Empires build Death Stars, rebels build X-Wing fighters. If your startup’s minimum viable product is a Death Star you are doing it wrong.
Empires build a Death Star,
Rebels build X-Wing fighters
If your startup’s minimum viable product is a Death Star you are doing it wrong.
“Recreate the action and adventure of the Star Wars™ movies with the ultimate Death Star playset! This amazingly detailed battle station features an incredible array of minifigure-scale scenes, moving parts, characters and accessories from Episodes IV and VI on its multiple decks, including the Death Star control room, rotating turbolaser turrets, hangar bay with TIE Advanced starfighter, tractor beam controls, Emperor’s throne room, detention block, firing laser cannon, Imperial conference chamber, droid maintenance facility, and the powerful Death Star super laser…plus much more! Swing across the chasm with Luke and Leia, face danger in the crushing trash compactor, and duel with Darth Vader for the fate of the galaxy!
Includes 24 minifigures and droids, plus all-new Dianoga trash compactor monster!”
From the Lego Death Star description. [hyperlinks added]
Transcript from video
Hi, this is Sean Murphy for SK Murphy, talking about “What is an MVP?”
An MVP is
- an offering for sale
- of a product or service
- for a particular type of customer
- with a specific problem
- of enough severity that it provides enough value to make an initial purchase.
Let’s look at an example of what a Death Star MVP might look like.
Here’s how Lego describes their Death Star kit: this 30,803-piece set assembles into a 16-inch Death Star replica. You can recreate all of the scenes from Star Wars Episode Four and Episode Six that take place on the Death Star. It comes with 24 minifigures and droids, plus the all-new Dionaga trash compactor monster. It includes the Death Star control room, rotating turbo laser turrets, hangar bay with TIE Advanced Starfighter tractor beam controls, the emperor’s throne room, detention block firing laser cannon, Imperial conference chamber, Droid maintenance facility, and a powerful Death Star super laser, plus much more. You can swing across the chasm with Luke and Leia, face danger in the crushing trash compactor, and duel with Darth Vader for the fate of the galaxy.
This is a product that has everything.
What might an MVP look like for the Lego Death Star? Here’s an example of a TIE Fighter that will give you some idea of what’s involved. It will allow you to recreate some of the battle scenes in Episode Four. Let’s unpack a little bit what goes on with the MVP. What’s under your control, and what’s the customer’s decision? You get to choose the particular type of customer, the specific problem, and how you plan to provide value.
The customer decides if the problem has enough severity and enough value to justify making an initial purchase. So when you think about a pivot, all you can really pivot is what you have under your control. You can pick a different type of customer. You can pick a different problem you’re going to focus on, or you can change the features or how you provide value.
The MVP is the smallest useful product your customer will pay for.
Here are some other good MVP blog posts
- An MVP is not a Cheaper Product, It’s about Smart Learning
- Your MVP is About Discovery – Not Product
Schedule An MVP Readiness Review Are you a startup founder who wants to make an objective assessment of your new product idea? Request a no cost no obligation consultation for MVP Readiness Office Hours
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