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Welcome to Product Monk, a 3x/week newsletter where we share the case studies of the most exciting tech products.

We wrote these three stories last week, hope you love them ❤️:

• Jio AirFiber launched: See problem statement, value proposition, and competition

• User Psychology: Progressive Disclosure

• Crisis-proofing your Products to Help Thrive in Downturns

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🧃Juicy reads to check out

This section includes some relevant articles/videos, people to check out, and links you might find interesting from around Product management.

👉🏻 Hey! Listen!… Here’s How to Be a Gaming PM. (Link)

👉🏻 Strategic Prioritization in Product Management: Core Notions and Insights. (Link).

👉🏻 When You Should Not Listen to Your Customers. (Link)

Our innate desire to bring the best content to you has brought us here. We are experimenting with Guest Posts, where we bring the best of the Product world to write for you, to talk to you, and to assist you in becoming a better PM.

This week the very well-known Dr. Bart Jaworski is writing an article for you. He has 87000 followers on Linkedin and more than 20,000 product enthusiasts have taken his courses.

He currently works as a Senior PM at the Stepstone group and previously worked at Microsoft and OLX group.

He has generously offered a 5$ discount on all his courses for the ProductMonk readers. Use Coupon Code: Productmonk.

I personally had taken his course Win Your Product Management job interview with Big Tech’s PM while I was interviewing with some companies. Some of his tips helped me crack a role with BrightChamps in 2021.

Enjoy the mindblowing story crafted only for you below. 🥳

The Ultimate Guide to Product MVP Types

by Dr. Bart Jaworski

How many methods of implementing an MVP do you know, Product Manager? Can you rate their reliability and use them effectively? Find out and learn with my ultimate list of Product MVP Types!

My favorite definition of what an MVP is, states:

The key here is proving the hypothesis! Your MVP can be made in an hour or in 2 years, but if it fails at (dis)proving that there is a market for your idea, the MVP is a failure. In this article, I will present several approaches to finding the best-fitting, easiest-to-make MVP for your Product or Feature!

Before we begin to remember that being a Great Product Manager is so much more than just knowing your M-V-Ps! To learn more and become a Great Product Manager, be sure to visit:

http://www. drbartpm.com

Check the end of the article for a discount coupon for all my Product Management courses there :)

Now, without further ado are some brief explanations, pros and cons, and examples of each technique:

Concierge MVP

I can tell you this is an MVP for the most determined and hardworking Product Managers/Business owners. In this MVP, the software solution simulates the full functionality of the product by manually providing the service to the users. This type of MVP is suitable for validating complex or personalized use cases that require human intervention or feedback.

Pro: Allows direct interaction and feedback from users.
Con: Time-consuming and not scalable.

Example: Zappos: This online shoe retailer started with a fully functioning online shoe shop but with no actual shoes, warehouses or shipping infrastructure. The owner just bought shoes locally and mailed them manually. Only when the demand was obvious, the investment was made in all the missing elements.

Effort: 3
Reliability: 4

Crowdfunding MVP

This is an awesome way to start your MVP, as you get paid before the Product is anywhere near to being given to actual users. However, it’s more of a marketing than a Product challenge. However, in this MVP you create a value proposition that allows users to pre-order or fund the product before it is launched. It involves creating a pitch that describes the product idea, the benefits, the features, and the rewards for the backers. It also involves setting a funding goal and a deadline for the campaign.

The backers can pledge different amounts of money in exchange for different rewards, such as early access, discounts, or exclusive perks. The money raised from the campaign can be used to fund the development and launch of the product. Very similar to Landing Page/Pre-order MVP, but does use an established crowdfunding solution to make it all easier.

Pro: Validates the market fit and the revenue potential of the product.
Con: Requires a compelling pitch and a large audience.

Example: Pebble: A smartwatch that raised over $10 million on Kickstarter before launching. Just like several successful video and board games!

Effort: 4
Reliability: 3

Email campaign MVP

This MVP is easy to execute, but it does require you to first gather a large number of email subscribers, which can be a great challenge all in itself. Email campaign MVP offers the product or the feature to a selected group of users and tracks their responses. This type of MVP is suitable for testing the value proposition and the pricing of a product or a feature with a specific segment of users. Also known as a Marketing MVP.

Pro: Tests the value proposition and the pricing of the product or the feature with a specific segment of users.
Con: May have low response rates or spam issues.

Example: Airbnb: A service that sent emails to Craigslist users who were looking for accommodation and offered them a better alternative.

