Startup Heresy (& Our Dishoom Event). MVPs Are a Distraction From The Real Task 🤨
Do 'Demo, Sell, Build' instead
Welcome!
Details of The Seedstrapped Breakfast event are at the bottom of the email 🥘 or continue on for Demo, Sell, Build inspiration.
The "Build First" Trap that MVPs Encourage
I've watched hundreds of founders fall into the same trap and I’ve been there myself. We get excited about the MVP concept, disappear for three months to build something "minimal", then emerge with what is essentially a rough version 1.0 of their product.
They've skipped the most crucial question: How do I know if anyone actually wants to buy this?
It's a bit like spending months perfecting a magic trick before checking if anyone wants to hire a magician. You might be brilliant at making cards disappear, but if your audience wanted a balloon animal artist…
True story: I once worked with a founder on an accelerator who had spent six months building an "MVP" for a B2B software tool. When they finally started reaching out to potential customers, they discovered that the problem they were solving wasn't actually a priority for their target customer at all. Six months of development could have been replaced with six Zoom calls.
Three Painful MVP Mistakes You Should Avoid
1. Building Instead of Selling
Traditional MVP thinking focuses almost entirely on product development. But here's the thing: your biggest risk isn't whether you can build a product - it's whether you can sell it.
Most founders are natural problem-solvers who love building solutions. We're much less comfortable with the messy, complex and rejection-filled world of sales and marketing. So we gravitate toward building because it feels safe, productive and measurable.
2. Assuming Demand Instead of Finding Demand
Here's a question every founder should ask themselves: “What evidence do I have that my customer is actively looking for a solution to this problem?"
You'd be surprised how often this stumps people. They know about features, technology, and market size. But they struggle to articulate the specific value they deliver that customers are ready to actually pay for.
One way to develop further insight is to explore this question: "What's the last solution your customer tried before they considered buying from you?"
3. Confusing Interest in the MVP with Willingness to Pay
“Customers are really interested in what we’re doing, things are going well”.
There are a hundred reasons why a ‘customer’ might be happy to discuss your product or play with it. They will have little bearing on whether they are actually willing and able to buy from you. The only way to learn what it will be like to sell to them is… try and sell to them.
Why You Should ‘Demo, Sell, Build’ Instead
The best way to validate a product idea isn't to build a simplified version of it - it's to sell the future version of it.
The goal is to test how your customer behaves as if the product already existed.
If you can’t work out how to get them to commit to a purchase then why would you create the product?
Devised by Ash Maurya, the ‘Demo, Sell then Build’ approach drives you to confront the real challenges of customer acquisition, value proposition clarity, and market demand before you invest time and money in development.
It also forces you to develop customer insight and grow your sales and marketing skills - even if you had a perfect v1 product this will be immediately essential to make any sales.
Demo: This is the shiny substitute for an MVP - something that shows (not tells) how your solution works
Sell: Test your sales and marketing, backed up by the demo - do customers bite?
Build: Only then invest in developing an MVP
This isn't about being deceptive or over-promising. It's about testing the fundamentals of your ability to win customers before you commit resources to building.
How to Do This: The Demo-Sell-Build Framework
Step 1: Create a Compelling Demo
Your demo needs to be good enough to sell with, but cheap enough to throw away if you're wrong.
Think:
For B2B Software: Detailed mockups, demo videos, clickable prototypes, or even just a well-crafted sales deck showing the workflow.
For Consumer Apps: Social media accounts or landing pages with video demos and a ‘buy now’ button you can track clicks on
What’s Good Enough?
Professional enough that customers will behave as if the product exists, rough enough that you can iterate quickly.
Step 2: Test Your Sales & Marketing Skills
Now comes the uncomfortable bit. You need to have actual sales conversations with actual potential customers, asking for actual money.
The goal isn’t to actually take their money, the goal is to dry run whether they’ll actually pay.
What You're Looking to Test:
Are they even interested in your value proposition?
Are they willing and able to buy from an early-stage company?
