Brandon WatkinsFounder, Flowlabz
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Founders often use "prototype" and "MVP" as if they meant the same thing. They don't, and the difference matters: one is built to learn, the other is built to keep. Mix them up and you either polish something you'll throw away, or ship something nobody has tested.
What a prototype is
A prototype exists to answer a question. Will people understand this? Will they use it? Does the flow hold up? It looks and feels real enough to test, but it isn't built to run a business on. Some prototypes are clickable designs; others are working code with fake or limited data behind them.
Because it's disposable by design, a prototype is fast and comparatively cheap. With us, a clickable prototype comes with our app design work.
What an MVP is
A minimum viable product is the first real version of your product: the smallest thing that reliably delivers the core value to real users, and that you intend to keep running. It has real data, real accounts, and real consequences if it breaks.
An MVP is a proper build. With us, an MVP takes about 12 weeks and starts from R 100,000, including exploring the idea, discovery and design. A smaller proof of concept, a working version built to test the idea, starts from R 60,000 and takes about 8 weeks.
The difference at a glance
| Prototype | MVP | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Learn whether it works | Deliver value, and start growing |
| Who uses it | Testers, investors, your team | Real customers |
| Data | Fake or limited | Real |
| Lifespan | Until it has answered its questions | The start of the product |
| Time to build | Days | Weeks |
| What you end up with | Answers | A product |
When to build a prototype first
- The idea is untested. You believe people want it, but nobody has tried it yet.
- The flow is new. If users have to learn a new way of doing something, test it before you build it.
- You need buy-in. Investors, partners and stakeholders understand a clickable prototype far faster than a deck.
- The team disagrees. Stop arguing about it, and go and click it. A prototype settles debates with evidence instead of opinions.
When to go straight to an MVP
- The need is proven. Customers are already asking for it, or paying for a manual version of it.
- The flow is familiar. If it works like tools your users already know, there's less for a prototype to teach you.
- You've already prototyped. The questions are answered, and now it has to work for real.
The two expensive mistakes
Skipping the prototype
Building an MVP on an untested assumption means spending weeks of development to find out what a few days of prototyping could have told you. The most costly changes are the ones made after the database, the flows and the integrations have been built around the wrong idea.
Prototyping forever
The opposite mistake is refining the prototype long after it has answered its questions. A prototype can't take payments, keep data safe or grow with you. Once you've learned what you set out to learn, move on.
How to scope an MVP that stays minimal
- One core job. Write down the single thing a user must be able to do. Everything else is a later release.
- One type of user. Start with the user who feels the problem most. Admin tools can be basic, or even manual, at first.
- Do things by hand behind the scenes. If a process can be handled manually for the first customers, don't automate it yet.
- Keep a "later" list. Every good idea that isn't the core job goes on it. That list becomes your roadmap.
Can the prototype become the real product?
Sometimes. If the concept holds up, a coded prototype can be the starting point for a proper build rather than being thrown away. But make that call once you've learned what you set out to learn, not before, and don't let the wish to reuse it shape how you test.
Where to start
To start either, you need the idea and roughly what it should do. Not a spec. Sketches, a deck or a competitor you're reacting to is plenty.
If you need the design and a clickable prototype, that's our app design service. If you want it built, from a proof of concept to a full system, that's MVP development. Or read what an app costs to build, or tell us what you're building.
Questions we get asked
What's the difference between a prototype and an MVP?
A prototype answers a question, such as whether people understand the idea and will use it. An MVP is the first real version of the product, built to run with real users and real data.
How long does a prototype take?
A clickable prototype can take days, since it only has to look and feel real. A working proof of concept, built with real data, takes us about 8 weeks, including exploring the idea, discovery and design.
How long does an MVP take?
With us, about 12 weeks, from the first ideas to the build.
Can I show a prototype to investors?
Yes. A prototype you can share by link lets people try the idea for themselves, which is often more convincing than a deck.
What do I need to start a prototype?
The question you want answered and roughly what the product does. Sketches, a deck or a competitor you're reacting to is plenty.
