Example of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) - RestaurantTom Green, Co-Founder @ VerticodeDecember 2, 2022, 1 min read
Let’s start with an example business that all of us will understand — starting a restaurant. What do people starting a restaurant typically do? They take their dream of opening a restaurant, let’s say it’s a pizza- taco-sushi fusion restaurant, find an available location and sign a lease, putting money down on the first few months of rent and a security deposit. Then they put more money into designing the interior of the restaurant to create the right ambiance, they buy all the necessary equipment, determine the menu, establish supplier relationships, hire staff, put money into marketing and then finally have a big launch. But how do you know this is the best location and that people actually want a pizza with sushi in it, eaten like a taco?
Gather Customer Feedback
Let’s use the process of creating an MVP to lead us to the best finished product. The first question you would want to have answered is: “What should be on the menu? Does the food taste good?” What would the MVP for this be? The simplest, easiest, fastest, least expensive way to test this out would be to host a dinner party with friends. Feed them your food and gather their feedback.
Assessing Business Viability
Let’s say they love your food, then the next question would be “Can the food be prepared at scale?” What would an MVP for this question be? Many restaurants are closed 1 day a week to give their owners and staff a break. You could pay a restaurant owner a fee to have a Pop-up restaurant for one day in their facility. That would help you learn if you can make your vision happen at scale, preparing your food for many restaurant guests. Plus, in marketing for the pop-up, you could start to build a base of customers who love your concept.
Testing Customer Behaviours
The next question to answer would be “Where should the restaurant be located?” Instead of committing yourself to a location without knowing of the demand for your food in that area, you could use a food truck and drive around to various areas and see what location and times of day had the most traffic. Then you could select a restaurant space in that area. Remember, part of the purpose is to de-risk. MVPs can address specific risks that you see your business idea might have. For this restaurant example, the food truck MVP addresses the risk of not selecting the right location for your restaurant.
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