How do you build a MVP for an innovative tech b2b product? We would need good amount of funding to build a decent MVP and show businesses.

Great question. I wrote the book Lean B2B: Build Products Businesses Want to help entrepreneurs get from idea to MVP to Product-Market Fit. I also built a few B2B startups (Flagback, HireVoice, etc).

There are a few things that make this a challenge:

1) MVPs are typically much further along the process in B2B than in B2C. In B2C, entrepreneurs find a market, identify the problems and build a MVP. In B2B, entrepreneurs find a market, find the stakeholders, identify the problems, validate a solution then build a MVP. Customers are less accessible; it takes time to get on their agenda.

2) Investors typically don't want to fund early sales and MVP development in B2B. It's "too risky"; they'd rather come in when the company has a wee-bit of traction.

3) The whole process from inception to early traction and MVP can easily take more than a year. You need sufficient runway to survive.

Although I agree with Jeff, Shaun and Suresh that you can build early MVPs on the cheap, it's important to remember that your initial objective is to convince 5-6 businesses to commit to purchase your solution when it's ready.

To that end, a vision and early mockups can be enough.

If you need money to get to MVP, I suggest finding angel investors, but don't expect your MVP to be the actual product. Everything will change.

Feel free to reach out if you'd like to talk about this.

There are lots of resources today where you can cost effectively build a MVP for a b2b platform without needing to raise lot of funding. In most cases ( as long as you have a great network of investors) you will probably need to have already developed an MVP, validated the product/service offering before you approach. Depending on the kind of B2B platform, you might be able to leverage existing frameworks to help build an MVP.

I have had lots of experience in B2B & B2C platforms and would be happy to share thoughts/feedback.

Cheers

Building an MVP for an innovative tech B2B product can indeed be challenging, especially when it comes to securing sufficient funding. Focus on defining your core features and value proposition to create a lean version of your product that addresses the most critical needs of your target businesses. This approach can help you demonstrate the potential of your idea and attract potential investors. For some practical tips on how to build a minimum viable product, you might find this article helpful: https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-build-a-minimum-viable-product/. It covers essential strategies for developing an MVP that can effectively showcase your product’s potential.