What objections come up repeatedly?
For B2B Customers
Identify 20-30 potential customers who fit your ideal customer profile
Book discovery calls under the premise of understanding their challenges (not pitching your solution) - The Mom Test has great guidance for this
Present your demo as a solution to problems they've confirmed they have
Ask for the sale at a price that would make your business viable
Handle objections and iterate based on feedback
Success Metrics
Not just interest, but actual purchase intent. You are dry running the sale, so run the process as far as getting a 'yes'. Signed letters of intent, deposits paid, or contracts agreed (with delivery dates that give you time to build).
My Own B2B Screw Up
We learned this lesson the hard way in the early days of OpenDialog. We spent months building sophisticated conversational AI technology before we'd proven anyone would buy it. When we finally created a compelling demo and started selling, we discovered our assumptions about what customers valued were completely wrong. We could have learned the same lessons in weeks, not months.
For B2C Customers
Create a targeted landing page that is credible and compelling
Drive traffic through organic social media or paid ads (start with £100-200 budget) to test different value propositions
Track conversion to purchase intent - pre-orders or ‘buy now’ clicks
Conduct user interviews with people who showed purchase intent to understand their motivation
Success Metrics
Not just clicks or signups, but actual purchase intent. Pre-orders with deposits, waiting lists with payment information, or beta access with committed launch purchases.
Example - A B2C Landing Page Test
Before building a meal planning app, create a landing page offering "Personalised Weekly Meal Plans + Shopping Lists" for £9.99/month. Drive traffic with Facebook ads targeting busy parents. See how many people actually enter payment details for early access, not just email addresses.
Step 3: NOW Build Based on Real Customer Feedback
Only now should you start building. But you're not building your original vision - you're building based on what you learned from real sales conversations.
This approach dramatically increases your chances of building something people actually want to buy, rather than something you think they should want.
The Iteration Loop
This isn't a linear process. You'll likely go through several Demo-Sell cycles before you're confident enough to commit to building. Each iteration should be MUCH faster and cheaper than actually building the product.
Why This Is So Relevant to Seedstrapping
If you're following the Seedstrapping path, Demo-Sell-Build is your secret weapon because:
Capital Efficiency
You're not wasting money building products that don't sell or spending on marketing that won’t work
Revenue Generation
You can start generating revenue quickly, reducing your need for investment
Investor Leverage
You can raise money based on proven demand, not just vibes
Hold On, Stop. Here’s How to Avoid The Next Mistake.
I’ve run a lot of workshops on Demo, Sell, Build for founders. Everyone nods along and agrees in theory that This is The Way. And three months later when I speak to them again the majority have rationalised why it’s a good idea for everyone else should do it… Butt there’s an extra special reason why it doesn’t work in their situation, and they just need to add three more features before the MVP is ready.
This approach feels uncomfortable. It requires you to sell something that doesn't fully exist yet. It means having awkward conversations where people might say no. It forces you to confront the possibility that your idea might not be as brilliant as you thought.
But here's the thing: all of these uncomfortable realisations will happen eventually. The only question is whether they happen after three weeks of demos and sales calls, or after six months of building and a failed product launch.
I'd rather be disappointed early and cheaply than late and expensively. Wouldn't you?
It’s Your Turn ➡️
So here's my challenge: Before you write another line of code or add another feature to your backlog, pick up the phone. Call five potential customers. Show them a demo. Ask them to buy.
You might be surprised by what you learn. And more importantly, you might save yourself months of building the wrong thing.
What do you think? Terrifying or liberating? I'd love to hear your thoughts - especially if you disagree with everything I've just said.
Take care
Tim
P.S. Want to meet other people on the Seedstrapping journey?
Join The Seedstrapped Breakfast - our monthly gathering for founders who believe in Demo-Sell-Build over Build-Hope-Pray. Next one is 22nd July at Dishoom King's Cross. Small group, great conversations, excellent naan rolls.
Details and tickets: https://lu.ma/6exn9dib