Our Framework

We’ve used this experience to create a program by which we evaluate all startup opportunities - we call it the Minimum Viable Company framework. The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) concept is widely known today, but a company is so much more than a product. While the thinking behind an MVP is sound, it’s only part of the equation when building a successful business. We’ve taken the framework to the next level by applying it to the entire enterprise.

It all begins with an idea.

The Minimum Viable Company framework focuses on building, testing, iterating, and defining the:

  1. Customer Value Proposition

  2. Growth Playbook

  3. Profit Formula

We focus our evaluation on the most critical indicators of startup success. We do this while limiting the time and capital invested, all while seeking market validation and confirming assumptions. This allows us to focus on the most unique opportunities, increasing the likelihood of building truly great companies.

Our Process

The MVC venture build process is meant to consistently validate and build businesses at the lowest possible cost.

We believe:

  • Most startups spend too much on customer acquisition before validating lifetime customer value

  • Many startups spend too much on product development when the market doesn’t justify the cost and demand has not been validated

We’ve engineered our process to minimize these pitfalls and get to product market fit prior to burning through significant capital. 

  • Opportunity hypothesis
  • What is the unmet need?
  • Why is it not being met today?
  • Who are the target customers? 
  • Refined opportunity hypothesis
  • Articulate pain, solution, urgency
  • Answer why buy: anything, now, from us?
  • Identify buyer, user, ideal customer/use case
  • Define category to dominate
  • Customer value proposition
  • Elevator pitch
  • Onboard founding leaders
  • Alpha product testing
  • MVP roadmap
  • Market sizing
  • Investor pitch deck
  • Identify build partners
  • Customer letters of intent
  • Onboard founding leaders 
  • Structure NewCo
  • Growth Playbook
  • Profit Formula
  • MVP buildout
  • Customer acquisition model
  • Operational scoping
  • Secure additional funding
  • Onboard founding leaders
  • Secure additional funding
  • Scale!

Build with confidence.

  • It all begins with an idea. We often hear from prospective entrepreneurs that they would love to start a business but they don’t have any ideas. Leave that to us! We have a database of internally generated business ideas across industries ready to evaluate.

    Already have a business idea? Still reach out! We’re happy to work with you to run your idea through our Minimum Viable Company framework.

  • Once an initial thesis is developed, we put our hypothesis to the test with potential customers. We sell the solution to real companies prior to having a product. Over numerous conversations, we refine our understanding of the problem, the urgency to solve, and the solution.

    The beginning stages of business building are critical - we do all this before spending significant money on product and sales. Setting the right foundation is critical to both building a great business and attracting venture funding.

  • Not all great ideas make great businesses. Before dedicating significant resources to launching a startup, we evaluate all our business ideas using our Minimum Viable Company framework. A dedicated project team works to understand the market opportunity, scope and test the product, solicit additional feedback from potential customers, develop a go-to-market strategy, and so much more.

    We focus our efforts on understanding and testing the key drivers of company success, eliminating surprises and maximizing the likelihood of building something great.

  • If the opportunity passes our evaluation, we prepare the business for launch. We formalize the business operations, finalize the founding team, and engage lead seed investors to fund the initial ramp.

    MVC continues advising entrepreneurs post-launch, but we take a back seat to the management team and let them do what they do best!