MVP must be minimum ‘valuable’ and NOT minimum ‘viable’ product

“Lessons of the Light Bulb”

By definition an MVP (or Minimum Viable Product) is a product with enough features to attract early users for usability testing and validate the product idea¹. Let’s dive deeper into what an MVP is and why it’s crucial for product development.

What Is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

An MVP is a basic version of a new product that includes only the minimum essential features necessary to satisfy initial customers. The primary goals of building an MVP are:

1. Attract Early Adopters: By launching an MVP, you can engage early adopters who are willing to try out your product and provide feedback.
2. Faster Time to Market: An MVP allows you to get your product out quickly, even if it’s not fully polished. This speed-to-market advantage is essential in competitive industries.
3. Achieve Product-Market Fit: The MVP helps you test your product hypothesis and determine whether there’s a demand for your solution.

While many people attribute the invention of the light bulb to Thomas Alva Edison, the truth is more nuanced. Before Edison, other inventors like Ebenezer Kinnersley, Humphry Davy, and Joseph Swan had already developed various forms of wire incandescence. By the time Edison turned his attention to the problem of safe, sustainable, affordable, odor-free illumination in the 1870s, there were even a few patents on versions of incandescent bulbs (although gas lamps were the primary indoor lighting solution at the time).

Edison, as an innovator and entrepreneur, focused not just on inventing but on perfecting existing solutions. He believed that the real value lay in making things better or cheaper. Rather than seeking problems in need of solutions, he looked for solutions in need of modification.

The existing incandescent bulbs were viable but not particularly valuable due to their impracticality and short lifespan. Edison and his team conducted extensive tests, examining 3,000 to 6,000 materials and filaments. Finally, in 1879, they discovered that carbon was the answer. A year later, carbonized bamboo proved capable of burning for over 1,000 hours, leading to the birth of the incandescent bulb we know today.

Edison’s approach exemplifies what I call a Minimum Valuable Product and not Minimum Viable Product. He transformed something people desperately needed into an easily accessible, affordable, and durable solution. That’s the true light-bulb moment we should all strive for 😉