Starting Small with a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) : Key Strategies for Success (Featuring Airbnb, Twitch, and Stripe)

Starting Small with a Minimal Viable Product (MVP): Key Strategies for Success
(Featuring Airbnb, Twitch, and Stripe)

Launching an MVP in the Early Stages of a Startup

One of the most critical strategies for any early-stage startup is quickly rolling out a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to gauge market response. Let’s take a look at how Airbnb, Twitch, and Stripe began with simple MVPs, validated their ideas in the market, and evolved into successful business models.

 

1. Airbnb

Airbnb was founded by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk in 2007, after meeting as design school classmates in San Francisco. They came up with the idea of renting out living spaces by using air mattresses—especially during conventions and conferences—so attendees wouldn’t get stuck paying high hotel fees or struggling to find available rooms.

§  October 2007 : Brainstormed “renting out space” for design conference attendees

§  Early 2008 : Launched the first website under the name “Air Bed & Breakfast”

§  Summer 2008 : Operated during specific events like the Democratic National Convention in Denver to gather market feedback

Initially, Airbnb placed air mattresses in living rooms for conference visitors who couldn’t find a hotel.

§  Air mattresses and a simple breakfast : Provided a basic but comfortable sleeping setup.

§  Payment system : No online payment feature; the rental fee was exchanged directly between guests and hosts.

§  No map feature : There was no way to visually show the location of the listing.

§  Short-term testing : The website was open only during conference seasons and then shut down afterward to do small-scale market validation.

By releasing their service quickly with minimal features, Airbnb gathered real user feedback and improved their business model accordingly. Their later success in raising funds and growing their user base is now widely recognized.

 

2. Twitch (Originally Justin.tv)

Justin.tv, the predecessor to Twitch, was started by Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt. They wanted to explore the potential of live streaming, so they built a product with only the most essential features.

§  March 2007 : Justin.tv officially launched

§  2011 : Split the service into Twitch.tv to focus on game streaming

§  2014 : Amazon acquired Twitch for about $970 million

In the early days of Justin.tv, cofounder Justin Kan wore a camera on his head 24/7 and live-streamed his daily life :

§  Single-channel broadcast : The website had only one live channel—Justin’s. It didn’t offer game broadcasts or other content.

§  Streaming infrastructure : They relied on a CDN instead of their own technology, which was expensive.

§  Market response and technical feasibility : They quickly developed an MVP to see if “live streaming” could be an engaging experience, while also testing the tech’s viability.

3. Stripe

Founded in 2010 by brothers Patrick Collison and John Collison, Stripe aimed to simplify the complex online payment systems and lengthy signup processes by creating a quick, easy-to-use payment platform.

§  Late 2009 – Early 2010 : Started under the internal project name /dev/payments

§  2011 : After joining Y Combinator (YC), they officially rebranded to Stripe and began to expand

§  2012 : Raised $2 million from investors including General Catalyst

Stripe’s initial platform had a very limited API, and account setup was done manually:

§  /dev/payments beta version : Focused almost entirely on credit card processing and left out any complicated features.

§  Developer-friendly interface : Designed for quick and easy integration, especially for YC startups.

§  Problem-solving approach : Since online payments were notoriously cumbersome at the time, Stripe’s main goal was to “eliminate complexity and provide a simpler payment API.” 

4. Common Themes and Takeaways

All three companies rapidly entered the market with products that featured only the bare essentials:

§  Airbnb rushed to get a simple website running right before a conference.

§  Justin.tv launched a 24-hour live broadcast to immediately gauge market interest.

§  Stripe provided a beta version that YC startups could use right away.

Each product was deliberately limited in functionality :

§  Airbnb had no map feature, online payments, or comprehensive lodging options.

§  Justin.tv started with just one live channel.

§  Stripe offered little beyond basic credit card processing.

Their early adopters were enthusiastic but small in number:

§  Airbnb served conference goers who needed last-minute accommodations.

§  Justin.tv attracted early adopters interested in trying a new format of live streaming.

§  Stripe fulfilled the needs of YC startups and a niche developer community.

These cases clearly show the value of leveraging even a modest MVP to test your ideas in the market. Instead of perfecting a product from the start, it’s crucial to launch quickly with limited features and use customer feedback to gradually refine the product into something people truly want. This strategy works especially well for startups with limited resources, and it helps lay a solid foundation for eventually reaching a large user base. Above all, getting those small, early wins can help you stay motivated and pave the way for bigger growth down the road.