POCs vs MVPs

It’s also important to differentiate between an MVP and a proof of concept (PoC).

A PoC is more about testing a specific technical solution to see if it’s feasible. It’s focused on one particular component or idea within the system. You might run several PoCs before even defining your MVP to see if the technology will hold up.

For instance, while working on an e-commerce app for restaurants, we weren’t sure if a Progressive Web App (PWA) would meet all our performance and caching needs. We built a PoC to test it, which saved us from wasting time later in the process. We validated that a PWA was the way to go, avoiding the need to develop separate native apps for iOS and Android.

This is the beauty of a PoC—it’s quick and lean and allows you to test an idea before fully committing to it.

First, Do It: Embrace the MVP Mindset

As stated in The Stoic Mind by Addy Osmani:

First, Do It: Embrace the MVP Mindset. Doing it = get the simplest MVP out.

This quote perfectly captures the MVP philosophy: getting something done is better than waiting for perfection. Your first iteration doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to be good enough to validate your idea and get valuable feedback.

Why this matters for Startups and Scaleups

In fast-paced environments like startups or even scaleups trying to hit product-market fit, having an MVP is essential.

Without it, you risk burning through your resources on features that might not even matter. An MVP ensures that your time and money are spent on things that add value and get you closer to your goals. It’s not about building the perfect product—it’s about building something that works and that users want.

At the same time, it’s crucial to avoid scope creep, which can derail the entire process and lead to bloated products that don’t serve your customer’s needs.

The MVP mindset helps you stay focused, build smartly, and avoid unnecessary distractions.

Conclusion

An MVP is your starting point, not your end goal. It's about getting your product out there, learning from real users, and continuously improving based on feedback.

In a product-driven company, where time and resources are valuable, having a well-defined MVP helps avoid over-engineering, scope creep, and unnecessary perfectionism. It keeps you focused on what matters and helps you scale in the right direction.

Whether you’re building a brand new product, adding a feature, or iterating on an existing app, the MVP mindset applies at all levels. It allows you to get the basics right, get it out there, and iterate.