Minimum Solution

What is the minimum set of features required to problem solving?

By completing the second and third stages, you already have a set of key facts about product monetization and have some idea about the look and feel of the product. The next step is to create a minimum set of core features that people are willing to pay to use.

Focus on the overall solution at this point in your startup pre-launch phase and focus on improving features, design, and development later.

With a minimal set of features, you are able to adapt to any environment. The fewer features that need to be changed, the more the customer will like the simplicity of the offering.

As you can see, perfection is achieved not when there is nothing to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

How to determine the minimum set of functions?

1. Develop a hypothesis. To do this, analyze the results of the survey in focus groups. Ask directly: what is the problem that needs to be solved. Simplify this information and you end up with a set of simple functions.
2. Create a group of potential buyers. Find them among people who have previously answered your letters and who may become your customers, put their names on the list.
3. Give your product a visual form. Sketch out some mockups to help you get a good idea of ​​the product. This can be done in the free programs Balsamiq Mockups and Lucidcharts.
4. Refine and test the demand for your product. Test demand and price by asking a question like, “What price do you think is acceptable for a product?” “Do you prefer to make a one-time payment or pay a monthly subscription to use the product?”

Do not waste time, energy and money on product improvement, adding nice but unimportant features.

What is your business model? Can it be scaled up?

We finally decided on the direction, problem and product before launching the startup. Make sure there is a market for your solution. The next step is to calculate whether your business model is capable of bringing the product to market, making a profit, and scaling up.

The larger your customer base, the cheaper it costs to produce one unit of your product. For example, if you are building an app and the development cost is $250,000, a customer base of 10,000 people would mean that the cost per unit of your product to manufacture is $25.

If you only have 4,000 customers and need to generate a certain amount of revenue, the price of your product goes up. However, if your competitors offer a much cheaper product, you’re in luck – you’ve encountered a potential problem early on in your startup.

The business model must scale or the company will die. Make sure your business model has the potential to grow the company.

One of the main advantages of developing and selling software is that the cost of scaling up is negligible. For example, you can create an app and then sell as many “copies” of that product as you want for as little money as possible.

In contrast, if you are selling a “physical product” such as notebooks, personal computers, or window frames, you are producing them at cost, no matter how many individual units you sell to your customers.