All SaaS founders start with a great idea for a product that could revolutionize their users’ world. They put in countless hours to build and launch their product, only to find out that it doesn’t really solve a problem anybody cares about.
As a founder, your first job is to recognize a “real problem” that your users face and then create a solution you can prove or disprove with the least amount of money possible. This is where SaaS MVP development comes in.
The minimum viable product (MVP) is a basic version of your SaaS with just the core features. You launch your MVP so your users can test it out and provide feedback. You can then iterate based on this feedback, make resource allocation decisions, and essentially lower the risk of making a product that nobody cares about.
So, how do you go about building a minimum viable product? We break down the entire process in this blog post to help you get started.
It’s a good idea to develop an MVP at the introductory stage of your product lifecycle. Your idea may seem great in theory, but there’s no need to invest a lot of money in the development stage. SaaS MVP development will allow you to spend less on development and still get the data you need to test the waters. If you want a faster option with professional help, hire a SaaS Development Studio.
Other than the market feedback you’ll receive, there are countless other benefits of developing an MVP:
Now that we know the “why” of MVP development let’s talk about practical steps. Before you start, it’s a good idea to make sure everyone in your team understands the basic principles of product creation. If you’re working with an MVP development agency, it’s a good idea to sit down and outline goals and get a better understanding of their process.
One of the biggest mistakes SaaS founders make is building a product they want, not one that people need. Instead of getting caught up in the idea of the product, think about the pain point of your target audience, which your product is trying to solve.
Describe the value of your product and how it’s different or better than what’s out there. Create a unique value proposition, marketing campaign, and landing page.
You should have a clear idea of your audience before you start development. Create a detailed customer persona that answers key questions like:
Keep in mind that your target customer may have multiple pain points. Don’t try to create a product that solves all of them. Pick one specific problem and focus on creating a product that solves it in the best possible way.
You need data about your key competitors before you build an MVP. Use platforms like Product Hunt and Crunchbase to find startups in your niche to study. Your competitor research should ideally include:
You’ll also need to thoroughly understand the market to make key decisions about your MVP. Here are a few things to focus on:
Your SaaS MVP is not the end product, so it shouldn’t be too complex or stuffed with non-essential features. Focus on the minimum functionality needed to test viability.
Make a list of all the features and prioritize them based on criteria like whether the feature will have a major impact on revenue, whether it solves an important problem, and whether your product can work without it.
Make a separate list of the features that meet all your criteria as must-haves. Everything else can wait. You may want to include them in future iterations or avoid them altogether if they don’t have a clear value for your users.
This part of the process will vary based on whether you’re building the MVP in-house or with the help of a development agency. Regardless, at the start of the development phase, it’s important to have a clear understanding of the project requirements:
Having a well-laid-out product roadmap can help key stakeholders see goals, progress, and success criteria.
How you choose to develop your SaaS MVP will depend on the complexity of your product. A simpler SaaS product focused on data management or workflow automation, the approach will be different from developing a deep-tech platform that relies on AI.
Depending on the speed, cost, and technical expertise you need, here are a few key options to choose from.
Let’s look at each of these options in detail.
This is an excellent option if you need to build your MVP within weeks and need a professional team. A SaaS development studio can be your tech partner. They have the resources and know-how to bring your ideas to life fast and can use the right tech stack to help you build and scale much faster.
Best for: Entrepreneurs and founders who want to launch quickly, don’t have a development team, and have the budget to invest in high-quality MVP.
No-code tools are a great starting point if you want to validate your idea quickly without significant investment. If you’re a non-technical founder, you can use these platforms to create functional prototypes and simple workflows without writing code. Test your ideas in days instead of months.
Best for: Early-stage validation, quick testing, and gathering initial user feedback.
Advanced no-code/low-code tools offer great flexibility if your MVP requires custom features, automation, or integrations. Although you’ll need some technical knowledge, you’ll be able to build scalable products with custom UI/UX, automated workflows, and dynamic workflows.
Best for: Startups needing more advanced functionality without hiring a full development team.
If you need long-term scalability, security, and flexibility your best bet will be to code your MVP from scratch. This is especially true if your SaaS product involves heavy backend processing, complex algorithms, or unique architecture. While it comes with a longer development time and higher cost, the results are top-notch.
Best for: Startups that need full control over product performance, security, and scalability.
In most cases, the best approach is to use affordable and fast no-code tools to quickly validate the idea. You can gradually transition to more scalable solutions or even custom code when necessary once you’ve confirmed demand and you get some initial traction. Here are a few other tips to help you pick the right option:
Keep in mind that this phase is only a stepping stone, not the end goal. This isn’t the time to focus on revenue or scaling. This part of the process is for learning.
Here are three steps to help you get the most out of this stage:
At the end of the cycle, you’ll be armed with a ton of valuable customer insights and usage information. Use this to figure out which parts of your MVP need further improvements and which ones are a success.
Start planning the next version of your product based on this data. Once you have the next version ready, follow the same process to measure, learn, and tweak your product. Each iteration will bring you closer to a fully functional product that your target customers need and value.
Even a million-dollar idea can fail if you don’t validate it first. SaaS MVP development will allow you to understand whether your product has an audience, whether it solves a real problem, and whether your business model is effective. Start simple and use feedback to scale.
You’ll need an experienced team to identify your product's core features, create intuitive designs, and handle development, QA testing, and iterations. Naviu can help take you from an idea to the first version in as little as six to 12 weeks. Get in touch with us to get the ball rolling!
Book a call or submit the form, and we'll reach out to you swiftly.
We start scoping your idea during our initial call or schedule a second call to dive deeper into the details.
Upon your nod of approval to our proposal, we'll set the wheels in motion to kickstart your project.
