MVP vs prototype vs demo

What It Actually Means to Build an MVP

An MVP is not “a smaller product.” It’s the smallest system that can deliver value without you being involved. If you have to explain it live, trigger things manually, or sit next to the user for it to work, it’s not an MVP yet. That’s still a demo.

Building an MVP means three things are true:

1. A real user can use it on their own.

They can start, complete the core action, and get the value without you guiding them. No Zoom call. No “click here, then wait.” If they can’t figure it out without you, it’s not ready.

1. The system works repeatedly.

Not perfectly — but predictably. The same input produces roughly the same output every time. If it breaks half the time, requires resets, or depends on you babysitting it, it’s not an MVP. Reliability here means “boring enough to trust.”

1. The value shows up more than once.

A single “wow” moment is a demo. An MVP is when someone comes back on their own because it actually saves them time, reduces risk, or removes mental load in their real workflow.

What you deliberately don’t need:

• Full feature coverage
• Scalability
• Beautiful UI
• Edge cases
• Perfect accuracy

What you do need:

• One clear use case
• One repeatable flow
• One user who would be annoyed if you turned it off

This is why MVPs usually come after demos. The demo proves the idea is understandable. The MVP proves it’s worth relying on.

If you want a practical gut check:

If you disappeared for a week, would someone still use this?

If the answer is no, you haven’t built an MVP yet.

What a Prototype Actually Is

A prototype is a tool for your learning, not for the user. You build a prototype to answer a narrow, uncomfortable question you don’t yet know the answer to. Usually something technical, structural, or conceptual that blocks everything else. A prototype exists when you’re unsure if something is even feasible.

Concretely, a prototype does one of these:

• Tests whether an approach can work at all
• De-risks a critical assumption
• Explores tradeoffs you can’t reason about on paper

It is not meant to be used. It is not meant to be robust. It is not meant to survive contact with a real workflow.

What a prototype typically looks like:

• Hardcoded inputs
• Throwaway scripts or notebooks
• Mocked data
• Ugly interfaces or no interface at all
• You running it manually

If it only works when you touch it, that’s fine. That’s the point.

A prototype answers questions like:

• Can we extract this reliably enough?
• Is latency tolerable?
• Does this model hallucinate in this context?
• Can these two systems talk to each other at all?

Once the question is answered, the prototype has done its job. You either throw it away or reframe it. Keeping it alive is a mistake.

A useful rule:

If breaking it teaches you something, it’s a prototype.

If breaking it annoys a user, it’s not.

Prototypes should feel fragile and disposable. If you start caring about polish, uptime, or user experience, you’ve already moved on to a different phase.

What a Demo Actually Is

A demo is a communication artifact. Its job is to be clear. You build a demo to answer one question: does someone understand the value fast enough to care? 

If they don’t get it within 30–60 seconds, the demo failed, no matter how good the tech is.

A demo is built around a story, not a system. There is a beginning (the pain), a moment of tension (the messy reality), and a payoff (the output). Everything in the demo exists to make that payoff obvious.

What a demo actually includes:

• One scripted flow
• One carefully chosen input
• One visible output that feels like magic
• A controlled environment

What it deliberately hides:

• Edge cases
• Error handling
• Generality
• Infrastructure

Behind the scenes, demos are often held together with duct tape. Hardcoded values. Manual triggers. Pre-processed data. That’s not cheating — that’s scoping. The demo is not claiming the system is finished. It’s claiming the idea is sound.

A good demo can be repeated, but it doesn’t need to be reliable under variation. It only needs to work for the story you’re telling. If you can’t guarantee the outcome, you picked the wrong example.

Demos are especially important early because humans don’t evaluate ideas rationally. They evaluate what they can see. A strong demo collapses explanation into experience.

One way to tell you’re demoing the right thing:

you can stop talking and let the output speak for itself.

If a prototype is for you, and an MVP is for users, a demo is for belief — belief from teammates, partners, sponsors, or yourself that this is worth pushing further.

What to optimize for in your first 48-72 hours

In a 48–72 hour context, most teams should start with a demo, not an MVP. The mistake is trying to build something “real” before you’ve earned the right to. If the value isn’t obvious in a demo, an MVP won’t save you.

Prototypes support demos. Demos justify MVPs. Skipping steps is how teams end up polishing things no one wants.

A simple rule:

• If you’re answering “is this possible?” → prototype.
• If you’re answering “is this compelling?” → demo.
• If you’re answering “will this be used?” → MVP.

Know which question you’re trying to answer. Then build the smallest thing that answers it.