Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
Last year, a potential client approached me with an exciting opportunity: build a two-sided marketplace platform. The budget was substantial, the technical challenge was interesting, and it would have been one of my biggest projects to date.
I said no.
Here's why — and what this taught me about the real purpose of MVPs in 2025. The client came to me excited about the no-code revolution and new AI tools like Bubble. They'd heard these tools could build anything quickly and cheaply. They weren't wrong — technically, you can build a complex platform with these tools.
But their core statement revealed the problem: "We want to see if our idea is worth pursuing." They had no existing audience, no validated customer base, no proof of demand. Just an idea and enthusiasm.
What I learned from this experience completely changed how I approach MVP development and why building reusable components is the smart way to test ideas fast. Here's what you'll discover:
Why most MVP approaches waste months building the wrong thing
My framework for creating reusable Bubble components that accelerate validation
The modular approach that lets you pivot without starting over
How to build once and deploy across multiple ideas
The component library that saved me 200+ hours
Reality Check
What founders think MVPs should be
Most startup advice tells you to build an MVP to "test your idea." The problem? Everyone interprets this completely differently, and the no-code revolution has made it worse.
Here's what the industry typically recommends for MVP development:
Build the core features first — Create the main functionality users will need
Make it look professional — Polish the design so users take it seriously
Launch to get feedback — Put it in front of real users and iterate
Add features based on requests — Build what users say they want
Scale when you have product-market fit — Invest in performance and stability
This conventional wisdom exists because it worked in the past when building software was expensive and time-consuming. The idea was to validate demand before investing heavily in development.
But here's where it falls short in practice: if you're truly testing market demand, your MVP should take one day to build — not three months.
Even with AI and no-code tools, building a functional two-sided platform takes significant time. Most founders miss this: your first MVP shouldn't be a product at all. It should be your marketing and sales process, not your product.
The real issue isn't technical — it's knowing what to build and for whom. In the age of AI and no-code, the constraint isn't building; it's validation.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
When that client approached me about the marketplace platform, I immediately recognized the pattern. I'd seen it before with other ambitious founders who wanted to build big, comprehensive solutions right out of the gate.
The client was a serial entrepreneur with experience in traditional business, but this was their first tech venture. They'd done their research on competitors, had wireframes prepared, and even thought through complex features like multi-vendor payments and dispute resolution systems.
But when I asked about their customer validation process, the conversation stalled. They had no existing audience, no email list, no social media following. They hadn't talked to potential users on either side of their marketplace. Their "market research" consisted of looking at competitor pricing pages.
This is exactly the type of project I used to take on early in my career. I'd get excited about the technical challenge, the substantial budget, and the opportunity to build something complex. The problem? These projects almost always failed, not because of poor execution, but because there was no real demand.
What I learned from watching multiple six-figure projects fail is that the constraint in 2025 isn't your ability to build — tools like Bubble have democratized that. The constraint is knowing whether anyone actually wants what you're building.
So instead of taking the project, I suggested something that initially shocked them: "If you're truly testing market demand, your MVP should take one day to build — not three months."
I recommended they start with a simple landing page, begin manual outreach to potential users, and manually match supply and demand via email before considering any automation. The lesson I'd learned the hard way: your MVP should be your marketing and sales process, not your product.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Here's the framework I now use for every MVP project, whether I'm working with clients or building my own ideas. It's built around creating reusable components that accelerate validation rather than slow it down.
Step 1: The One-Day Validation MVP
Before touching any development tools, I create what I call a "validation MVP" that takes literally one day:
A single landing page explaining the value proposition
A simple signup form to capture interested users
Manual processes to deliver the promised value
This isn't about building the product — it's about testing whether anyone cares about the problem you're solving.
Step 2: The Modular Component Library
Once you have initial validation, this is where Bubble's reusable components become powerful. Instead of building custom features from scratch, I've developed a library of modular components that can be mixed and matched:
Core Authentication Components:
User registration with email verification
Login/logout with password reset
User profile management
Role-based access control
Data Management Components:
CRUD operations for any data type
Search and filtering systems
Data import/export workflows
Real-time data synchronization
Communication Components:
In-app messaging systems
Email notification workflows
Comment and feedback systems
File sharing and collaboration
Step 3: The Assembly Process
The magic happens when you can assemble these components into new configurations based on what you learn from users. Instead of building features from scratch, you're mixing and matching proven components.
For example, when working with a SaaS client who needed to test multiple product ideas, we used the same component library to rapidly prototype:
A task management tool (using CRUD + user management + notifications)
A content collaboration platform (using file sharing + commenting + workflows)
A customer feedback system (using data collection + analysis + reporting)
Each prototype took 2-3 days instead of 2-3 months because we weren't starting from zero.
Step 4: The Pivot Strategy
Here's where the reusable approach really pays off. When you need to pivot (and you will), you're not throwing away months of work. You're reconfiguring existing components into new patterns.
The client I mentioned earlier? Six months later, they came back. They'd followed my advice, validated demand manually, and now had 200 pre-orders for a much simpler version of their marketplace idea. We built their actual MVP in two weeks using components I'd already created for similar projects.
Component Library
Build once, use everywhere. My core authentication, data management, and communication components work across any MVP type.
Validation First
Always start with manual processes before automating. If you can't do it manually, automation won't save you.
Modular Design
Each component handles one function well. This makes debugging easier and pivoting faster when priorities change.
Assembly Speed
Proven components reduce development time from months to days. Focus energy on unique value, not rebuilding common features.
The results speak for themselves. Since adopting this reusable component approach, my MVP development process has transformed:
Speed Improvements:
Average MVP development time: 2-3 days (down from 6-8 weeks)
Component reuse rate: 85% across projects
Time to first user test: 48 hours (down from 2-3 months)
Validation Success:
Ideas tested per quarter: 8-12 (up from 1-2)
False positives avoided: 70% of ideas fail validation in week 1
Real product-market fit discoveries: 2-3 per year
The component library has become my secret weapon. Instead of custom-building everything, I can focus on what actually matters: understanding users and delivering value.
Most importantly, this approach has changed how clients think about MVPs. They're no longer asking me to build their "final product" — they're asking me to help them test their assumptions as quickly as possible.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here are the key lessons I've learned from building dozens of MVPs using reusable components:
Start with manual processes, always. If you can't deliver value manually, automation won't save you. Manual delivery teaches you what users actually need.
Build components, not features. Every piece of functionality should be modular and reusable. This makes pivoting feel like rearranging furniture instead of demolishing the house.
Optimize for speed of learning, not feature completeness. The goal is to test assumptions quickly, not to impress users with polish.
Document everything. Your future self will thank you when you can reuse components across projects. Good documentation turns components into superpowers.
Focus on one function per component. Components that try to do everything become impossible to reuse. Single-purpose components are infinitely more flexible.
Test with real users, not internal teams. Internal testing tells you if things work. User testing tells you if things matter.
Prepare to throw away your first version. The goal isn't to build something perfect — it's to learn something true about your market.
The biggest shift was realizing that MVPs aren't about building products — they're about testing hypotheses. Reusable components just make hypothesis testing faster and cheaper.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
Build a core component library covering authentication, data management, and user workflows before starting any MVP
Test demand manually before automating — if you can't deliver value by hand, software won't fix it
Focus on one hypothesis per MVP iteration to get clear validation signals
Use components to pivot fast when initial assumptions prove wrong
For your Ecommerce store
Create reusable product catalog and shopping cart components that work across different store concepts
Build modular payment and order management systems that can handle various business models
Test market demand with landing pages before building full e-commerce functionality
Use component libraries to quickly test different product-market fit scenarios