Why Minimum Lovable Product (MLP) Beats Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

A Founder’s Guide to Building Products Users Actually Want

For years, startups were told to build an MVP: the simplest version of a product that can exist and still work.
But the truth is—“viable” is not enough anymore.

Users don’t fall in love with “viable.”
They fall in love with something that feels good to use, solves a real problem, and gives them a moment of delight on day one.

That’s where the Minimum Lovable Product (MLP) comes in.

An MLP does one thing exceptionally well.
It creates emotional resonance.
It earns the user’s trust instantly.
It gives them a reason to return.

And in today’s competitive landscape, that’s what wins.

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Why MVP Is No Longer the Gold Standard

The MVP era made sense when:

• Users tolerated bugs.

• Markets moved slowly.

• Competition was low.

• “Ship and see” was acceptable.

But in 2025 and beyond, users have thousands of alternatives.
If your product feels clunky or confusing on the first try, they won’t wait for improvements—they’ll uninstall and move on.

The question is no longer:
“What’s the minimum we can build?”
But rather:
“What’s the minimum we can build that people will love?”

That’s the MLP mindset.

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A Real Customer Story: How MLP Saved a Founder Months of Waste

A founder approached us with a detailed 4-month MVP plan.
It had everything—multi-chain logic, a complex dashboard, advanced settings, token mechanics.
On paper, it looked impressive.

But when we asked him:
“What’s the one moment where your user says WOW?”
He couldn’t answer.

This is the most common red flag in product development:
A big roadmap with no emotional core.

So we rewrote the approach.

Here’s what we did:

• Removed 60% of the planned features

• Identified the single pain point users cared about

• Designed a frictionless onboarding flow

• Guaranteed value in under 90 seconds

• Built a modular backend ready for future expansion

Two weeks later, the MLP launched.

What happened next shocked the founder:

• Users didn’t ask about missing features

• Retention was higher than expected

• The product received unsolicited positive feedback

• Early adopters recommended it to others

• Investor conversations improved immediately

The founder told us:
“This feels like a real product, not a test version.”

Because that’s the power of MLP.
It makes your early version lovable not tolerable.

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How We Build MLPs at Avinya Labs

We use three core principles:

1. Ruthless Scope

One job. Done brilliantly.**
MLPs don’t try to solve everything.
They solve one painful problem better than anyone else.

2. Zero-to-Value in Minutes

Onboarding that feels invisible.**
If users can’t get value in the first few minutes, they leave.
We design flows that deliver payoff instantly.

3. Built to Grow

Modular code, data ready for AI.**
An MLP isn’t the final product—it’s the foundation.
We build it with scalability in mind, so future versions ship faster.

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MLP Is Not About Less Work—It’s About the Right Work

The biggest misconception is that MLP means building “small.”
It doesn’t.

MLP means building focused.
Intentional.
Emotion-driven.
User-first.

The market rewards products that create love early—not those that feel like half-baked prototypes.

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Why Founders Should Adopt MLP Thinking Today

If you shift from MVP → MLP, you gain:

✅ Faster launches
✅ Higher retention
✅ Clearer user feedback
✅ Better investor conversations
✅ Lower development cost
✅ Stronger brand resonance

In short, MLPs give you momentum, not just functionality.

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Final Thought

Don’t build to check a box.
Build to create a moment.

That moment when the user thinks:

“This is exactly what I needed.”

The products that win aren’t the most complete.
They’re the most loved - from day one.