Do I Need an MVP Before Validation?
Short answer
No. Validate the problem first. An MVP tests whether your specific solution works. It should not be how you discover whether the problem is real.
Building before validating just makes a wrong guess more expensive to find out about.
Problem validation (does this pain point exist, is it common, do people care enough to act) can be done with research, interviews, and small commitment tests that require no code. An MVP is a later step. Once you know the problem is real, a minimal version of your solution tests whether your approach solves it well enough.
Skipping straight to an MVP means you’re testing your solution and the existence of the problem at the same time. If it fails, you won’t know which assumption was wrong.
In practice
If customer discovery shows a recurring, painful problem with a clear workaround people already tolerate, you have enough to scope a focused MVP. If the pain point isn’t showing up consistently, building an MVP won’t fix that. Go back to research.
Ready to move from guessing to evidence?