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. Most founders get iteration completely backwards. They spend months building features they think users want, launch their "MVP," then scramble to add more features when adoption is low. But here's what I learned from turning down that project: your first MVP should be your marketing and sales process, not your product.
The client came excited about no-code tools and AI platforms that could build anything quickly. 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."
In this playbook, you'll learn:
Why most MVP iteration strategies fail before you even start
The counterintuitive approach I recommended instead of building
How to validate demand manually before writing a single line of code
A framework for true feature iteration based on user behavior, not assumptions
When to actually start building (it's later than you think)
Industry Reality
What every startup founder believes about MVP iteration
The startup world has created this beautiful myth about MVP iteration that sounds logical but breaks down in practice. Here's what every accelerator, blog post, and mentor tells you:
The Standard MVP Playbook:
Build a minimal version with core features
Launch to get user feedback
Iterate based on user requests
Add features until product-market fit
Scale with confidence
This advice exists because it worked for a handful of famous startups in very specific circumstances. Facebook started as a simple directory. Airbnb began with air mattresses. These stories get repeated until they become gospel.
But here's the problem: these companies already had distribution and audience before they built their "MVP." Facebook launched at Harvard. Airbnb founders personally recruited both sides of their marketplace. They weren't building in a vacuum hoping users would find them.
Most founders skip the hardest part — proving people actually want what you're building — and jump straight to the fun part of coding features. Then they wonder why their beautifully crafted MVP sits unused.
The conventional wisdom assumes that if you build something minimal, users will come and tell you what to add next. In reality, without existing demand and distribution, you're just building a very expensive hypothesis.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
The client had no existing audience, no validated customer base, no proof of demand — just an idea and enthusiasm. They'd heard about the no-code revolution and AI tools that could build complex platforms quickly and cheaply.
"We want to test if our idea works," they told me during our first call. They had identified a gap in their industry and designed a two-sided marketplace to fill it. The concept made sense. The market seemed large enough. The technology was certainly feasible.
But as they walked me through their vision — user personas, feature requirements, technical architecture — I realized they were making the same mistake I'd seen countless times. They wanted to build first and validate later.
The Red Flags I Spotted:
No conversations with potential users beyond informal chats
Feature list based on competitor analysis, not user problems
Assumption that "if we build it, they will come"
Timeline pressure to launch before properly validating demand
This reminded me of a pattern I'd seen repeatedly: founders who confuse building features with building a business. They get excited about the product itself rather than the problem it solves.
Even with AI and no-code tools making development faster and cheaper, building a functional two-sided platform still takes significant time. But here's what most founders miss: your first MVP shouldn't be a product at all.
I've learned that the constraint isn't building anymore — it's knowing what to build and for whom. The tools exist to create almost anything. The challenge is creating something people actually want and will pay for.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Instead of accepting their project, I shared something that initially shocked them: "If you're truly testing market demand, your MVP should take one day to build — not three months."
Here's the framework I recommended instead:
Phase 1: Validate Demand (Week 1)
Create a simple landing page or Notion doc explaining the value proposition. No complex features — just a clear description of what problem you're solving and for whom. This isn't about building; it's about messaging.
Phase 2: Manual Matchmaking (Weeks 2-4)
Start reaching out to potential users on both sides of the marketplace. Don't build automated matching — do it manually via email, WhatsApp, or phone calls. This forces you to understand the real friction points.
I've seen this approach work brilliantly. One client I advised tested their B2B service marketplace by manually connecting freelancers with companies for three weeks. They processed 47 matches using just email and discovered their initial pricing model was completely wrong.
Phase 3: Prove Economics (Month 2)
Only after proving people will actually use your service should you consider building automation. But even then, build the minimum viable automation — a simple form, basic matching logic, manual payment processing.
My Iteration Philosophy:
Real iteration isn't about adding features to an existing product. It's about iterating your understanding of the problem and solution. Most "feature iteration" is actually just feature accumulation — adding more stuff because you haven't solved the core problem yet.
The key insight: Your MVP should be your marketing and sales process, not your product. If you can't manually deliver your service and prove demand, building a platform won't magically create users.
This approach reveals the real barriers to success — usually distribution and customer acquisition, not product features. Once you understand how to manually acquire and serve customers, then you can build technology to scale that proven process.
Validation First
Test demand before building anything. Most feature iteration fails because you're iterating on something nobody wants in the first place.
Manual Process
Start with manual delivery to understand real user behavior. Automation should scale proven processes, not create them.
Distribution Focus
Solve customer acquisition manually first. Your biggest challenge isn't building features — it's finding users who want them.
Economics Proof
Validate your business model with real transactions. Feature iteration only matters if people will actually pay for your solution.
The client ultimately didn't follow my advice — they found another developer who would build their platform. Six months later, they had a beautiful two-sided marketplace with sophisticated matching algorithms, user profiles, payment processing, and rating systems.
It launched to crickets.
They spent $40,000 and six months building something nobody used. Not because it was poorly built — the technology worked perfectly. But because they'd built a solution without first proving demand.
Meanwhile, I worked with another startup that followed the manual validation approach. They wanted to create a platform connecting local service providers with customers. Instead of building an app, they:
Started with a WhatsApp group and Google Sheet
Manually matched 200+ service requests in month one
Proved their commission model worked
Identified the real friction points (trust, communication, scheduling)
Only then built technology to automate what they'd proven manually
The difference? The second startup had real users and revenue before they wrote their first line of code. Their "feature iteration" was based on actual user behavior, not assumptions.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
This experience reinforced several principles I now share with every client considering an MVP:
Distribution beats features every time — The best product in the world fails without users. Focus on user acquisition before feature optimization.
Manual validation reveals real problems — You can't understand user behavior until you interact with real users solving real problems.
Technology should scale proven processes — Build automation only after you've proven the manual process works and generates value.
Feature iteration requires users first — You can't iterate based on feedback from users you don't have. Get users first, then iterate.
Economics matter more than features — Prove your business model works before building complex functionality.
Start with problems, not solutions — Most feature iteration is actually solution iteration when you should be iterating your understanding of the problem.
Constraints force creativity — Working within manual limitations often reveals simpler, better solutions than building complex features from day one.
The biggest learning: In the age of AI and no-code, the constraint isn't building — it's knowing what to build and for whom. True MVP iteration starts with market validation, not feature development.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups specifically:
Validate with manual onboarding calls before building self-service flows
Use spreadsheets and email before building dashboards and automation
Prove retention metrics manually before optimizing for scale
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce businesses:
Test product-market fit with pre-orders or manual fulfillment
Validate logistics and customer service processes before building complex inventory systems
Use social media and email before investing in recommendation engines