The most common mistake SaaS founders make is trying to ship a "complete product" in the first release. Six months later the budget is gone, the market has moved and users touch 20% of the features. An MVP is not a "cut-down version" but the shortest path to testing the main hypothesis. That is how we approach every web application development project.
In short: an MVP covers one core scenario for one target role — from sign-up to the result a customer will pay for. Anything that does not affect that path moves to version two.
How to define the core scenario
- State what result the customer pays for: "invoice sent in a minute", "leads from every channel in one window".
- Describe the user's path to that result step by step.
- Remove steps that can temporarily be done manually or with an external service.
- What remains is the MVP core.
What usually goes into an MVP
| Block | In the MVP | Can wait |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | Email and password or Google sign-in | SSO, mandatory 2FA for all |
| Roles | Owner and member | A flexible permission matrix |
| Core scenario | Fully | — |
| Billing | Subscription via a ready service | Complex plans, invoicing for companies |
| Admin | Minimal, for support | A full back office |
| Integrations | 1–2 critical ones | An integrations marketplace |
| Analytics | Core scenario events | BI and custom reports |
Technical decisions to get right from the start
- A data model that accounts for multi-tenancy — reworking it later is expensive.
- Logs and monitoring — without them you cannot see where users struggle.
- Security: password storage, isolation of customer data.
- Automated deployment — so you can ship improvements every week.
Timeline and budget
A typical web app MVP takes 6–12 weeks of a small team. Our projects start from $800 for simple solutions; the final quote depends on the scenario, roles and integrations and is fixed before work starts.
Frequently asked questions
Should I start with no-code?
Sometimes, to test demand. But if the product needs complex logic, integrations and scale from the start, custom development is cheaper over a one-year horizon. See our article on low-code vs custom development.
Does an MVP need a design project?
A minimal one: a prototype of the core scenario and a tidy design system. Looks matter, but clarity matters more.
What comes after the MVP?
Collecting feedback and metrics and prioritising version two. To attract first users we add advertising; for connecting other services, API integrations.
Launching a SaaS? Send a request on the web applications page and we will help define MVP scope, design the data model and ship the first version.