If you’re a founder embarking on the journey to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), you’ve probably heard people compare software development to building a house. It’s a tempting analogy: draw up the plans, gather your materials, and build step by step until the finished product stands tall. But here’s the reality: building an MVP is nothing like building a house. In fact, treating it as such can lead to missed opportunities, wasted resources, and frustration for you and your team.

In this blog, I’m going to break down why this analogy doesn’t hold up—and why embracing the unpredictability of MVP development can be a huge advantage for founders.

1. The Illusion of Predictability: Why Blueprints Don’t Work for MVPs

When you build a house, you start with blueprints. Every detail is planned: the number of windows, the size of the rooms, and even the color of the walls. From there, the process is linear and predictable.

With an MVP, things are very different. While you might start with a product roadmap or high-level vision, you can’t anticipate every detail or challenge upfront. Why? Because an MVP is about solving problems that are often undefined at the start. Things like:

• How will your product integrate with third-party systems?

• Will the algorithm you design actually meet user needs?

• How will users respond to your core functionality?

These are questions you can’t fully answer until you start building and testing. That’s why MVP development requires flexibility and iteration—not rigid blueprints.

2. Change Is Part of the Process, Not a Problem

Imagine halfway through building your house, you decide to move the kitchen to the second floor. Sounds absurd, right? In house construction, changes like this are costly and disruptive because the process is designed to avoid them.

In MVP development, however, change is expected—and even necessary. As you test your product with users, you’ll uncover new insights that could completely reshape your original plans. And that’s a good thing! Every pivot or adjustment you make is a step closer to building something your users truly want.

The key is to approach MVP development with a mindset of experimentation. Your goal isn’t to create a perfect product on the first try—it’s to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible, so you can iterate toward success.

3. The Goal Is Validation, Not Perfection

When you build a house, you’re aiming for a finished product that’s ready to live in. You wouldn’t move in with half-built walls or unfinished plumbing.

An MVP, on the other hand, isn’t about delivering a complete product—it’s about validating your core idea. This means your MVP will likely be messy, incomplete, and far from perfect. And that’s okay! The goal is to get your product in front of users quickly, gather feedback, and use that feedback to inform your next steps.

The faster you can test your assumptions, the faster you can de-risk your product and make smart decisions about where to invest your time and resources.

4. Unpredictability Isn’t a Bug, It’s a Feature

Here’s the hard truth: no matter how much planning you do, you will encounter unknowns during MVP development. Timelines may shift. Features may need to be added, reworked, or removed entirely. And while that unpredictability can feel frustrating, it’s also where innovation happens.

Unlike building a house, where the goal is to stick to the plan, MVP development thrives on adaptability. The most successful startups are the ones that can embrace uncertainty and use it to their advantage.

How Founders Can Thrive in the MVP Process

As a founder, your role during MVP development is to guide the team through the chaos while keeping the bigger picture in mind. Here are a few tips to help you do that:

1. Shift your mindset. Understand that unpredictability and change are part of the process, not signs of failure.

2. Focus on learning. Treat every iteration as an opportunity to gather valuable insights about your users and your product.

3. Prioritize flexibility. Build a culture where the team feels comfortable adapting to new information and shifting priorities when necessary.

4. Define success differently. Success for an MVP isn’t about launching a perfect product—it’s about validating your core assumptions and setting a strong foundation for future development.

The Bottom Line

Building an MVP isn’t like building a house—it’s like navigating uncharted waters. There’s no perfect map or step-by-step guide, and the journey will often take unexpected turns. But that’s what makes it exciting. By embracing the unpredictability, you open yourself up to the insights, opportunities, and breakthroughs that can turn your MVP into something truly game-changing.

So, to all the founders out there: don’t worry if your MVP feels messy or if the process doesn’t go exactly as planned. That’s the nature of innovation. And if you stay focused on learning, iterating, and adapting, you’ll be well on your way to building something extraordinary.

Ready to dive into the world of MVP development? Let’s talk about your vision—and how to make it a reality!