Build your MVP — Get your first version built right.
You've got an idea, or a prototype you're not sure you can build on. We help you decide what to launch with, when, and who to show it to. Then we build it with your team or for you, so your first version answers the questions that matter and doesn't need rebuilding the moment it works.
- 20+ years building products
- Founded and exited a studio
- B Corp founder
- Prototype to production
Sound familiar?
- You've got an idea and no clear view of what the first version should include.
- You've built a prototype with AI coding tools and can't tell if it's a foundation or a demo.
- You're about to spend real money on developers and want to get the brief right first.
- You've been quoted for a build and want an independent sanity check on the scope.
- You've launched something and can't work out who to put it in front of.
- You want to launch in weeks, not quarters, and need someone who'll tell you what to cut.
- You'd rather have one person own the decisions and the code than brief an agency on a spec you're unsure of.
What the work covers
What to launch with
The smallest version that answers the question you need answered. That's rarely a smaller version of everything you eventually want. Most first releases are too big, not because anyone pushed for more, but because nobody was in charge of taking things out. We work through what goes in, what waits, and what gets cut for good, and we note which assumption each remaining feature is there to test. If a feature isn't testing anything, it's not in version one.
Technical architecture
The choices you make in the first couple of weeks (data model, logins, hosting, what you build and what you buy) decide how expensive the next two years will be. Hardly any of them need to be enterprise-grade yet, and going heavyweight too early is as costly as going throwaway. This includes reviewing prototypes built with AI coding tools. We'll tell you plainly which parts are a solid foundation, which are a demo dressed up as one, and what it would take to close the gap.
When, and who to launch to
Launch to the wrong people and you'll get flattering noise. Launch at the wrong time and you'll get nothing you can act on. We help you choose who sees it first and what you ask them, so you get a real signal, not just encouragement. That usually means fewer people than founders expect, picked because they feel the problem badly enough to be straight with you about whether you've solved it.
Building it
If you have a team, we lead the work or work alongside them. If you don't, we write the first version ourselves. Either way, it's built to be handed over: a stack any decent developer can pick up, a data model that can handle another year of change, and decisions written down, not stuck in someone's head. One day your first version should be replaced by a second, built with everything you've learned since, and getting there shouldn't mean a full rewrite. We quote it as a project, not a monthly fee, because it has an end.
From first chat to working together
A conversation
45 minutes on your idea, anything you've already built, and what you're trying to find out. No deck needed.
A product and technical review
A short piece of work looking at the scope, the architecture and, if you have one, the prototype itself. You get a written report whether or not we carry on.
The launch plan
What's in version one and what's out, the technical decisions that need making now, and who sees it first. Written so a developer could pick it up and get started.
Through the build
As much or as little as you need: a regular call while your team builds it, technical leadership over the work, or us writing it ourselves if there's no team yet.
What getting version one right looks like
Without the right help
- Months spent building features nobody asked for.
- A prototype that falls over when real customers arrive.
- Paying twice: once to build it, and again to rebuild it.
- Polite feedback from friends instead of a real signal from customers.
With Lode in your corner
- A first version small enough to launch in weeks.
- Foundations a future team can build on, not throw away.
- Clear answers from the right early customers.
- A plan you can take to developers or investors with confidence.
Build your MVP: your questions answered
What counts as an MVP?
Think of it as an experiment, not a small product. It's the smallest thing you can put in front of real people to answer a question you can't answer any other way. That's narrower than most founders expect, and it matters commercially. A small version of your whole product doesn't test anything in particular, and it costs almost as much as the full thing. A good experiment has a hypothesis, an audience and a result you're ready to act on, even if that result is to stop.
We built a prototype with AI coding tools. Is it any good?
Usually it makes a great specification and a poor foundation, and those are two different things. These tools give you the clearest requirements document you'll ever have: something real that people can use and react to, which no written spec can match. What they rarely give you is code that survives a second year of change, especially in the data model, the logins and the way everything fits together. We'll go through it and tell you what to keep, what to treat as a sketch of what you want, and what a solid rebuild would cost. Sometimes the answer is that it's fine to ship as it is, and knowing that is worth the review on its own.
I'm not technical. Will I understand what's been built?
Yes. The code and the accounts are yours, and every important decision is written down in plain English: what we chose, why, and what it means for later. You'll never need us to explain your own product to a developer or an investor.
Do you build it, or just advise?
Either. If you have a team, we lead the work or work alongside them. If you don't, we write the first version ourselves, built to be handed to a team, because one day it will be. It's the same role as our fractional CTO and CPO work, but priced as a project instead of a monthly fee, because it has an end.
How long does it take?
The review and launch plan usually take two to three weeks. The build depends on what survives that first conversation, and that's the point. The quickest way to launch sooner is to launch with less, and that decision is worth more than any amount of speed later on.
How is it priced?
The review and launch plan are a fixed-price piece of work, priced on their own so you can stop there if that's all you need. Plenty of founders do, and take the plan to their own team. Anything after that is either a fixed monthly fee for an agreed remit or a quoted build, depending on what you need.
Tell us what you want to launch.
What your idea is, anything you've built so far, and what you're hoping to find out. That's all we need to get started. We read every message ourselves and usually reply within a couple of working days.
Or email hello@lode.venturesThanks, we've got your message.
We read every message ourselves and usually reply within a couple of working days.