[SHORT] Myth: Founders acquire new skills to build MVPs

Fresh research says no.

• The common story goes:

  • Entrepreneurship is about learning

  • Founders acquire the required skills to advance their journey

  • In the case of MVPs, they acquire skills to build the right MVP

• Is that the case though?

• A 2024 study (Paust et al) shows us that the vast majority of prototypes are built leveraging skills the founders already possessed

  • An example: an experienced 3D modeller made a prototype using Blender, because the relative effort was low. For me, learning Blender to prototype would be a very ineffective use of my time.

  • It’s called skills bricolage. This is where founders improvise with the skills they have to achieve what they need.

• Furthermore, when a prototype is created, the researchers discovered that founders recycle prototypes.

  • A founder created a proof of value prototype to validate the underlying concept but later used that same prototype for demonstrating during fundraising

• Takeaways:

  • Recycle prototypes and MVPs to save time and resources.

  • “I’m going to pick up programming” is a lie you tell yourself. Of all the founders I’ve worked with, only a handful of founders made considerable growth in their dev skills. What they had in common was that they already had some basic skills to start from. I have yet to see a non-technical founder transform into a technical one.

    • Even no-code platforms can come with steep learning curves, something most people underestimate. If you need an MVP in 4 weeks, this might not be your best bet. It’s always better to have a technical co-founder, but they are hard to come by.