Effort: 2
Reliability: 2

Landing page MVP

Probably the easiest type of MVP when there is no Product yet. It all comes down to building a web page that describes the product or the feature and invites users to sign up or pre-order. It involves creating a catchy headline, a clear value proposition, a compelling call to action, and an attractive design. It also involves measuring the number of visitors, sign-ups, conversions, and feedback. Also known as Pre-order MVP.

Pro: Measures the interest and demand for a product or a feature that does not exist yet and can be built very quickly.

Con: This may not reflect the actual user behavior or satisfaction.

Example: Buffer: A social media scheduling service that created a landing page that explained how it would work and collected email addresses of interested users.

Effort: 1
Reliability: 2

Paid ads MVP

This is a more expensive version of a landing page MVP that requires way less effort. In fact, they can be launched in an intertwined setup. This MVP requires a paid advertisement that directs users to a landing page or a sign-up form for the product or the feature. It is a way of testing the attractiveness and effectiveness of different messages and keywords for a product or a feature. It involves creating an ad campaign on platforms such as Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, or Twitter Ads. It also involves setting a budget, choosing a target audience, and tracking the metrics such as impressions, clicks, conversions, and cost per acquisition.

This could also be a “free” ad campaign if social networks were involved. This way you get a social network MVP.

Pro: Tests the attractiveness and effectiveness of different messages and keywords for a product or a feature.
Con: Requires a budget and may have low conversion rates.

Example: Dropbox: A file-sharing service that used Google AdWords to drive traffic to its landing page and measure user interest.

Effort: 2
Reliability: 2

Piecemeal MVP

This is like creating a Frankenstein of a Product solution! In this type of MVP, a software solution combines existing tools or services to create a new product. This type of MVP is suitable for testing a new business model or a new way of delivering value to the users.

Pro: Leverages existing resources and reduces development costs and time.
Con: May have integration or compatibility issues or lack originality.

Example: Groupon: A daily deals service that used WordPress, Mailchimp, and AppleScript to create and send coupons to subscribers. I would say that my website http://drbartpm.com operates under similar principles. It’s not an MVP, but there is still much work to be done!

Effort: 3
Reliability: 4

Single-feature App MVP

This is probably the common and layman's understanding of the MVP concept in general. This MVP type focuses on delivering one core functionality that solves the main problem of the target users. This type of MVP is suitable for testing a unique value proposition or a novel feature that differentiates the product from competitors.

Pro: Validates a unique value proposition or a novel feature that differentiates the product from competitors.

Con: May not satisfy all user needs or expectations or face competition from more feature-rich products; the “shitty version” of the Product as sceptics would say.

Example: Instagram: A photo-sharing app that started as a single-feature app that allowed users to apply filters to their photos.

Effort: 5
Reliability: 5

No-code/low-code MVP

You could consider this a Piecemeal MVP, which you might set up without any developers. This MVP is built using existing platforms or tools that require little or no coding.

Pro: Reduces the time, cost, and complexity of software development and allows non-technical users to participate in the process
Con: May have limitations in functionality, customization, scalability, security, or performance.

Example: Any website built using Substrack: This is a no-code way to create your own website and gather email subscribers. This is used often by many content creators.

Effort: 1
Reliability: 3

The fake door MVP

A web page or an advertisement that describes the product or the feature and invites users to sign up or pre-order, but does not actually deliver anything. For an existing feature it could be just an error pop-up stating that promised functionality is “not yet available”. In that case this type is mostly known as an “Error MVP”.

Pro: Measures the interest and demand for a product or a feature that does not exist yet, Similar to landing page MVP, but with far fewer effort.
Con: May not reflect the actual user behaviour or satisfaction, or may frustrate users who expect something in return.

Example: Dropbox created an explainer video that showcased how their in-development app was supposedly working and put it on their landing page. They just created an explainer video that showcased how their in-development app was supposedly working and put it on their landing page.

Effort: 1
Reliability: 2

Wizard of Oz MVP

Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with actual magic! This MVP simulates the full functionality of the product by using hidden human assistance or pre-recorded data.

Pro: Tests advanced or automated features that are not yet developed or feasible.
Con: May be difficult to maintain or scale, or may deceive users who expect real results.

Example: Imagine a psychological therapy app that offers you a chat with an AI consultant, but initially the users are talking to actual doctors (without knowing that). It would show whether users are inclined to even try an AI therapist.

Effort: 4
Reliability: 4

There you have it: my ultimate list of Product MVP types! Do you know any other ones I missed? Looking forward to the discussion.

If you loved this post, consider signing up for one of his courses if it aligns with your goals here: Dr. Bart’s Courses.
Don’t forget to use coupon code: ProductMonk to avail a 5$ discount.