What Is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? | Vantage
Minimum Viable Product A minimum viable product (MVP) is the smallest version of a product that can be released to validate a specific business hypothesis with real users. An MVP is not a prototype or a demo. It is a real product that real users use, but it includes only the features necessary to test the core value proposition.
Why minimum viable product matters
MVPs reduce the risk of building products nobody wants. By testing the core hypothesis with minimal investment, teams learn whether the market needs the product before committing to full development. An MVP that fails costs weeks; a full product that fails costs months or years.
How it works
Define the hypothesis to test (e.g., "PMs will use AI-generated PRDs instead of writing them manually"). Identify the minimum feature set needed to test this hypothesis. Build it. Release to a small group. Measure whether users engage with the core value. Learn and iterate.
Common mistakes
Making the MVP too big (it should test one hypothesis, not be a small version of the full product)
Making the MVP too small (a landing page is not an MVP, it is a smoke test)
Not defining the hypothesis before building
Not measuring results rigorously
Related terms
How Vantage relates
Vantage helps teams scope MVPs by generating PRDs with explicit non-goals and scope boundaries. The AI-generated requirements can be filtered by priority to identify the minimum set needed for the first version.