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Ben Katz

What's more valuable in the very early days: building an audience or building an MVP?

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I've heard varying opinions on this and have my own thoughts but I'd love to hear multiple sides of the argument from the community! While you're here, you can find me on twitter here: https://twitter.com/benlkatz
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Marcus Finley
Your MVP or solution will definitely change so having an audience that is interested in the problem you are solving is more important.
Ben Katz
@marcus_finley Great feedback, thanks Marcus!
Cedric
Gaurav Parvadiya
For me, MVP.
Ben Katz
@graham_patel Thanks, Gaurav! Good luck on the upcoming launch!
Anastasia C
vote for building an MVP since I follow the PLG
Ben Katz
@anastasia_chow thanks for the feedback, Anastasia! Good luck on your upcoming launch :)
Swapnil D Puranik
I'd build the MVP - my audience needs to see what I am building for them to see the value. Also, I want to attract a niche audience who will have the higher probability of converting as early paying customers.
Ben Katz
@swapdp_01 There are benefits to both. I think the best option is to try and chip away at both at the same time whenever possible
Swapnil D Puranik
@benjamin_katz2 yep, if the time and energy permits then definitely do both in parallel.
Saul Fleischman
Build the MPV. People are growing weary of the startup that makes big promises, expects us to give our emails for "early access" - but with little reason to believe that they can pull off any of what they promise. Prove what you can deliver first.
Ben Katz
@osakasaul Agree that it's important to deliver. I do think the early access strategy is a great one for getting product validation
Kamil Kollman
Honestly, I don't think you can choose just one. We are building our product and balanced too much onto development/product part, without focusing on the audience enough, and now we have to "catch up" on that to move on. If you focus on bulding your MVP only, you may end up at dead end where the cost of further development is simply too high, because you didn't verify your choices enough. If you build an audience without the product, you may find it difficult to keep them interested before your product is ready. So I'd say - build stuff and keep everyone notified about that ;)
Ben Katz
@kamil_kollman Good advice, Kamil! It's important to build but it's equally important to have distribution once you're done building
Ricky Goon
For me MVP, if your product can potentially solve an existing problem then the audience would naturally come. It's not like you don't have to build an audience, you still have to but if I can only pick one then MVP
Ben Katz
@goon_ricky good advice, thanks Ricky!
Kaya Lordoğlu
I think it is important to do both simultaneously. However, I'd spent the majority of my effort on building the MVP so that the functionalities and features are ready for the users when going live. The audience can grow through personal networks at first. Only when the product is live, I'd get involved with heavy marketing efforts (e.g. SEO)
Ben Katz
@kaya_lordoglu Good advice, thanks Kaya!
Abinash Mohanty
Both are required actually! If you have an MVP then you need a target audience in order to test the MVP. We can't test the MVP with the internal team, right?
Ben Katz
Zain Sheikh
Both building an audience and building an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) are important. However, the priority given to one or the other can vary depending on the specific circumstances of the startup. If you have a unique and innovative product idea that solves a real problem, then it is important to have a working MVP to validate your concept and attract potential customers. Building an MVP in this case would be the priority. On the other hand, if you are entering a crowded market and need to differentiate yourself, building an audience first through marketing and branding efforts can help establish your brand and create early demand for your product. In this case, building an audience would take priority over building an MVP.
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