What is an MVP, and what should the first version contain?
What an MVP is and is not, what the first version of an app or your own software needs, what can wait, and the traps that make it cost more than it should.
By Daniel Aideborn · Published 29 September 2026 · 3 min read
Short answer: an MVP is the smallest version that lets real users do the one thing that matters, so that you learn whether it is worth building more. It is not a half-finished product but a small, finished one. What it does has to work properly; it just does few things.
The letters stand for minimum viable product. Below is what belongs in the first version, what can wait, how to choose based on the question you want answered, and the most common mistakes.
What has to be in it
- The core loop. The one thing the user comes for, from start to finish. If it cannot be completed, it is not an MVP.
- Accounts, if they are needed. If users come back to their own records, sign-in is needed from the start.
- Payment, if the question is willingness to pay. If you want to know whether people pay, they have to be able to pay.
- Simple administration. Somebody on your side has to be able to correct mistakes, help a user and remove what went wrong.
- Measurement. Without it you know what users said, not what they did.
What can wait
- Settings and customisation that only a few people ask for.
- Several user roles, when one is enough to learn from.
- Integrations with other systems, if the records can be moved by hand at first.
- Both iOS and Android. Start where the users are, or with a web app.
- A polished introduction for new users. The first users you can talk to directly.
Choose by the question you want answered
| The question | Then the first version has to |
|---|---|
| Do people want to use it? | Do the core loop, and measure whether people come back |
| Will they pay? | Do the core loop and take a real payment |
| Can we run it? | Offer administration and a way for users to get help |
| Does it work with our systems? | Connect once, to the system that matters most |
A first version that tries to answer every question at once is rarely finished. Pick the question that decides whether the rest is worth building.
Traps
- Building what users might want before what they certainly need works.
- Skipping measurement, and then not knowing what happened.
- Ignoring administration, so that every mistake needs a developer.
- Building a native app before the flow is proven. Why that costs more is in What does it cost to build an app?.
- Having no plan for the version after. An MVP is the start, not the goal.
How I build a first version
A product build is a web app, a native iOS app, or a first version of your own software, with the core loop working and real users on it. It covers discovery and architecture, build, test and deploy, TestFlight and App Store submission for iOS, analytics and admin from day one, and 30 days of post-launch fixes. A first version typically takes four to eight weeks, and you get a fixed scope and a date before anything starts.
- Automation sprint From 45 000SEK
- Product build From 145 000SEK
- Web service to iOS app From 39 900 SEKexcl. VAT
All prices exclude VAT. Larger software products (SaaS), web applications and iOS apps are quoted individually. See prices
If you are unsure whether you need an app or a web app is enough, When is a website enough, and when do you need a web app? takes the levels one at a time. If you want to describe your idea, the contact box is at the bottom of the home page.
Related services: SaaS & MVP