Why you need more than a barebone MVP in 2023.

At Nexus(our startup), we're passionate about revolutionizing the way people invest in Stocks and crypto. But as any startup founder can attest, the path to success is often filled with obstacles. Recently, we encountered a significant roadblock in our quest for funding. A potential investor turned us down, citing that hit us hard: we didn't have a fully functioning MVP. Now, you might be wondering, what exactly our MVP was showing? Well it wasn't the flashy trading platform we dream of. Instead it considered a basic interface with stock prices displayed here and there. The cold reality is that users couldn't buy or sell any assets, nor could they access other advanced features. Why, you ask ? The answer lies in the complex regulatory landscape of the financial industry. To facilitate the trading functionality, a platform must obtain a SEBI license. This license requires rigorous compliance with financial regulations, and crucially proof of "financial backing". Investors won't understand that we need a significant amount of funding to take off. Without it, we'd be swimming in the shallow waters.

I've got an idea and I'm eager to turn it into reality. 🌟 What are your thoughts around what should be the process, steps, the right path one should take in order to bring a product to life. 🤔💡

I'm working on a fintech B2C idea and need some advice. It's quite a complex idea, in a regulated industry (of course). I'm fairly good at developing apps (self taught web and mobile app dev) and currently working alone on this. I'm planning to use Flutter and GO to create the MVP. I'm experienced in Flutter but have no idea about GO. Currently working remotely (not enough savings to work on the idea full time). Need some suggestions on: 1. Should I learn GO or use ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot? 2. Since it's a fintech product (a highly regulated industry), how scrappy can I be regarding building and launching the MVP asap? 3. I've not worked in fintech, although I was a co-founder before (failed startup). Should I rather focus on building and launching the product by doing it all myself or take some time into looking for a co-founder? 4. I know that this is something that just cannot be bootstrapped (navigating in the grey areas of regulations, lobbying etc). Should I just put my head down and hustle it out till product launch or do I start looking to raise capital? Any angels or VCs that will actually fund an idea (especially in these times)? Just looking to make better decisions by getting some opinions/suggestions/advice! Questions and thread discussions are most welcome! Grapevine, do your thing 😤

Currently I’m in the stage of building the MVP of my idea. Idea is not something unique. Already has a lot of competitors. In that scenario what is the chance of somebody investing in my startup. And I am also not from any tier 1 colleges or not an ex employee of any unicorn startups. In fact I am a college drop out from a tier 3 college. What is chance of I’m getting funding?

We have an idea but, we worry that did really fit in market or not. And how would I find actual problem that my target user facing.

Currently at mid-mvp stage fintech startup looking for pre-seed funding to resume their progress. Does this qualify the requirements to achieve a pre-seed funding ? I bootstrapped the startup myself at the beginning and we have not yet reached the stage where we can present a MVP for investors which is a huge setback we are currently facing. I tried to apply to few Indian based pre-seed ventures but all I got was just rejection mails not sure why. Prepared a pitch deck and a company structure profile although all our employees are remote. I just don't know who or how to approach an angel investor or a ventures firm so lacking expertise in this field. Suggestions would be appreciated ☺️

Dear Founders of Grapevine! If i have not registered anything and built a tech product and garnered 200-300 users and conclude that the MVP is complete , now to further scale the tech product i need capital to keep the product running and make the final product , What are my options , Where should i apply? Things i should do and not do in this situation , what metrics should i keep ready in case of a pitch! More information I am 20 years old The product is a tech product No paperwork has been done yet Market test is positive!

1. I am having a strong problem statement, which is thoroughly validated, along with a business plan, but I am not working or starting it as I lack confidence because I don't have a team in place. ( I am an IIM graduate and currently a product manager - giving these details just to get a sense of my background, which might help in the type of suggestions from your side). 2. How can I find a co-founder/partner/core team member? Please advise me on where to look for co-founders or people that share a similar mindset. Show quoted text Please help me to navigate through this situation. Thanks in Advance 🙏

Was looking for automation solutions for my startup, came across an early stage AI startup that had 3-4 meetings with us and showed us screenshots of their product, but delayed product demo and signup. Few days later said they're shutting down because they couldn't raise funds and had no MVP ready to use. But they didn't tell us that earlier, all they said was "we are in early stages, still working on product, need info from you"etc. While their vision seemed good enough, not having an MVP while pitching for clients is weird and a waste of time tbh. No one will know or learn anything unless they try using an actual product, including themselves. And it isn't hard to build one either, i think I have the gist of it and might already be in production by other startups in this space. Decent low hanging fruit in SaaS with good long term potential. Doing things that don't scale doesn't mean you don't put in the required amount of work before approaching clients. Don't want to name them, they probably learned as much by now.

Hey, I think I have a decent (tech) idea with good product market fit and got it validated from few people in its industry. I’ve started working on an MVP with the team, and we think we can develop it in a month. What should we do apart from it, we want to get funding as soon as the mvp is made. What all should I know, any resources, what registration and everything else.