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Michael Seibel's 4 MVP Hacks That Kill Startup Perfectionism Dead

By Michael Seibel · Product & Building · 1 min read

Time box it to 3 weeks. Write it down. Cut ruthlessly. Don't fall in love. That's the YC MVP formula.

Key Points

Time box your spec to 3 weeks and cut everything that doesn't fit
Write your spec down so you catch yourself when you keep changing it
Cut features aggressively, even important ones if needed
Never fall in love with your MVP because it will change completely

Most of the goal here is just to get anything out in the world. Once you get anything out in the world, the momentum to keep going is extremely strong.

Hack 1: Time Box Everything to Three Weeks

Seibel: Time-box your spec. Your spec is the list of stuff you need to build before you launch.

Ask: what can I build in three weeks? Only those features make the list. Everything else gets axed.

Time-box your spec. What happens if I want to launch in three weeks? Only things I can build in three weeks.

Hack 2: Write Your Spec Down or Watch It Mutate

Most founders never write down what they're building. They start working. Talk to a user. Talk to an investor. Pivot without realizing it.

Three weeks turns into three months because the target keeps moving. Writing the spec down makes you honest about every change.

Because you never wrote it down, you don't realize you're changing it. Your 3-week plan turns into 3 months.

Hack 3: Cut Without Mercy

A week into your sprint, you'll realize you added too much. You won't hit your deadline. That's fine.

Cut the unimportant stuff first. If there's nothing unimportant left, start cutting important things. The goal is to ship, not to be complete.

Cut your spec. If you're not cutting things you're really excited about, you haven't cut enough.

Hack 4: Your MVP Is a First-Grade Paper. Treat It Like One.

Don't fall in love with your MVP. None of the great products looked like their initial version.

Your MVP is step one. A first draft. You wouldn't frame a paper you wrote in first grade. Give your MVP the same emotional distance.

Don't fall in love with your MVP. It's just step one. You wouldn't fall in love with a paper you wrote in first grade.