YC framework for scoping the smallest thing that proves the idea.
Y Combinator's MVP planning framework from Startup School. The core exercise: cut your product idea down to the smallest thing that lets you learn whether the problem is real and whether your solution actually helps.
The framework in one page:
1. Write down the outcome your user wants — not the feature, the outcome.
2. List every step between them and that outcome today.
3. Pick the single step where your product adds the most leverage.
4. Build only that step. Everything else is v2.
Why this matters for a Product Hunt launch: PH visitors give you six seconds. If your gallery shows twelve features, they'll bounce. If it shows one job done ten times better than the incumbent, they'll upvote.
Rule of thumb: if you can't demo the whole product in a 45-second Loom, your MVP is still too big.Read more →