One of the biggest mistakes I see startups make is building too much before they've validated their core idea. As a freelance developer working with startups in Bath, Bristol, Wiltshire, and across the UK, I've seen this pattern repeatedly: ambitious feature lists that delay launch and increase costs without adding real value. If you're weighing what to build first, see also startup software architecture, scaling Laravel backends, and what to look for in a full-stack startup developer.
The MVP Trap
The term "MVP" (Minimum Viable Product) gets thrown around a lot, but many founders interpret "minimum" as "everything you could possibly need." The reality is that your MVP should be the absolute smallest thing that solves a real problem for real users.
What Actually Matters
For most B2B SaaS products, your MVP needs exactly three things:
- User Authentication: Can users sign up and log in? That's it. No password reset complexity, no social logins, no two-factor auth. Just email and password.
- Core Functionality: The one thing your product does that solves the problem. If you're building a task management tool, it's creating and viewing tasks. Nothing else.
- Basic Data Persistence: Can users save their work? Great. You're done.
What Can Wait
Here's what I've seen startups spend weeks on that should wait:
- Email notifications (use manual emails initially)
- Advanced search and filtering
- User roles and permissions
- Analytics dashboards
- Mobile apps
- Third-party integrations
- Beautiful admin panels
None of these are bad features. They're just not necessary for validating whether people want your product.
The Technical Approach
When building MVPs, I focus on:
- Laravel for the backend: Fast to build, easy to scale later
- Simple frontend: Plain HTML/CSS/JavaScript or a lightweight framework. No need for React/Vue complexity initially
- Database-first design: Get the data model right, worry about APIs later
- Manual processes: Don't automate everything. Manual admin actions are fine for MVP
Real Example
I recently worked with a startup building a survey tool. Their initial spec included real-time collaboration, advanced analytics, white-labeling, and API access. I built an MVP with just: create survey, add questions, share link, view responses.
That got them up and running quickly, and they were able to get feedback from users quickly and shape the direction of the product.
The Bottom Line
Your MVP should answer one question: "Will people pay for this?" Everything else is a distraction. Build the absolute minimum, get it in front of users, and iterate based on real feedback.
If you're a startup founder in Bath, Bristol, or Wiltshire looking to build an MVP, let's talk. I help startups build the right product, not the perfect product. For more on why a full-stack developer fits early-stage teams, see why full-stack developers are perfect for early-stage startups and API design. For when to hire a freelance backend developer, see when to hire a freelance backend developer.