"MVP" has become one of the most misused terms in software. Founders often build a fully-featured v1 and call it an MVP, then wonder why it took nine months and burned through a seed round before finding out if anyone wanted it.
What an MVP is actually for
An MVP exists to test your riskiest assumption with the least amount of engineering investment. Before writing a single feature, identify: what is the one thing that, if untrue, kills this business? Build only enough software to test that assumption with real users.
The scope cuts that matter
Authentication can start with magic links instead of a full account system. Payments can start with Stripe Checkout instead of a custom billing engine. Admin tooling can be a spreadsheet before it's a dashboard. None of these cuts compromise the core hypothesis you're testing — they just remove work that doesn't affect learning speed.
Timeline expectations
A focused MVP with a single core workflow typically takes 8-12 weeks with a small senior team. If your MVP scope is estimated at 6+ months, that's a signal to cut scope further, not to plan for a longer runway.