What is the MVP stage in a startup company?
MVP stands for Minimum Viable Product, a concept originating from Eric Reis's book "Lean Startup," referring to a product that is minimally viable. It's a crucial concept in the technology world and for startups. It can be seen as a product with a streamlined configuration, a product with just the minimum features needed to be presented to customers and understand, aiming to attract early customers or investors. In industries like software development, an MVP can help a product team receive user feedback as quickly as possible, allowing for iterative improvements.
Book your Start-Up Visa consultation here, under the Online Business section.
Setting up a Start-Up at the MVP stage
MPV is the first working version of a new business idea. It helps you test whether people are interested enough in what they see, without overwhelming them with too much information at once. MPV saves you time, instead of wasting time and effort only to end up with a product that requires too many revisions or is ultimately rejected. MPV is created to receive feedback to adjust the product before bringing it to market.
The MVP stage is a crucial part of the process of getting your startup exactly where it needs to be. It's not just about creating a product that people will want and pay for, but also generating some initial revenue!
Examples of MVPs
An example of an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) stage is the founding of Airbnb . Lacking the funds to build a business, the Airbnb founders used their own apartment to validate the idea of creating a peer-to-peer online marketplace for short-term rentals. They created a minimalist website, posted photos and other details of their own home, and received payments almost immediately. This allowed them to gather enough data from these trials to demonstrate how popular short-term rentals could become!
Amazon is also one of the most successful examples of a minimally viable product. Jeff Bezos started his marketplace business in the early 1990s as an online bookstore. The website was an MVP that helped reduce the burden of costs: Bezos began thinking about a list of ideas he could successfully sell on the internet. From 20 different options, he came to five products, including video, books, software, computers, and even compact discs.
Facebook : Mark Zuckerberg's initial idea was to connect people on campus. He started with Facemash, a website where users compared two photos and decided which was the 'hot' and 'not' one. It then evolved into Thefacebook, a de facto MVP of the social network. It was rolled out at four top American universities – Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and Yale. After a year of testing on segmented audiences, they opened access to everyone, and that's how Facebook's history began.
Today, creating an MVP has become simpler for investors than it used to be. Many companies specialize in crafting MVPs for startups. If you want to start with a tech idea but don't have the resources to create your own MVP, you can look for a place to hire them to do it for you.
MVP in Start-Up Visa Canada Projects
Implementing projects for the Start-Up Visa program will depend on the perspective of the project owner and each consulting firm. However, to ensure the project's feasibility and to quickly attract initial customers, establishing an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is essential. An MVP also helps demonstrate to immigration authorities the authenticity and feasibility of the technology projects that members wish to bring to Canada for permanent residency.
Join KeyApply's Start-Up Visa program for Canadian immigration. Beyond achieving your immigration goals, you'll also gain a deeper understanding of and engagement with the fascinating world of technology.
Book your Start-Up Visa consultation here, under the Online Business section.