Ship Your MVP in 30 Days | SaaSGyver

Thirty days is plenty to ship an MVP. Most people don't fail because 30 days isn't enough time. They fail because they spend all 30 days on Week 1 tasks. Here's the plan that actually works.

Week 1: Scope Ruthlessly (Days 1-7)

This is the most important week. You're not building yet. You're deciding exactly what to build.

• Day 1-2: Write down your idea in one sentence. Define your target user in one sentence. If you can't, your idea isn't clear enough yet.
• Day 3-4: List every feature you want. Now cut it in half. Then cut it in half again. What's left is your MVP.
• Day 5-6: Sketch every screen on paper. Count them. If you have more than 5-6 screens, cut more.
• Day 7: Pick your tools and set up your project. Don't start building features yet -- just get the scaffolding in place.

Week 2-3: Build the Core (Days 8-21)

Two full weeks of building. The rule: work on the core feature first. If your app is a project tracker, build the project tracking. Not the settings page, not the team invites, not the notification preferences.

Week 2 is about getting the main flow working end to end, even if it's ugly. Week 3 is about making it actually usable -- fixing the confusing parts, handling edge cases, making sure data saves correctly. Resist the urge to add features. Polish what exists.

Week 4: Polish and Launch (Days 22-30)

Launch week checklist:

• Authentication works (sign up, log in, password reset)
• Core feature tested 10+ times end to end
• Landing page clearly explains what it does and for whom
• Payment set up if you're charging (Stripe takes 20 minutes)
• Basic error handling so the app doesn't just break silently
• Share with 10-20 real people and ask for feedback

"Launch" doesn't mean Product Hunt. It means real people are using it and you're learning from their behavior. That's it.

Quick Takeaway

The 30-day MVP is 25% scoping, 50% building the core feature, and 25% polish and launch. Most founders invert this by spending 50% on scope creep and running out of time. Decide what you're building in Week 1, then execute.