What's an MVP in 2022?

The Lean Startup came in 2011. It codified the Silicon Valley school of startup building – customer interviews followed by rapid iteration. But is that still the case in 2022?

Figma didn't launch for two years after it was founded. Startups like The Browser Company (building a better web browser) are still in closed beta two years after launch.

First-mover advantages might not matter as much, but first impressions do. Apple Maps suffered a botched launch – missing data, incorrect directions, and a lack of polish. However, the quality has dramatically improved over the last few years (in my opinion, it might be better than Google Maps). Yet, the negative perception still lingers.

One piece of advice I think still holds is picking one thing and executing flawlessly on it. Getting the core experience correct – you can rapidly iterate on the market, the customer, and the go-to-market strategy, but it's much more challenging to build a completely different product.