Elena Verna · 9 min read · Product Strategy
The Minimum Lovable Product Era
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The article argues that MVP has become a misused baseline and introduces Minimal Lovable Product (MLP) as the new standard. With AI driving a dramatic drop in development costs, basic functionality is becoming a commodity, so products must deliver a fast, obvious, and genuinely lovable experience that users find delightful.
Key Takeaways
- Shift from MVP to Minimal Lovable Product (MLP) as the new baseline to avoid bland, skeleton-like releases.
- AI-enabled cost reductions turn basic functionality into a commodity, increasing competitive pressure.
- To win, products must be fast, obvious, opinionated, and create a memorable 'this is actually nice' moment for users.
- Relying on MVP as a rush-to-ship excuse is no longer acceptable; success hinges on delivering emotional value and a clear differentiator beyond features.
Excerpt
Forget MVP (Minimal Viable Product). The new baseline is MLP: Minimal Lovable Product. Because if it’s not lovable, it’s not viable in the market anymore. And sure, we can debate what ‘viable’ is supposed to mean, but let’s be real - MVP devolved into “minimal functioning product” because ‘viable’ got watered down to ‘it performs bare minimum.’ And that’s because dev work was expensive. Like very expensive. But we live in the new reality now where dev costs are collapsing. Everyone’s a builder now. Software functionality is becoming a… commodity. So an MVP just means you built another tool people…