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Yes, most founders still get the order of operations wrong and build too much before understanding a problem. I actually think [1] the term "MVP" gives people a misleading idea of a lean startup, because you don't need a "product" per se to serve your first 10 users.

[1] https://medium.com/bloated-mvp/the-lean-mvp-flowchart-add48d...

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I've heard, "Product," be replaced with, "Prototype," where a prototype is not a pre-product but more a thing that can be offered that will give information about what needs you should be addressing, how the product might solve them, and help you identify who your most satisfied customers will be (among other things).

While you still have the agility you can only get from zero operational overhead, worry more about finding something people want, who wants it, and why they want it. Scaling is less than worthless if what you're scaling is worthless.

This is great--I'm using "Minimal Viable Prototype" from now on. "Product" brings along so much expectation baggage. I also chose "Minimal" over "Minimum"--one being desirable with purpose and the other perceivable as deficient.

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