MVP vs MMP: Why Your First Product Should Be Lovable

The Minimum Viable Product concept has been bastardized. What was meant to be "the smallest thing you can build to learn" became "ship garbage and call it an MVP."

That doesn't work anymore. Users have too many options.

Enter the MMP

The Minimum Marketable Product is different:

• Minimum: Still small, still focused
• Marketable: Something people would actually pay for and tell friends about

What Makes a Product Marketable?

1. It solves one problem exceptionally well
2. The experience is polished (not perfect, but not embarrassing)
3. It's better than the alternative in at least one meaningful way

How to Build an MMP

Focus on the core loop:

1. What's the main action users take?
2. Make that action delightful
3. Cut everything else

Example: If you're building a note-taking app, the core loop is write → save → find. Make those three things incredible. Skip templates, collaboration, AI features—for now.

The 80/20 of Polish

Not everything needs polish. Focus on:

• First-time user experience
• The core action
• Error states

Skip polish on:

• Settings pages
• Edge cases
• Admin features