Introduction
"Can you build us an MVP?" often actually means "can you build us a prototype" or even just "can you prove this is technically possible?" Conflating these three stages leads to mismatched budgets, timelines, and expectations. Each one answers a different question.
Proof of Concept (POC)
A POC answers one question: is this technically feasible? It's usually not user-facing, has no design polish, and is thrown away after answering the question. If you're unsure whether a novel technical approach (a complex AI pipeline, an unusual integration) will even work, build a POC first — not an MVP.
Prototype
A prototype answers: does this look and feel right? It's typically a clickable Figma flow or a front-end-only build with fake data. No real backend, no real users. Prototypes are for gathering design feedback and pitching investors before committing engineering budget.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
An MVP answers: will real users adopt and pay for this? It's a fully functional product with real data, real auth, and often real payments — built to be used, not just viewed. This is the only one of the three that should be exposed to actual paying customers.
Choosing the Right One
| Stage | Question Answered | Real Backend? | Real Users? | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | POC | Is it technically possible? | Partial | No | | Prototype | Does it look/feel right? | No | No (feedback only) | | MVP | Will people use and pay for it? | Yes | Yes |
Conclusion
Skipping straight to an MVP when you actually need a POC wastes budget on production-grade code for an idea that might not be technically viable. Skipping the MVP and only building a prototype means you'll never get the real usage data investors actually want to see. Match the build to the question you're trying to answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which should I build first: a POC, a prototype, or an MVP?+
Start with a POC only if there's real technical uncertainty about whether something is feasible. Otherwise, go straight to a prototype for design feedback, then an MVP once you need to test real user adoption.
Can a prototype be shown to investors?+
Yes — prototypes are commonly used to gather design feedback and pitch investors before committing engineering budget to a full MVP build.
What's the biggest risk of confusing an MVP with a prototype?+
Exposing a prototype (with fake data, no real backend) to actual paying customers, which produces unreliable signal about real adoption and can damage trust if customers realize it isn't a working product.