Got pitched by a startup with no MVP 😂

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.