ย #Startup #MVP #Investors #Entrepreneurship
Hey everyone!
So, I’ve been working on this app idea for a while now and I finally have my MVP ready to go. ๐ But now I’m at a bit of a crossroads and not sure what my next steps should be. Can you help me out?
Here’s where I’m at:
– I have a background in sales, so pitching my idea isn’t the issue.
– The MVP is almost complete, with basic testing on the horizon.
– But now I’m wondering, should I look for investors? And if I do, what exactly do they provide to a startup like mine?
If you have any advice or tips on what my next move should be, I would really appreciate it. Starting a new venture can be daunting, so any guidance is welcome. Let’s brainstorm together! ๐ก
Thanks in advance for your help! ๐
I donโt understand why so many people build stuff and THEN start thinking about what to do with it. I see a post like this most every day. Itโs puzzling to me.
To answer your question, no investor (other than friends/family) is going to invest in an MVP with no users and no plan. Forget about investors for the foreseeable future.
You need to get users. I donโt know what your app is, so it hard to even give suggestions – but if itโs really a niche as you say, Iโd just start reaching out to people in that niche and offer them a โfree lifetime (or a year) subscriptionโ in exchange for doing a user interview and filing out a feedback form.
You could also look into having a referral system so that as you do start to get users, they multiply with minimum effort from you.
What’s the niche? And what resources are you hoping to get out of an investor?
Do a ton of outreach and sales. Participate in communities, cold email or message people on LinkedIn, attend in-person events, etc. Now that you have something people can actually use and respond to, your only job is to get people to pay for it. Even if it’s only at 75%.
Having a near-complete MVP for your app targeting a popular niche with a unique solution is a great start! Before seeking investors, prioritize a fully functional version with a backend for user testing and feedback. Gather valuable insights from potential users to refine your MVP. Build pre-launch buzz with a landing page and targeted social media promotion. While investors offer funding, they require a strong plan. With your sales background, consider bootstrapping to maintain control while gathering feedback. Explore startup incubators for mentorship, networking, and potential funding. Remember, user focus, continuous improvement, and leveraging available resources are key to your app’s success!
Get a potential customer first, then code.
It’s too late for that, of course, so STOP all coding immediately and start looking.
What do you mean you have no backend? Is nothing saved at the moment?
So, to summarize against many of the responses below: you have a (almost working) prototype, not an MVP. M, V, and P are all critical elements.
Whether that matters or is just an error of vocabulary depends on where _you_ think you are (ignoring the buzzwords and acronyms).
If you believe you have encapsulated the essence of your idea into something someone will pay for (zero to one problem), based on your description, you don’t.
If you believe you have something to show around to get acceptance of the _idea_ before you actually build the MVP, that better suits what you claim above but you also send mixed messages about expectations.
In EITHER case, if you haven’t spoken to prospective customers already, you’ve (likely) jumped the gun. Committments before code gets ytou the highest opportunity for success… if you can’t move the tangible interest needle without the code, your chances with code aren’t much higher.
If you’re in sales for extended periods of time, I question your emphasis on this:
> solves the problem of being in an oversaturated market with a ton of customizable features (it can simple or complex based on what you want to use it for),
In an oversaturated market (your description), you need clearly defined value. Unless the pain point is “not enough customization”, this is not the high-percentage breaktrhough you present it as. It’ll nearly always be muddled, confusing, and discounted as a serious competitor to the big names even at a bargain-basement price. (cf The Innovator’s Dilemma)
> What should be my next step?
Stop working on the code, step back, and refine your value proposition until it’s razor sharp. Then sharpen it some more. The “conventional wisdom” says your solution has to be at least 10x better… I do quibble with that at times but when your market is already a cacophany of options, you have to find the right mechanism to cut through the noise.
Me-too features and “2x as good at half the price” is unlikely to be good enough.
If you’re not me-too and you’ve confirmed this via market and customer validation, your next steps _at this stage_ will almost be self-evident because whatever you did to get your early contacts on-board in a committed way will lay the foundation for getting paying customers into an _actual_ MVP that reflects what you have learned about the product landscape to date.
Give an early bird discount and get some users. Take feedback from them and see if you can improve it.
Best thing to do is to reach out to all of the people you interviewed before defining your product. Theyโre the ones who you built it for.
Onboarding
Hello! My name is Cisse, and Iโm a front-end web developer looking for an internship. If there are any new or upcoming startups in need of a front-end web developer intern, Iโm available and eager to contribute. Whether itโs a paid or unpaid position, either option works for me as Iโm keen to gain valuable experience and improve my skills. Please feel free to reach out if you think I would be a good fit for your team. Thank you!
USERS, USERS, USERS.
Reach out.