MVP Development
MVP development: a product in 8–12 weeks you can put in front of investors
ThinkingLab builds MVPs as part of its startup studio and product engineering practice: a product a founder can put in front of users, and then in front of investors, without hiring a full-time engineering team first.
Overview
Eight to twelve weeks is a shape for a narrow product, not a promise that every idea fits that window. ThinkingLab does not publish a rate card, does not award grants, and is not an investor.
Who it's for
- Founders with a customer problem and no product yet
- Teams whose current prototype cannot be shown to a user
- Founders preparing a technical story for a raise, without pretending the MVP is a finished company
Capabilities
- A written scope of the one workflow the MVP must prove
- What is deliberately left out
- The product built so the founding team owns the code
- Enough deployment that someone can tell when it breaks
- A definition of done the founder can repeat
- A note of what the next month would be, if the idea holds
Approach
How we work
- 01
Cut the scope
Name the user, the workflow, and the smallest version that would teach you something. Everything else waits.
- 02
Build that version
Product engineering ships it in increments a founder can see, usually on the order of eight to twelve weeks when the scope stays narrow.
- 03
Say what done means
Done means a person outside the team can complete the core workflow, the code is yours, and you can tell when it fails.
- 04
Stop or continue
Use what users do next to decide whether to extend the product. The MVP is not a commitment to a larger build.
Things to consider
What is not in an MVP
An enterprise AI programme, an enterprise cloud migration, and a security and DevSecOps programme are not an MVP. Those are handed to sister companies. A startup MVP is the product itself.
Price
Scope sets the work. ThinkingLab does not publish a price, a day rate, or a package.
Questions
Common questions
How long does an MVP take?
- A narrow product is often shaped as eight to twelve weeks. That is a planning shape, not a guarantee. The weeks only hold if the scope stays on one workflow. A larger idea is a different project, and we will say so before the build starts.
What does done mean?
- Done means someone outside the team can complete the core workflow, you own the code and the accounts, and you can tell when the product fails. It does not mean every feature on the original list, a finished company, or an investor's yes.
What is left out of an MVP?
- Anything that does not test the idea: extra roles, extra platforms, an enterprise AI programme, an enterprise cloud programme, and a security programme. Those last three are not this practice. The MVP is the product a founder can put in front of a user.
Do you publish MVP prices?
- No. ThinkingLab does not publish a rate card, a package price, or a starting fee. The work is scoped from the product. ThinkingLab is not an investor and does not fund the build.
Related services
Next step
Ready to talk about MVP Development?
Tell us about the problem, the stage you're at, and what's at stake. We'll respond with an honest view of how we can help.