Start Now: Boot-Strap Your MVP

Find any human being who is currently involved in the business world and you will catch them using words like “bootstrapping” and “MVP”. If you have no idea what these terms mean no harm no foul. If you have even dared to use them in conversation regardless of your lack of knowledge you are probably in good company.

You may see postmodernpatriot.blog and assume it is barebones or half-assed. If anything we are currently in beta-testing and doing so by providing customers the most minimally viable product possible. A minimally viable product or “MVP” is the most simplistic product that a business can take to market. For us this meant providing an area that publishes content to make better humans and empower people to live boldly. Of course this MVP does not exist without a grand vision of the future.

PMP plans to have a podcast in the coming year alongside semiannual or even monthly seminars that give people the skills they need to live boldly and own any room they enter into. However, in order to do so we needed to test out our concept by seeing how often we could release content that supported these ends. Yes, we would love this product to have all of the shiny bells and whistles possible, but doing so without running a proof of concept would be haphazard.

Moreover, we chose to bootstrap this product into development. Doing so meant providing our own funding which is not in abundance. We have the opportunity to go out and find outside investors who would support this endeavor but doing so would mean answering to other masters. So far we have been up for one month and we have released 5 posts. Doing so while handling a rigorous list of outside priorities.

How to develop and MVP and bring your product to market

Many of us have some grand idea for a side hustle or a new business that we hope will replace our current occupation. I would argue that for many of us this fairy-tale will exist regardless of how awesome our current occupation may be. It is a natural habit of humans to view the grass on the other side as greener. Regardless, we must fervently pursue those goals and dreams so our life becomes what we desire it to be.

If you have one of these grandiose ideas for something to sell or share, that is great. You should write that vision down and include all of those extra features and beautiful ideas you hope to one day execute on. Store it in a safe place for when you need to find new goals to execute later on. In the mean-time shave it all down. These are the initial stages of MVP development. Asking yourself how can we take this product to market tomorrow to test it out on consumers.

This action brings about one of Michael Porter’s key requirements for leaders in terms of strategic positioning. Determining what things your business will say no to. Southwest Airlines did this when they chose to be the airline with less frills and more direct flights that got you to your destination. Porter urges leaders to accept the trade-offs of their determination to deliver a product to customers that serves specific needs. As Porter puts it, “You can’t win by doing everything.”

Another good example of this practice of determining what to say no is visible in the strategy Trader Joes developed. They set out to serve a very specific market of customers. The under-paid and over-educated. Now they specifically target health conscious singles, couples, and small families. This action is referred to as defining your target market or as porter refers to it, “serving the broad needs of few.” Once you are able to better define your target market, you are able to better serve their specific needs.

Post-modern Patriot is employing all of these strategies with the employment of our bare-minimum blog. We say no to: spending money on frills and thrills, outsourcing work we can learn or do ourselves until we absolutely have to, and investing money until we are able to complete a proof of concept. This blog serves all those needs while allowing us to serve out target market. Young professionals who desire to live boldly and improve their own health, wealth, and relationships.