If you’re starting out with an idea and nothing built yet, your first goal should be to prove the product you want to build solves a problem. How do you do this? The first step is figuring out the problem that needs to be solved and then developing a minimum viable product (MVP) to begin the process of learning as quickly as possible.

The ‘Lean Startup’ methodology, coined by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Eric Ries, aims to address the need to rapidly get the product to market and test the hypotheses at minimum cost. This helps take the risk out of building a startup, especially during the early stages of business. Its methodology is all about experimentation, feedback and iteration.

The minimum viable product has just the core features that make the product work. It can be a website or an app, but whatever it is, it should be simple and have only the basic necessary functions.

Once the MVP is established, a startup can work on tuning the engine. This will involve measurement and learning and must include actionable metrics that can demonstrate cause and effect.

Several years ago, we worked with Union Bank to determine if an investment report portal was an important feature for their Community Development Finance Fund investors. We built the website in minimum viable product form and gathered multiple rounds of data and user test feedback to improve and drive the direction of the site. We worked with zenPitbull Hosting to launch the MVP and worked on a sequence of strategic iterations until the final product was complete. By using the build-measure-learn feedback loop, we were able to put together the best final product possible. And investor usage grew substantially within a very short period of time.

Earlier this year, we used the methodology to test a product called the Trump Survival Kit. By launching the product on Kickstarter, we were able to get away with just mock-ups and samples as our MVP. We also collaborated with best selling author Gene Stone who had written a book on the topic. Our method of measuring and learning was through Kickstarter feedback and by generating a large following on Twitter. We created a new account and through guerilla marketing were able to quickly get over 7,000 followers. The account became our primary test group for build-measure-learn loop. This was a quick way to test a hypothesis and a very minimum cost. Through this method we were able to take the concept as far as possible without building out the final product.

For BeardMixologist.com, our MVP was a functioning wbsite. The site’s objective was to offer custom-label, on-demand, beard oil. The hypothesis was that visitors would be more engaged in making a purchase if they had virtual customer service from an interactive avatar (the mixologist part). We were able to save over $50,000 in development time by building the site as a minimum viable product and learning from user interaction with the site.

The methodology is a streamlined method to test and streamline your value proposition in the early stages, and to use what you discover to build your startup with an educated aim toward the possible outcome.

At Miranda Design we help founders build a minimum viable product, promote the idea, test the market and produce valuable data as actionable feedback. Typically we’ll have an MVP produced within 30 days. We offer a leasing-model and qualifying ideas are sometimes developed for a 5 percent equity exchange.