what a real MVP is

Almost every founder I've worked with has used the word MVP in our first conversation. Almost none of them meant it. What they described was version 1 - 25 features, a polished UI, and everything they'll "eventually need." That's not an MVP. That's a wish list with a deadline.

A real MVP is 1-2 things that solve the core problem. That's it. It might look unfinished. It probably will. But I've seen a two-screen app give users an 'aha!' moment that a 20-feature product never could. If someone gets value in two clicks, you've won.

When a client can't pick those 1-2 things, I know we're not ready to build yet. That's not a product problem - it's a discovery problem. You don't know your user well enough. Go back. Talk to them. Watch them work. Stay there until the one thing they actually need becomes obvious. I've had projects where that conversation changed everything.

I've also seen what happens when founders skip that step and hire an agency that nods along to every request. They'll happily build all 25 features - half-baked versions of each, no pushback, no launch date in sight. Why would they stop? The money keeps rolling in. A good partner tells you no. A bad one tells you "sure, we can add that" until you run out of budget and still don't have a product.

Be razor-focused with every decision. With AI, anyone can spin up a large app that looks nice in a weekend. But looking nice doesn't mean useful. Useful doesn't mean desirable. And none of it means viable or maintainable. Build the one thing that matters, ship it, see what happens. Adapt, add, grow. That's how real products are built - not by generating 25 screens and hoping three of them stick.