Glossary / Minimum viable product (MVP)

Minimum viable product (MVP)

A bare-minimum build that tests whether the market wants the core function. Easy to ship in software; far harder when the "minimum" still requires real hardware.

Introduced in Chapter 2 — Where Hardware Startups Trip of Tangibles.

Related terms

• Mockup — A non-functional model made to test a product's look, feel, and desirability with users before committing to engineering.
• Non-recurring engineering (NRE) — One-time, upfront engineering and setup costs to reach production — design, tooling, testing — that are largely sunk and scrapped if the product fails.
• Unit economics — Whether a single manufactured unit earns a profit once the cost to source, build, test, and ship it at scale is counted — the make-or-break math beneath any hardware business.
• Internet of Things (IoT) — The network of connected devices — projected to grow from roughly 15 billion in 2020 to 75 billion by 2030 — pressuring every hardware category to become smart and connected.