How do you know when to lay down the money for an MVP?
Do surveys and potential user interviews count? Does first hand knowledge of the problem count?
Hi! First of all I recommend to make a pitch deck for yourself that completely describes your product, user needs, market and theirs validation and lay down money after you will be confident with that document on proof of concept (it will cost you much less then creating MVP).
I'd be happy to talk further with you about the difference between MVP and proof of concept stages and help you to set correct KPI to each of them regarding your product
Decision makers in the target market who have admitted to having a serious problem they want fixed. Particularly those who have signed up to a list to follow your progress and await the availability of the solution.
News and media appearances are helpful but do not count.
My rule of thumb is only sales count.
If I can't turn an idea into a sale by end of day (via completely manual means), I move on to another idea.
For example. Have an idea + mention it places you cultivate (where you post or interact with people) + if you get a sale by end of day (use a PayPal manual transaction), then you might have a good idea.
Meetup groups + CoWork space talks are good too.
If you can give a talk to a group + generate a few manual PayPal transactions, you may have a winner.
No sales == Get a new idea.
That's my rule for myself.
I have worked with founders building marketplaces and early-stage platforms, and one of the biggest questions they face is what actually counts as traction before revenue appears. In the earliest stage, traction usually means evidence that a real problem exists and that people actively care about solving it. This can show up as waiting lists, repeated user interviews, strong engagement with prototypes, or potential users asking when the product will launch. Surveys and interviews can help, but they only become meaningful when they reveal whether the problem is a “nice to have” or a true “must have.” Strong traction usually comes from solving a clear core pain or closing a visible gap in the market quickly. If the product also includes a defensible technology moat that competitors cannot easily replicate, that signal becomes even stronger. In practice these elements reinforce each other like interconnected molecules and create early momentum that investors pay attention to.
If you are thinking about MVP timing or traction signals for your product, feel free to reach out and we can break down your situation together.
