So, you’ve got a killer idea for a tech startup. Maybe it came to you in the shower, or during a frustrating moment using someone else’s clunky product. Either way, you’re fired up. But before you spend months (and thousands of dollars) building the perfect app or platform, let’s talk about something that could save you a ton of time and energy: validating your idea with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
An MVP is the scrappy version of your product — just enough functionality to solve one core problem and see if anyone actually cares. It’s not pretty. It’s not packed with features. But it’s out there, and that’s the whole point.
You’re not trying to impress users right away — you’re trying to learn from them.
Before you build anything, ask yourself: What problem am I solving, and for whom? Be specific. “Helping small businesses manage customer reviews” is better than “making something cool for businesses.”
Talk to your target users. Don’t pitch them. Just ask about their problems and how they’re currently dealing with them. Listen more than you speak.
Once you’ve validated there’s a real problem, sketch your solution. You don’t need a fancy UI or a fully coded product yet. Use tools like Figma or even pen and paper. The goal is to make your idea tangible enough for others to react to it.
Now pick the least you can build to test your core assumption. That might be:
A simple landing page explaining your product with an email sign-up
A clickable prototype (no code)
A manual version of the service (you handle the backend stuff yourself)
You’d be amazed how far you can go without writing a single line of code. No-code tools like Glide, Bubble, or Webflow can help you get an MVP live fast.
Share your MVP with potential users — not friends who’ll just say “nice.” Post on Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter, or startup forums. Ask for brutally honest feedback. Pay attention to what people do, not just what they say. If they sign up, that’s interest. If they pay, that’s gold.
If people love it, awesome. Keep building. If they don’t care, don’t panic. Either tweak your idea or move on. That’s the beauty of starting lean — you haven’t burned months of time or piles of cash.