MVP

You'll hear the acronym MVP thrown around, and for most, it stands for "Minimum Viable Product", but I find that's often misleading. I like to refer to MVP as "Minimum Viable Proof" because I find with the former, people spend too much time focusing on creating some sort of product, when in reality, they really need to be gathering 'proof' that their potential solution to a problem is valid.

• The word 'product' makes people think that they have to build something, when in reality you're just testing your key assumptions to obtain 'proof' of product-market fit.
• The word 'proof' helps to refine focus in the process of finding out if consumers care, or more importantly, if they're willing to pay. It encourages you to focus on the problems, not building.
• By focusing on 'proof', you'll end up developing the Minimum Viable Product in a way that doesn't require a lot of development.

It takes a bit of creativity, but if you're able to identify your key assumptions, and the core value of your product / service, think of how you can obtain 'Minimum Viable Proof'. If it's going to take longer than a day, chances are you're not thinking of a true 'Minimum' Viable Product.