How to Build a Production-Ready MVP in 6 Weeks

Six weeks. That's the difference between an idea that stays in a Notion doc forever and one that's live, getting real users, and generating feedback you can act on.

We've shipped dozens of MVPs. Here's the exact framework we use.

Why 6 Weeks?

Six weeks is the sweet spot:

• Short enough to maintain focus and urgency
• Long enough to build something meaningful
• Fast enough to beat competitors to market
• Slow enough to avoid catastrophic shortcuts

Anything shorter and you're building a demo, not a product. Anything longer and scope creep kills you.

The Framework

Week 1: Define the Problem (Not the Solution)

Most MVPs fail before they start because founders define a solution before they understand the problem.

What to do:

1. Write a single-sentence problem statement: "[Customer type] struggle to [do thing] because [root cause]"
2. Interview 5-10 potential customers about the problem (not your solution)
3. Identify the one workflow that causes the most pain

What NOT to do:

• Build a feature list
• Design screens
• Write any code

Output: A problem statement + 3-5 verbatim customer quotes that validate it.

Week 2: Scope Your MVP

An MVP isn't a small version of your full product. It's the minimum set of features that delivers the core value proposition.

The three-question test:

1. Does this feature solve the primary problem? (If no → cut it)
2. Will users pay without this feature? (If yes → cut it)
3. Can we ship without this in 4 weeks? (If no → cut it)

Common cuts that feel painful but are right:

• User accounts and auth (use magic links or simple tokens)
• Admin dashboards (use Retool or a spreadsheet)
• Notifications (send manual emails)
• Analytics (use Plausible or GA4, don't build custom)
• Payment plans (one price, one plan)

Output: A feature list of 3-5 things, and an explicit "out of scope" list.

Week 3-4: Build the Core

This is where the code happens. But more importantly, it's where architecture decisions get made.

Our stack for most MVPs:

• Frontend: Next.js + Tailwind CSS (fast, SEO-friendly, great DX)
• Backend: Next.js API routes or a simple Node.js service
• Database: PostgreSQL via Supabase (managed, free tier, great SDK)
• Auth: Clerk or Supabase Auth (don't build this yourself)
• Payments: Stripe (even for B2B, Stripe is the right call)
• Deployment: Vercel (instant deploys, automatic previews)

Daily standup question: "What's blocking us from having something shippable by Friday?"

End of Week 4 goal: A working demo that solves the core problem. Ugly is fine. Bugs are fine. Missing features are fine.

Week 5: User Testing

Don't skip this. Seriously.

What to do:

1. Get 3-5 real users to use the product (not just see a demo)
2. Watch them use it. Don't explain anything.
3. Write down everything that confuses them
4. Fix the top 3 issues

What you'll discover:

• The thing you thought was obvious is confusing
• A feature you cut is actually critical
• Something you built is being ignored

This is free market research. Use it.

Week 6: Launch Prep

"Launch" doesn't mean Product Hunt. It means getting to a state where you can confidently show it to 10 paying customers.

Checklist:

• Error monitoring (Sentry — 5 minutes to set up)
• Basic analytics (Plausible or GA4)
• SSL certificate (automatic with Vercel)
• Privacy policy (use a generator)
• Simple onboarding email
• One clear call to action on your homepage

What you don't need:

• A blog (you're reading this, but seriously — ship first)
• Social media accounts
• Press kit
• Investor deck

Common Mistakes

"We need more features before we can launch"

No, you need users before you need features. Users tell you which features matter.

"We need to make it perfect first"

Perfect is the enemy of shipped. You'll learn more from one week of user feedback than one month of internal debate.

"We'll refactor later"

This one is actually true — but don't use it as an excuse for truly terrible decisions. There's a difference between technical debt you can pay down and architecture that requires rebuilding from scratch.

Good shortcuts: skipping tests for non-critical paths, using a managed service instead of self-hosting, manually doing things that will eventually be automated.

Bad shortcuts: storing passwords in plaintext, putting business logic in the frontend, designing a database schema you can't migrate.

What Happens After Week 6?

You have a product. Now you have a different problem: getting users and iterating based on their feedback.

The six-week MVP isn't the end. It's the beginning of the real work.

The next 6 weeks:

• Week 7-8: Talk to every user. Fix their top complaints.
• Week 9-10: Find your first 10 paying customers.
• Week 11-12: Build the feature that's blocking the most revenue.

Repeat until you have product-market fit, or until you discover the idea doesn't work (which is also valuable).

Need Help?

At VL Studio, we've built MVPs for founders across healthcare, fintech, logistics, and SaaS. We specialize in getting production-ready products shipped in 6-8 weeks, at a price that makes sense for early-stage companies.

Our sweet spot: founders who have validated the problem and need an engineering team to move fast.

Learn about our MVP package →