Michael Seibel - How to Plan an MVP

YC CEO and Partner Michael Seibel shares his approach to building an MVP and getting your first users as a pre-launch startup. Startup School is YC's free online program for founders.

0:00 Introduction
0:41 First, talk to users
1:40 Goal: launch quickly
2:40 After launching, get feedback
4:30 Lean MVP
5:37 Real-world examples
8:21 Heavy MVPs
9:33 Launches aren't special
11:22 Hacks for building an MVP quickly
12:57 Don't fall in love with your MVP

[chapterme]

Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) -
00:00 - Introduction
00:25 - What is an Minimal Viable Product (MVP)
00:42 - Talk to users before writing code
01:42 - Goal of a pre-launch startup
01:49 - - Step 1 - Launch quickly (MVP)
02:13 - - Step 2 - Get initial customers
02:41 - - Step 3 - Talk to customers and get feedback
03:05 - - - Founders mistake - They think that MVP doesn’t have all features, and getting feedback on it is useless
03:36 - - Step 4 - Iterate (improve the product)
04:30 - Lean MVP (in most cases)
04:38 - - Very fast to build (weeks not months)
04:53 - - Very limited functionality
05:10 - - Appeal to a small set of users
05:24 - - Base to iterate from
05:40 - - Example 1 - Airbnb
05:54 - - - No payments
06:08 - - - No map view
06:15 - - - Part-time CTO
06:28 - - Example 2 - Twitch (Justin.tv)
06:47 - - - 1 channel
06:54 - - - Low res video
07:13 - - - No video games
07:28 - - Example 3 - Stripe (/dev/payments)
07:39 - - - No bank deals
07:48 - - - Few features
07:51 - - - Founders would integrate it for you
08:22 - Heavy MVP (in a very few cases)
08:32 - - Significant regulation (insurance, banking)
08:47 - - Hardtech
08:53 - - Biotech
08:57 - - Moonshot
09:36 - Founders Mistake - Often founders see how big companies launch their products and want to do so (have a lot of press/buzz)
10:30 - Launch simply means to start getting customers
10:51 - Learning from customers is easier with an MVP than without
11:22 - Hacks for building an MVP quickly
11:27 - 1. Time box your spec
11:47 - 2. Write your spec
12:23 - 3. Cut your spec
12:57 - 4. Don't fall in love with your MVP!
13:28 - End

[rufussweeneymd]

“Fix the fucking screwdriver” is something that’s imprinted on my mind. Genuinely the most helpful advice I’ve gotten as a founder.

[amanjha__]

"I work here at y combinator" - the CEO of y combinator

[malta]

Awesome lecture! Thank you Michael! Two most important sentences for me from this lecture:
1. Do not speak with your users about new features, speak with them about their problems and you figure out the solution.
2. You will recognize that you have product market fit once you spend your time maintaining your app online instead of figuring out new features and developing them.

[habibmkhan]

YC is doing such a public service with this quality content :)

Thank you 🙏

[edgy]

Love this no bs, quick to point advise. I've done almost all those mistakes in my first projects when I started out as a startup guy, but not this time! ;) *Ready to crush it.*

[FahmiEshaq]

I love this guy. He is just genuine, straight forward and articulate.

[DaudZaidi]

1. Timebox your spec
2. Write your spec.
3. Cut the spec.
4. Don't fall in love with your MVP.

[samansinaei]

I paused in the middle of the video just to thank you Michael, I can call you best teacher I have ever had in this topic. I was almost feeling disappointed after watching many videos to learn more about launching my idea untill I found one of your videos very useful and subscribed to Y Combinator.

Just stopped by to say thank you for your great job and let you know you helped helped me a lot.

Cheers

[PreeMarket]

Straight to the point! One thing though is I think there's a maturity curve associated with MVP's and as time goes on, MVPs have to be better. Just because people's expectations and the technology available is better. You simply could not build an airbnb style business and accept no maps and cash transactions - the bar is too high.

[moorergr]

Gotta love a straightforward lecture. No fluff, no sugarcoating.

[chidiadiele]

I like how his class was straight to the point, engaging and fun.

[JoshuaDStewart]

This video was so helpful for me in getting my MVP out and stop trying to change and perfect it, thank you.

[elvillivle]

I love how he paraphrases the questions. Clearly, he's heard a thousand versions of the same question.

[KingsleyKAdase]

This is probably the most simple and helpful video I have watched out of thousands in my 4 year entrepreneurial journey.

[subijoyacharya]

This is gold for every aspiring entrepreneurs.

[OladipupoPopoola]

As far as I'm concerned, this is the most precise and knowledge-filled MBA for an Hustler or Startup-hungry person. Dang! So good. Thants YC and Michael

[nestorh_x]

Thank you YC for this talk, all of the other talks, and everything that you're doing for the startup community worldwide.

[AntonioSantos-xgqo]

Thank you Y Combinator and Michael Seibel. He's amazing and would love for him to host his own podcast or Startup show. He's helped me so much. Awesome vid

[temjenkrazy]

Its amazing this awsome Y C Video is free in a time where everyone is selling their mostly BS course online. You guys are doing amazing service for a lot of people.