The MVP Tree
Framework
•Shawn Carolan | Menlo Ventures

What’s the hardest thing about entrepreneurship
for smart Stanford students to learn?

Nobody cares about
your
big idea!

4 / © 2020 Menlo Ventures
You only have two
resources:
Time and Money
WIIFM?

You spend them to get “jobs” done

Your objective as a founder
To be the best tool for one job,
for one customer group,
such that they stick around
Hint: better, faster, cheaper

The future is bright when...
Prove retention
Prove growth
Doesn’t matter how small the job
● Prove retention
● Prove growth
● Doesn’t matter how small
the job

The MVP Tree:
Helps you do the least amount of work to prove you have something mission-aligned.
Break your BIG IDEA into SMALL PIECES:
• Customer Archetypes
• Jobs to be done
• Execution branches (g2m)
• Other branches

What do we know?
What works? What doesn’t?
Handle

Step 1: Mission Statement

Step 2: Customer Archetypes

Step 3: Jobs-to-be-Done

Step 4: Execution Branches - Delivery Platforms

Step 5: Execution Branches - Sales Channels

Step 6: Other branches

Step 7: Map out your MVP candidates and rank them
Remember, an MVP is the minimally scoped product that gets some job done for your chosen
customer archetype.
Three criteria:
1. Meaningful Job-to-be-Done (TAM)
2. Has a viable growth engine
3. Has rapid time-to-value

Roku’s first few MVP candidates didn’t work…
Soundbridge
Photobridge
Don’t give up so soon!
• Building muscle for company
• GRIT

Roku’s winning MVP: Delivery vehicle for Netflix

19 / © 2020 Menlo Ventures