Ten tools all startup founders should use to build their MVP

So you want to build a startup. You have an idea. You have what you believe is a profitable business model. Heck, you even have eager fans among your friends and family.

That’s all well and good, but how do you get from light bulb moment to investment-worthy business venture?

You need to develop an MVP to showcase your idea. Whether it’s connecting with beta testers or promoting your product to press writers, without an MVP you stand little chance of building traction for your new venture.

But before creating a broader, public-facing MVP (the focus should be on ‘viable’), it’s worth developing a very early-stage version of your product or service for validation purposes.

Whether you’re planning to apply to an accelerator, seek financial backing from friends and family, or email your business idea to press reporters, having a MVP ready is essential.

Your ability to show off your initial concept not only helps others understand your concept, it highlights your ability to get things done. 

Here are 10 tools you can use to create your initial offering.

QuickMVP

QuickMVP lets you do everything from create a landing page for your company to request feedback from potential users. You can use QuickMVP to understand business concepts like profit margins and market capabilities, conduct interviews with alpha/beta testers and score their responses to better develop your product road map or A/B test two different site versions to gauge audience response.

If you want to understand the viability of your business before investing too much cash, QuickMVP is a great tool for your entrepreneurial arsenal.

Generator

Design Modo’s Generator is a useful tool for busy entrepreneurs. Drag-and-drop editing makes it easy to create a landing page for your business idea. Add anything from an email capture form to team photos or price lists to your landing page.

In a few minutes you can be ready to showcase your initial concept to interested parties thanks to this helpful interface for entrepreneurs.

Proto

If you want to create an interactive prototype to show off your business idea, add Proto to your resource list. Sync data from Dropbox, add multiple design elements including animations, and test your prototype on a variety of mobile devices.

Faces

If you’re developing a landing page for your business concept and need to integrate user profiles into your design, UI Faces is an excellent resource. Discover user avatars featuring everything from male and female faces to cartoon characters and company logos. You can change the size of avatars and customise background colors too.

Instapage

Instapage is another tremendous tool for creating an early-stage version of your business.

Create a mobile-responsive squeeze page for your company and integrate everything from social sharing buttons to email capture forms. You can publish your newly created page via multiple platforms including GoDaddy and WordPress.

Marvel

Whether you want to show off your MVP on a laptop, smartphone, or even on an Apple Watch, Marvel makes showcasing your concept easy. Add images from Dropbox, collaborate with your co-founder to design your MVP, annotate iterations, and export your finished prototype.

You can even embed your Marvel prototype on platforms like SquareSpace, Ghost, and Medium.

Untorch

If you want to maximize the potential of your MVP, Untorch is a must-discover tool. This incredibly helpful resource lets you offer rewards to early adopters in exchange for social shares of your MVP. Build your followers list, track social media referrals, and save email addresses for product updates as your company grows.

Blocs

If you want to do more than just build a landing page for your business idea, Blocs is a top tool to investigate. You can build your own mobile-responsive website with Blocs’ easy-to-use editor. Choose your site’s fonts, add animations, and integrate a variety of pre-made content blocks.

You’ll have a visually impressive website designed in no time and you’ll never have to touch a line of code in the process.

Strikingly

Strikingly is another terrific tool for entrepreneurs who need an early-stage website to show off their MVP. Create a mobile-responsive website in just a few minutes and showcase your design on your own domain. Features include everything from search engine optimized website copy to email capture forms and audience analytics.

POP

Regardless of what type of business you’re building, offering a mobile app version of your concept is essential. POP lets you create stunning mobile app prototypes with multiple features. Integrate social media sharing buttons, email addresses, background images, and even SMS messaging interfaces into your design.

Be careful with this one; you might find yourself lost for hours in the myriad of magical tools at your disposal.

With helpful tools like those listed above, you can be ready to showcase an early version of your business in no time.

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