Not every MVP needs to be public

When founders think about an MVP, they usually picture launching it — putting it in front of real users out in the world. That’s the obvious move.

But many useful MVPs never go public. They’re built internally first. The team uses them. Trusted advisors try them. Friendly users test them under tight conditions. The version released to the world comes later, after a quieter round of building and learning.

Internal and external MVPs answer different questions, at different stages, with different risks. Choosing between them on purpose can save you a lot of unnecessary scrambling.

What an internal MVP is

An internal MVP is a version of the product used inside the team, or with a controlled group, before any wider release.

You build something rough. You and a f...

Internal vs external MVPs (and when to use them)