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2026-09-29

5 Ways to Scope an MVP (and the One That Works)

Not financial advice. Verify claims independently.

Every MVP-scoping method, ranked by how often it produces a shipped product.

  1. Feature-list MVP ("everything but simpler") — fails 80% of the time; still the default
  2. Time-boxed MVP ("whatever ships in 6 weeks") — produces demos, not products
  3. Single-user-story MVP ("does one thing end-to-end") — the one that works
  4. Smoke-test MVP ("landing page + fake door") — validates demand, not the product
  5. Competitor-clone MVP ("X but better") — builds someone else's roadmap

The one that ships: one user story, done completely. For Stock Picks it was "user places a paper trade with a realistic fill." Everything else — portfolios, streaks, options — queued behind that single story working.

From the desk

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