From Idea to MVP: A 90-Day Development Roadmap
Ryan Schaller
Principal, Coolradish
Most startups spend too long building their first product. They add features nobody asked for, polish interfaces nobody will see, and architect for scale they don't have. Three months is enough time to validate your core hypothesis—if you're disciplined about what matters.
Days 1-14: Ruthless Scoping
Define the absolute minimum feature set that proves your value proposition. Not what would be nice to have—what must exist for your product to solve the core problem. Write user stories for these features only. Everything else goes in a 'post-MVP' list that you probably won't build because your MVP will teach you what users actually need.
Days 15-30: Technical Foundation
Set up your infrastructure, choose your stack, and implement authentication. Use managed services wherever possible—this isn't the time to run your own Kubernetes cluster. Get your CI/CD pipeline working early. Set up error tracking and basic analytics. These two weeks of foundational work will save you months of headaches.
Days 31-60: Core Features Sprint
Build your core features with 'good enough' quality. Use AI assistance to accelerate development, but don't skip code review. Focus on getting the happy path working perfectly—edge cases can wait. Deploy to staging weekly. Get internal users testing as soon as anything works.
Days 61-75: Beta Testing & Iteration
Get your MVP in front of real users. Not your friends—people who have the problem you're solving but don't care about your feelings. Watch them use your product. Fix the things that block core workflows. Ignore feature requests that don't align with your MVP scope.
Days 76-90: Polish & Launch
Fix critical bugs. Write basic documentation. Set up customer support tools. Plan your launch strategy. Then ship it. Your product won't be perfect, but perfect is the enemy of launched.
Key Takeaway
Ninety days is a forcing function. It makes you focus on what matters and ship before you're ready. You'll learn more in the first week after launch than in three months of building. The goal isn't to build your final product—it's to build the smallest thing that lets you start learning from real users.
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