Startup Secrets Sandbox

DEFINE the Problem or Opportunity

MVS - Minimum Viable Segment

Beware: Don't Overlook Your MVS

Demandware case study & video

MVS compared to a beachhead

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DEFINE for whom?

Many entrepreneurs become too focused on the “product” part of product-market fit. They become consumed with their Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and forget about the “market” part. So while the MVP is critical, it’s missing its partner in crime: the

Minimum Viable Segment (MVS)⁠

What is a Minimum Viable Segment?

Minimum Viable Segment is about focusing on a market segment of potential customers with the same needs to which you can align. Defining and focusing on your MVS is vital because, without it, potential users who have divergent needs will quickly pull your MVP in many different directions.

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This, in turn, will bloat—not minimize—your product requirements and drain your limited startup resources. And you won’t just feel that drain in product development. It’ll come back to haunt you in any go-to-market (GTM) activities and then again in customer service and support, potentially paralyzing your business model.

Find the Same, Similar, or Very Closely Related Needs

Focus on finding a set of customers who have the same or as similar a need, pain, or problem as possible to those of the other customers in your MVS.

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To be explicit about this, it is the same needs you are looking to fulfill—not features you want to build. What’s the difference? For starters, customers don’t think in terms of features. They think in terms of pain and need. And while a feature might address their initial need, it’s not likely to stay on course with their needs as they evolve if they’re different from other customers.

The importance of MVS cannot be understated, so to understand it fully, read on here

Beware: Don't Overlook Your MVS⁠

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