How to build a good MVP in 2025

Introduction

The MVP is the first challenge of any entrepreneurial journey in the tech world. In this article, we will focus primarily on the MVP of a specific type of product known as “SaaS” (Software As A Service). Chances are, you have already used a SaaS product at least once, or even on a daily basis. A SaaS is an application that offers a service you can access by paying a subscription. Netflix is a great example: users pay a monthly subscription and, in return, gain access to a catalog of movies and series.

For several years now, I have been building SaaS products while working as a freelance Ruby on Rails developer. By the way, if you are looking for or know someone who is looking for a freelance Ruby on Rails developer, you can contact me here.

If you are interested in the SaaS adventure, it is important to know that it comes with many preconceived notions. That is precisely why I wrote an article about it.

Definition

MVP is an English acronym that stands for “Minimum Viable Product”. It is crucial that you understand the meaning of each word and its impact within the SaaS context. By grasping these concepts, you can save months or even years of experience.

Let’s start with the “P” for “product.” This is a generic term. You will notice that it does not refer to a specific type of application (web or mobile) or even a precise technology. The key takeaway here is that an MVP depends on its context, meaning it can be anything: a website, a Notion page, a flyer, etc.

“V” stands for “viable.” The idea here is to develop a product that is at least minimally useful to your users. Usefulness is defined by effectively addressing a need or a problem within a market.

Finally, “M” stands for “minimum,” which is just as important as the other two aspects. You can build an MVP that perfectly meets your users’ needs with all possible features and still fail right from the start. The power of this concept lies in the scope of features you include in your product. The more features you add, the longer your development time, which also increases your time-to-market. The number of features also impacts your ability to conduct A/B testing and truly pinpoint the solution that best fits your market.

In an MVP, you must first analyze the primary problem of your users and produce a product that solves it with a minimal set of features.

A new way of building a MVP

During the golden age of startups, meaning the COVID years, the “M” in “Minimum” also referred to the time you could spend on it. During that period, it was enough to spend one or two weeks developing a lightweight MVP to acquire your first customers. This was mainly due to the fact that, with COVID, there were so many markets with unsolved problems that the barrier to entry was relatively low.

Now, in 2025, the bubble that formed around startups during COVID has long since burst. The vast majority of markets already have solutions to their problems, making it much harder to enter one with a “lightweight” MVP. It is no longer enough to develop a product with just one feature, as competition is fierce and users are accustomed to complete, high-performing applications. Simply put, the barrier to entry is much higher than it was a few years ago.

That said, it does not mean that developing an MVP in an already competitive market is impossible, but the approach needs to be slightly different.

The foundation of an MVP

Regardless of your market size, there are certain principles that I believe are essential to build a solid MVP.

Before detailing them, let me introduce you the SaaS project I’m currently working on: ProfPlanner. It’s a web application designed to help teachers optimize their time and simplify their organization. At the time I’m writing this article, my associate and I are actively working on the MVP. For each principle I outline, I will explain how we applied it to ProfPlanner to give you a concrete example to refer to.

Engaging with your target audience

At the heart of every entrepreneurial project are the users. It is therefore essential, especially in the early stage, to engage with your target audience. There is often a gap between what you think their problem is and the actual reality. In competitive markets, user interactions help you identify differentiation points to build upon.

For ProfPlanner, we leveraged the fact that my associate is a high school teacher and is active in Facebook groups for teacher support. She posted questions to gather insights into teachers’ needs and engaged in conversations on Facebook to get more details about the tools they used and their pain points.

Simplicity

If I could give one piece of advice to my past self, it would be this: keep the MVP simple. If you force yourself to keep your MVP simple, your time-to-market will be much shorter. As developers, we tend to over-engineer, especially on personal projects. You must make a conscious effort to keep your MVP as simple as possible.

With ProfPlanner, we worked hard to reduce the number of features and the overall complexity of the project to focus only on the core functionality: a scheduling algorithm. However, I would be lying if I said we got it right from the beginning. Initially, our MVP included a traditional task management system with columns for different statuses.

Screenshot of the old MVP mockup of ProfPlanner

We quickly realized that our MVP did not provide real value to our users. We pivoted and ultimately landed on the idea of a scheduling algorithm.

User commitment

The goal of an MVP is to validate an idea or concept. The only way to do this is for users to show genuine interest in your project. There are three ways to get real user commitment: time, reputation, or money.

• Time: Users take time to give you feedback on your product and suggest improvements.
• Reputation: They introduce you to a colleague or an inportant connection.
• Money: They purchase, pre-order, or invest financially.

I highly recommend reading The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick, which explores these themes in detail. More broadly, this book teaches you how to ask the right questions to determine if your product is genuinely useful. It is a must-have for any entrepreneur!

For ProfPlanner, we added an extra step before launching the MVP by developing a POC (Proof of Concept). The idea was to validate the existence of the problem among our users. We created and sold a Notion template for course management, task tracking, student monitoring, etc. The positive feedback and strong sales confirmed the need for our solution.

Forget the one-time launch

Many people think that launching a project is a one-time event. They focus all their energy on that symbolic date.

In reality, nothing prevents you from having multiple launches, and this actually works to your advantage by allowing you to repeatedly promote your project. This technique is widely used on Product Hunt, where projects launch new features separately to maintain visibility.

Failure is part of learning

Like every aspect of entrepreneurship, everything is a learning experience. You may fail several times, but you will learn valuable lessons from each project. Your first MVP might be too complex or fail to address a real need, but that is okay. You need to go through these experiences to build better products in the future.