MVP vs POC
I've heard micro-saas far too many times in the last few days. With AI's abilities and a handful of success stories, the landscape is rapidly evolving.
When I spoke to people, I realised there was a tiny percentage of confusion between the two early birds: the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and the Proof of Concept (POC).
Both are essential; they sit on the same tree, but they have different stages and serve different values.
Let's first define POC. It's proof that a concept can work. It's like an experiment done in a closed room.
If Ollivanders wants to start his wand shop in Westeros, he must verify whether the wands and spells work. He could do an Avada Kedavra on Joffrey Baratheon and see if he dies.
So, POC has a defined metric to measure. Its scope is extremely narrow, built by a single developer (or two), barely functional, and focusing only on critical technical feasibility.
A POC is successful if the output is as expected for the given inputs. Typically, one should spend only 2-3 weeks on a POC. If it's taking longer, it's either technically not feasible, or the people building it lack the essential skill. Not everyone can use the spell Avada Kedavra!
When your POC is successful, enter the MVP stage. There's proof that a solution exists, but do people have this problem? Is it solving their problem? Is it valuable enough that they're willing to pay and give feedback?
Would Tyrion buy a wand if Ollivanders set it up? And if he does, would Cersei let the shop remain unburnt? Market dynamics dictate and explain whether the problem-solving is viable. And Ollivanders doesn't need to open a full-fledged shop to understand this; he has to do the secret business with a handful of people.
To derive this, one has to package POC in a nice, usable format. The customer might not be aware of anything technical.
MVP becomes an important stage, where one'd likely spend 2-3 months on micro-saas projects. It has to measure user engagement, conversion, feedback, etc., and it must be user-friendly.
A successful POC doesn't imply a perfect recipe for a successful MVP.
If the technical implementation is straightforward (or you're an expert in it), like Ollivanders selling his products on e-commerce, he can go ahead and sell it. That can go directly to the MVP stage.
But if the skill is complex, like his wands might not work in Westeros, he'd need to do a bit of experiments. That's where the POC stage comes in.
Some Pitfalls
- POC Paralysis: Spending too much time perfecting a POC instead of moving to an MVP
- Feature Creep: Adding too many features to your MVP, delaying market validation
- Skipping the POC: Going straight to MVP development when facing significant technical uncertainties
- Mistaking a POC for an MVP: Trying to acquire customers with what is essentially just a technical demonstration
With Micro-Saas, the distinct advantage is that one can execute something relatively quickly, within 3 months often. Larger SaaS usually require a year of effort to launch.
Remember:
A successful POC proves you can build it, and a successful MVP proves someone wants it.
You need both to create a sustainable micro-SaaS business. All the best.
