Start-Up Podcast #3 How to build a MVP (Minimum Viable Product) II Proof of Concept

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Start-Up Podcast #3 How to build an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) II Proof of Concept

Timecodes
0:00 - Intro
0:18 - Start-Up Podcast
0:36 - Proof of Concept
3:16 - What is MVP?
6:28 - Do We Need To Be A Technical Person For Building MVP?
7:22 - Steps in Building MVP
10:19 - Is Design Important?

Proof of Concept: Whenever an entrepreneur starts building a startup, he has to go through some basic steps towards building a product or service. The first step for example is doing market research such as primary and secondary market research. Followed by making a basic product which then goes on to prove that the idea is actually valid and there is demand for the product that he is going to produce in future. Using that proof of concept gave him the confidence he can go on to build his business and also ask for money from investors (proving that there is a demand for his product). Absolutely, from the moment you have an idea you need to get users. It is your belief that your idea is something that consumers but it may not be actually true. You need to create some kind of platform where you can get some customers who are willing to use your product or service. Hence, you prove that our product is solving the problems of customers. Few examples, of companies who did PoC’s:

Airbnb: Earlier it was called Air Bed & Breakfast. It all started with 2 guys who really didn't have money to pay rent and they decided to rent a couch in their apartment and it just so happened that there was a sports event in the nearby area. They created a small basic informative website and that got them their first customer. That made them believe that Yes, there is a need for their service and they started building more on it.

What is MVP?: Minimum Viable Product, a product of service with basic minimum features that captures the essence of the solution that you are going to build. It doesn't have to be a mobile application or a website, a WhatsApp group can be a good MVP. Let us say if I have a business idea where I want to sell medicines in our society. I create a WhatsApp group, ask people if they have an order and I’ll deliver it. Once I have demand, people onto the platform and they are asking for service, I have actually proven that there is demand for the solution I am going to bring. Akshay has many examples of companies that started their business in such away. Example: Facebook Groups, Youtube Videos (If I wanted to make a web series, I made a pilot episode and check how it's performing). Absolutely, you might have seen Netflix picking up some Youtube web series and running part 2, part 3 that are running big time for right now. These become platforms to prove that there is demand for your concept. Coming back to WhatsApp:

One very good example would be the “Dukaan” organization that helped offline stores to come online very quickly. They created a WhatsApp group and told people that this is a way that you can sell online via the application. Hence they built a community and built on their business.

Do We Need To Be A Technical Person For Building MVP?: So Vaibhav, if I may ask you can you tell me if I have to be a tech guy to solve this problem or have POC in place? For MVP no, you can be a general manager to do so. Yet, once you start to build your business you’ll need a technical team to do so. Also, Dunzo also started from a WhatsApp group, created a WhatsApp group for people who wanted to transfer stuff and that's where he went from WhatsApp to application and received funds from google. Everybody else jumped into the Dunzo model such as Swiggy Go.

Steps in Building MVP: You’ll need to do the following:

Secondary market research - Done by someone else, you read similar research, literature, articles and more. Say, if I had to launch Swiggy today and Doordash already existed it would have been very easy to duplicate the model.

Primary market research - Done by you, you make focus groups, surveys, go to the field and interview people and then you can identify the pinpoint by getting a better understanding of the market. (I remember at a conference and I overheard by the CEO of Rivigo that she talked to over 500 truck drivers before launching the service.)

Learning is a constant process in business. Thank you so much for listening to us and we request you all to get vaccinated as quickly as possible, stay safe, stay home and keep taking care of your loved ones. Eat healthily, your immunity is what you have to fight COVID-19 in today.

See you in the next video, till then thank you and goodbye.

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