It is not a broken demo, a slideshow, or an apology. Users cannot tell you whether they would pay for a thing they could not really use. The bar: one core loop, working end to end, for one type of user. Everything outside that loop, admin niceties, settings pages, the second user type, waits its turn.
Ask what single action your product exists for, and what is the shortest path a stranger can take to feel that value. Book With NAV's original loop was narrow: a realtor books a shoot, a photographer gets assigned, media comes back fast. Payouts, listing sites, and the marketing engine all came later, funded by the fact that the core loop already worked. That platform has since processed 7,500+ shoots, and it started smaller than most founders' first drafts.
Shipping the MVP is the start of deciding, not the end. The signal you want is retention and repeat use, not compliments. And the codebase matters more than MVP culture admits: a throwaway prototype that succeeds becomes the foundation you are stuck with, so we build MVPs on production-grade bones. Small scope, serious construction.
Weeks to a few months depending on the loop, not a year. If the plan says a year, the scope is not minimum yet.
For testing pure demand, sometimes. But if the concept involves real operations, payments, scheduling, or accounts, no-code ceilings arrive fast, and rebuilds cost more than building right once.
People use it again without being reminded, and some pay. Praise without repeat usage is a polite no.
Everything in this glossary, we build and operate for real businesses. Thirty minutes maps it to yours.