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How Startups Can Build an MVP in 90 Days Without Breaking the Bank

Sanket Shah

Sanket Shah

|
Apr 28, 2025
|
book

6 mins read

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Launching a startup is exciting—no doubt about it. The idea, the energy, the late-night brainstorming sessions fueled by caffeine and hope.

But then comes the brick wall: development cost and timeline.

How do you bring your idea to life fast, prove it works, and still have enough runway left to iterate, market, or even breathe?

Answer: Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in 90 days or less—without draining your wallet.
Sounds impossible? It’s not. Let’s break it down.

🧠 What Exactly Is an MVP? (And Why You Desperately Need One)

Imagine you want to build the next Uber. An MVP isn’t the entire taxi fleet, app, algorithm, and customer service desk. It’s one car. One driver. One customer. And a simple app to connect them.

💡 The MVP Concept:

An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the simplest, smallest version of your product that solves your core problem and allows you to test the waters.

No fluff. No fancy dashboards. Just results.

Why it’s magic:

  • Fast to build

  • Cheap to test

  • Gets you feedback from real users—fast

You learn, adapt, and iterate before pouring cash into building features nobody wants.

"Build small. Test smart. Scale only what works."

🚀 Lean Startup Methodology: Your Secret Weapon

The Lean Startup approach is like a cheat code for founders.

It’s about moving quickly, intelligently, and iteratively. Instead of perfecting a product in isolation, you launch early, learn fast, and evolve based on user behavior.

Core Cycle:

  1. Build → your MVP

  2. Measure → how users engage with it

  3. Learn → what to improve or remove

It’s not just smart—it’s survival strategy for early-stage startups.

🗓️ The 90-Day MVP Roadmap

Let’s get to the juicy part: How do you launch an MVP in just three months? Here’s your week-by-week blueprint.

📍 Phase 1: Plan & Prototype (Weeks 1–3)

✅ Define the Problem

What is the pain point you’re solving? Be specific.

✅ Identify Your MVP Core

What is the minimum feature set that delivers value?

✅ Research the Market

Talk to potential users. Find competitors. Look for the gap.

✅ Wireframe & Prototype

Use tools like Figma or Balsamiq to build clickable mockups.

🎯 Goal: Have a clear product concept and a working prototype by Week 3.

🔧 Phase 2: Develop the MVP (Weeks 4–8)

Now it’s go-time.

🔹 Use No-Code / Low-Code Tools

Why code from scratch when Bubble, Webflow, or Glide can get you there faster?

🔹 Focus on Core Features

Only build what matters. Cut everything else ruthlessly.

🔹 Work in Agile Sprints

Weekly sprints. Clear goals. Constant check-ins.

🔹 Use Open Source

Tap into free libraries, frameworks, and APIs. Thank you, internet.

🎯 Goal: MVP ready for internal testing by Week 8.

🧪 Phase 3: Test, Learn & Iterate (Weeks 9–10)

Bugs? You’ll find them. UX hiccups? Definitely. That’s the point.

🔸 Do Alpha Testing

Let your internal team or close users break things.

🔸 Beta Testing with Real Users

Small batch of real users. Gather feedback via Typeform, Hotjar, Google Forms.

🔸 Analyze Behavior

Use tools like Mixpanel, Google Analytics, Amplitude.

🎯 Goal: MVP is polished, user-tested, and ready to go public.

🎉 Phase 4: Launch & Collect Feedback (Weeks 11–13)

🔹 Launch Soft

Try Product Hunt, Reddit, or niche FB groups.

🔹 Monitor Everything

Track usage. Where do users drop off? What features are untouched?

🔹 Begin Building a Feedback Loop

Ask: What did you love? What’s missing? What confused you?

🎯 Goal: Validate product-market fit. Then plan for v2.

💸 Budget-Friendly Tips for Building an MVP

You don’t need $50,000. You don’t need 10 developers. You need strategy.

💻 1. Use No-Code & Low-Code Tools

You can build entire platforms without writing a line of code.

Best Picks:

  • Bubble – powerful for web apps

  • Glide – amazing for mobile apps

  • Adalo – drag-and-drop mobile builders

  • Webflow – design + development in one

These tools cut dev time by 50–80%.

🔓 2. Leverage Open Source

Why build login systems, databases, or payment integrations from scratch?

Use:

  • Firebase (backend-as-a-service)

  • Laravel or Django (web frameworks)

  • Stripe (payments)

  • MongoDB / PostgreSQL (databases)

All free or affordable.

🌍 3. Outsource Smarter

Hiring a dev team in San Francisco might bankrupt you. But:

  • Hire globally

  • Use freelancers

  • Work with boutique MVP agencies (👋 like Deuex Solutions)

You get the same quality—at a fraction of the cost.

🧠 4. Build It Small, Launch It Sooner

Don't build "the next Uber" in v1. Build the minimum needed to test your hypothesis.

Think landing page + email capture + prototype → not full-blown SaaS suite.

📖 Real-Life MVP Success Stories

Let’s talk proof—not just theory.

💡 Dropbox

Launched with a demo video before the product even existed.
Thousands signed up. Proof of demand? ✔️

🚕 Uber

Started with just one car in San Francisco.
Manual bookings. No AI. No tracking. Simple, scrappy—and successful.

🧑‍💻 Deuex Client Spotlight

A founder approached us to build a logistics MVP.
We used Bubble + Firebase.
🚀 **Launched in 6 weeks
**💸 Under **$4,000 total
**📈 Now serving 1,000+ users

🧭 Common Mistakes to Avoid

Let’s save you from the facepalms.

❌ Trying to build everything
❌ Ignoring user feedback
❌ Over-polishing v1
❌ Not setting clear deadlines
❌ Burning budget on “nice-to-haves”

MVP = test the idea, not perfect the idea

📦 MVP Tools You’ll Fall in Love With

Design:

  • Figma

  • Sketch

  • InVision

Project Management:

  • Trello

  • Notion

  • ClickUp

No-Code Dev:

  • Webflow

  • Glide

  • Bubble

Analytics & Feedback:

  • Google Analytics

  • Hotjar

  • Typeform

  • Mixpanel

🧩 Final Thoughts: Yes, You Can Build That MVP in 90 Days

Start lean. Stay smart. Iterate constantly.

That’s the recipe.

You don’t need to raise funding to launch. You don’t need a dev team to test.
You need an idea. A problem worth solving. And the willingness to move fast, fail fast, and learn even faster.

So… ready to make it real?

👉 Let’s talk MVP — we help founders like you build fast, lean, and smart.


❓ MVP FAQs

Q: Can I build an MVP if I’m not a tech founder?
Absolutely. Use no-code tools or partner with an MVP agency.

Q: What’s the average MVP cost?
Anywhere between $2,000 and $30,000—depending on scope and stack.

Q: How long should an MVP take?
With smart planning, 8–12 weeks is realistic. Sometimes even less.

Q: Should I launch without all features?
Yes! That’s the whole point. Launch with only what’s essential to test.

Q: What happens after MVP?
Use feedback to build version 2, start fundraising, or scale!


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