Why the MVP version is not the best way to release a product anymore: here’s why

The MVP is a well-known term in the startup world. Many companies and accelerators follow its methodology religiously and call it the way to a successful business in the tech world. In which of course, they were right, but…

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a development technique in which a new product or website is developed with sufficient features to satisfy early adopters.

Many of those companies, which really benefitted from the MVP were companies founded in the early 2000s & 2010s. You might read about Airbnb, which validated their idea by adding an airbed into a room, Uber who added their first ride with an SMS service, or Dropbox, which didn’t even have a product in the first place.

Nonetheless, we owe those companies a lot of inspiration and many startups afterward had the incentive to launch the next generation of businesses.

However,

“When time changes, so do your users”

How does the current stage of tech look like in the new decade? – Maybe you guessed it already. Tech is everywhere, so are startups.

But one observation is really important: the product quality is on a way higher level than it was just 10 years ago. People are now used to have pixel-perfect software, with zero to no hiccups. I’m not talking about the 10k+ employee companies. A lot of recent startups that can look back on a good growth track, launched with a “more than average” product.

Is there a shift in how tech should build a product?

Yes… no… and maybe…
It’s hard to predict the future, however, we should begin to realize that the tech world is entering a saturation point, the same as other companies before our time had it. Coca-Cola was once the undefeated king of the soda market. 20 years later the market was flooded with competitors and copiers.

The same fate tech is already experience. Showcase websites like ProductHunt and IndieHackers are shilling out products after products. Is there something in it that is new? — Not really. Teams on ProductHunt even pitch, by claiming that they’re a copy-cat of another company “they just want to do it better”. This reminds me of the neighbor next door who wants to open a new restaurant, next to the seven others because his food is the best and the customer will love it. Similar behavior was knock-off clothing brands. 30 years ago when American and European brands got access to Asian manufacturing.

“Code is starting to be a nice to have instead of it’s needed”

Not anything needs to be an innovation. But copying just to have a product is not an innovation anymore, it’s just laziness.

The MVP is still a good tool to set as a goal, but the term should be a little bit more refined. It’s the 2020’s a new era of code and products.