
Software Developers Who Became Rich Thanks to MVP - clubminsk
https://belitsoft.com/custom-application-development-services/successful-saas-startups-mvp-lean-paying-customers-first#saas
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inputcoffee
This fantasy of hitting it big with the MVP reminds me of a similar fantasy in
Hollywood: making it big with a treatment.

The idea -- and this apparently worked in the 80s -- is that if you had a
"high concept" script, you could sell it for millions.

A high concept script would be one where the idea was the driving force so,
for instance, a man and a dog switch bodies. Or, aliens take over people's
minds through drinking water, or whatever.

The values of these treatments fell over time, because the market learned to
correctly price in the execution risk.

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logicallee
Very interesting historical example! (I did not know this about the film
industry.)

But when I think of the 80's, I think of awesome concepts for films. When I
think of the early 2000's I remember...nothing outstanding?

Compare for yourself:

[http://www.imdb.com/search/title/?release_date=1980,1989&tit...](http://www.imdb.com/search/title/?release_date=1980,1989&title_type=feature)

(Many of which I had in mind as I wrote the first paragraph.)

And:

[http://www.imdb.com/list/ls057556971/](http://www.imdb.com/list/ls057556971/)

I've seen many of those films: I couldn't remember a single one. Also
throwaway films like Bond films are in the list.

There were between 5 and 9 Bond films in the 80s depending on how you count
(for example License to Kill, For your eyes only, The living daylights,
Octopussy, A view to Kill, Never say never again, The Naked Face, Bonds are
Forever) not one of which made it to the first cited list above, edged out by
better and more memorable stories and films.

Who is going to remember "Up in the air" in ten years?

The fact is, although there are twice as many (my first link shows 50, my
second list 100), there is hardly a concept among them.

So the interesting fact you've stated about the eighties can be seen very,
very clearly. The concepts from the 2000s...simply suck. Your additional
information about the market history of concepts is most interesting.

\--

EDIT: in response to ajmurmann's reply below:

So I consider those worse concepts than the concepts embodied in the first
list, movies from the 80s. Really look at the two lists (really) and see the
strength of the concept behind them. They're worlds apart (to me.)

I realize this will be a subjective judgment. Look at the overall impression,
not just one or two films.

~~~
inputcoffee
I like that you're using actual data to back up your claim.

However, I have one issue: how come you're comparing the 80s (a whole decade
spanning 10 years) with the _early_ 2000s (a span of 3 years? maybe 4?).

If you looked at the entire decade, I think you would see many fine movies.

One way to go about remembering movies is to think about the great film makers
of the time: Cohen brothers, Aranofsky, Nolan, Fincher, Tarantino, Boyle.

A lot of their great work was done in the 2000s.

Edit: Do you think your 2000s list is worse than your 1980s list?

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logicallee
Sorry, by "early 2000s" I meant the _decade_ 2000s. I used "early 2000s"
because if I just said 2000s, for me that could include 2011, 2012, etc. You
are right I didn't use standard usage.

The second list is from 2000-2009, so the decade in question.

Basically, as you look at the list of _concepts_ 2000-2009, to me those
concepts are objectively weaker than the first list of movie concepts. This is
just my personal opinion.

~~~
inputcoffee
Ah, I see what you mean. It is not easy to dispute matters of taste, but
@ajmurmann has a good point in their reply.

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throwaway2016a
I feel like my definition of MVP is different. When did MVP become "marketing
landing page and mocks"?

I'm not discounting the strategy. I think getting the idea in front of
eyeballs to see if it is worthwhile is great. I'd even recommend it. I just
don't think it is an MVP. You don't have a viable product yet if customers
can't buy it.

I'm just curious if this definition is common.

My definition is: a product that has the minimum set of features implemented
possible in order for people to be able to use it.

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LanceJones
I know all of these wonderful gentlemen and their businesses... how are you
defining "rich"? In terms of personal fulfillment? At $500K - $1.1M in MRR per
month, nobody is getting rich here (just yet).

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maxxxxx
Are you kidding?

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LanceJones
Are you? Do you know anything about how large their teams are and what their
total salaries run per month? The OP also makes the assumption that the CEOs
are taking money out of the business (beyond salaries)... which is not how you
build an early-stage SaaS business.

~~~
maxxxxx
If you have 1 million in revenue per month and you can't make good money from
that then you are not running a real business in my view.

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clubminsk
It is not a joke. Counterexample: another one did not use MVP (By the way, he
was not a developer) and lost $50, 000!

