Sell Your MVP to Your First Customers

Once you’ve built your Minimum Viable Product (MVP), your next mission is to earn your first paying customers. This is the moment you step into the real market, test your value hypothesis, and gather feedback that will shape your product’s future.

 

Your First Paying Customer

Your goal is to sell your MVP to a real customer — for real money. If you’re running a smoke test, a “sale” might mean securing a letter of intent or getting a customer to join your waiting list.

While landing your first sale may sound simple, it’s not always easy — so be patient.

When it happens, celebrate! Then get straight back to work: interview that customer to understand why they bought. You may assume they purchased because they saw the value your hypothesis promised — but sometimes customers buy for completely different reasons. If that’s the case, they may not actually validate your value hypothesis, though they can still reveal valuable insights.

 

Win More Paying Customers & Interview Them

After the first sale, aim to get at least a handful of paying customers. Interview each one to:

• Understand why they decided to buy.
• Collect feedback on how to improve your product.

Document these interviews systematically, so you can later compile the data, identify patterns, and present well-founded conclusions to yourself — and to potential investors.

 

When Is Your Value Hypothesis Validated?

Your value hypothesis is considered validated when:

• A significant number of customers purchase your MVP for the reasons you predicted.
• They confirm the product successfully solves their problem.