How to Build an MVP in One Week

Speed matters when validating your idea. Here's how to ship an MVP in 7 days.

Day 1-2: Planning & Design

Define Your Core Value Proposition

Answer this question: What is the ONE problem you're solving?

Don't try to solve everything. Focus on the single most important feature.

Create a Feature Priority Matrix

Feature	Impact	Effort	Priority
User auth	High	Low	1
Main tool	High	Medium	2
Email notifications	Low	Low	3
Analytics	Medium	High	4

Rule: Only build Priority 1-2 features for MVP.

Sketch Your UI

Don't spend days in Figma. Use:

Pen and paper
Excalidraw
Balsamiq

Get 80% right, ship, then iterate.

Day 3-4: Core Development

Choose the Right Stack

Use tools you already know. Now is NOT the time to learn new tech.

Recommended Stack (2024):

Framework: Next.js 15
Database: PostgreSQL + Drizzle
Auth: NextAuth
UI: shadcn/ui + Tailwind
Hosting: Vercel

Focus on Essentials

// MVP auth - simple and effective
import NextAuth from "next-auth"
import Google from "next-auth/providers/google"

export const { handlers, auth } = NextAuth({
  providers: [Google],
  // That's it for MVP!
})

Cut Corners Intelligently

Do:

Use third-party services (Stripe, SendGrid)
Copy-paste code snippets
Use templates and boilerplates
Mock non-critical features

Don't:

Skip authentication
Ignore data validation
Hardcode credentials
Skip error handling

Day 5: Integration & Testing

Manual Testing is Enough

For MVP, skip automated tests. Manually test:

User registration
Login/logout
Core feature workflow
Payment flow (if applicable)
Mobile responsiveness

Get Real Users

Invite 5-10 beta testers:

Friends
Twitter followers
Indie Hackers community
Reddit communities

Day 6: Polish & Deploy

The 80/20 Polish

Focus on high-impact polish:

Fix critical bugs
Add loading states
Improve error messages
Check mobile experience

Deploy to Production

# With Vercel, it's this simple
vercel --prod

Day 7: Launch

Launch Checklist

Where to Launch

Product Hunt - Scheduled for 12:01 AM PT
Hacker News - Show HN format
Twitter - Thread format
Indie Hackers - Share your story
Reddit - Relevant subreddits

Launch Post Template

Hey everyone! 👋

I just launched [Product Name] - [one-liner]

The problem:
[Describe the pain point]

The solution:
[How your product solves it]

Built in 7 days using:
- Next.js
- TypeScript
- Tailwind CSS

Would love your feedback!

Link: [URL]

Post-Launch: Week 2

Collect Feedback

Use simple tools:

Tally for surveys
Calendly for user interviews
Twitter DMs

Iterate Fast

Ship updates daily based on feedback. Users love seeing their suggestions implemented quickly.

Common MVP Mistakes to Avoid

Building too many features - Ship the minimum
Perfecting design - Good enough is good enough
No payment from day 1 - Validate willingness to pay
Ignoring feedback - Your users know best
Not shipping - Done is better than perfect

Real MVP Examples

Dropbox

Just a video demo
Validated demand before building
75,000 signups overnight

Airbnb

Photos of their own apartment
Manual processes
Focused on proving concept

Buffer

Landing page only
Manual posting for first users
Validated before building product

Your MVP Checklist

Week 1:

Week 2:

Collect feedback
Ship improvements
Talk to users
Iterate on features

Tools to Speed Up Development

Boilerplates: This template, Shipfast, T3 Stack
UI: shadcn/ui, Headless UI
Database: Supabase, PlanetScale
Auth: Clerk, Auth0, NextAuth
Payments: Stripe, Lemon Squeezy
Email: Resend, SendGrid

Final Tips

Set a deadline - Parkinson's Law: work expands to fill time
Work in public - Tweet your progress daily
Don't overthink - Your first version will be wrong anyway
Talk to users - Build what they need, not what you think they need
Ship it - Shipping beats perfection every time

Conclusion

Building an MVP in one week is totally achievable if you:

Focus ruthlessly on core value
Use familiar technologies
Cut scope aggressively
Ship before you're ready

Your first version won't be perfect. That's okay. Ship it, learn, iterate.

Now stop reading and start building! 🚀