Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is an essential step for startups looking to validate their ideas, minimise risks, and attract potential investors. An MVP allows you to test your assumptions, gather feedback, and validate your market before investing significant time and resources into a full-scale product. However, building an MVP is just the beginning of the startup journey. To achieve long-term success, you need to have a clear plan for scaling your product based on user feedback and market demand.
In this infographic below, we have set out the main activity involved at the pre-seed, the seed and series A stages.
Pre-seed
During the pre-seed stage, the startup founder’s focus should be on validating the product idea and building the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to test with potential customers. You begin at the ideation stage where a founder must carry out competitor research and revise their idea. Next comes the hypothesis stage where you will define the requirements for the MVP based on feedback from your target market. Once the product has been launched, you will be measuring the product’s performance and learning from feedback you receive from users which will then help you to create a roadmap ready for scaling.
Seed
Here, a startup founder should aim to refine the MVP based on user feedback and initial traction. It often involves one of three areas: enhancement for new markets, adapting the technology for clients’ needs or identifying areas for optimisation. You should work on scaling your team and improving the product’s core features while addressing any identified shortcomings. Fundraising efforts are also critical during this stage, and you should be engaged in pitching to investors, demonstrating the product’s potential, and securing sufficient funding for further growth and development.
Series A
At this stage, you should have a validated product and some level of market traction. Now, the focus shifts towards scaling the product and growing the user base. You should be actively looking to add more organisation structure into your team and concentrate on implementing new features and enhancements to meet the evolving needs of users. Continuous feedback collection and data analysis should inform product decisions, ensuring the product remains competitive and aligned with market demands. Additionally, you should be working to attract top talent to join the team and contribute to the product’s continued success.
