Landing Page vs. POC vs. MVP: Which Do You Actually Need?

“Should I build an MVP?”

It’s the wrong question. The right question is: What do I need to learn, and what’s the cheapest way to learn it?

Too many founders jump straight to building a full product when a simple landing page would answer their question. Others waste time on prototypes when they should be shipping something real.

Here’s how to choose the right approach for your stage.

The Three Stages: Quick Definitions

Before we dive in, let’s be clear about what each term means:

Each stage answers a different question. Skipping stages wastes money. Going too slow wastes time.

Stage 1: Landing Page

When You Need It

You need a landing page when you have an idea but don’t know if anyone cares.

You’re at this stage if:

• You haven’t talked to potential customers yet
• You’re not sure who your target audience is
• You want to test different positioning angles
• You need to collect early interest before building anything

What It Looks Like

A validation landing page isn’t a marketing site. It’s a hypothesis test.

Essential elements:

• Headline stating the core benefit
• 3-4 feature/benefit bullets
• Clear call-to-action (email signup, waitlist, or “notify me”)
• Basic analytics to track engagement

What you DON’T need:

• Multiple pages
• Blog or content
• Complex animations
• Perfect design

What Success Looks Like

Example Scenario

Imagine a founder has an idea for a habit-tracking app for remote teams. Instead of building the app, they create a landing page positioning it as “async accountability for distributed teams.”

Typical results after 2 weeks might look like:

• ~500 visitors from LinkedIn and Reddit
• 5-7% email signup rate
• A few people asking about pricing

Next step: If interest is strong, move to POC to test if the specific solution resonates.

Cost & Timeline

Why pay more? A landing page optimized for validation is different from a pretty website. We focus on conversion tracking, clear messaging, and fast iteration — everything you need to get meaningful data.

Stage 2: Proof of Concept (POC)

When You Need It

You need a POC when people are interested in the problem, but you need to show them what the solution looks like.

You’re at this stage if:

• Your landing page showed strong interest (5%+ signups)
• You need to pitch to investors or partners
• The concept is hard to explain without showing it
• You want user feedback on the experience before building

What It Looks Like

A POC is a clickable prototype. It looks real but isn’t functional.

What’s included:

• Key user flows (3-5 screens typically)
• Realistic design and content
• Clickable navigation between screens
• Enough polish to feel professional

What’s NOT included:

• Backend functionality
• Real data processing
• User accounts
• Anything that requires code beyond the UI

What Success Looks Like

Example Scenario

Continuing the habit-tracking example: after landing page validation, the founder needs to pitch to angel investors. A POC might include:

• Team dashboard with habit streaks
• Weekly check-in flow
• Progress visualization

What often happens:

• Investor conversations become more concrete when they can see the product
• User testing reveals UX issues early (e.g., a 5-step form that should be 2 steps)
• Some early adopters may offer to pay for beta access

Next step: If feedback is positive, build the MVP with a validated, simplified user flow.

Cost & Timeline

Why work with a specialist? Speed and focus. A good POC builder knows which flows convert, which elements investors look for, and how to make something feel real without over-engineering.

Stage 3: Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

When You Need It

You need an MVP when you’ve validated interest and need to prove people will actually use (and pay for) your solution.

You’re at this stage if:

• Landing page showed strong interest
• POC feedback was positive (or you’re confident enough to skip POC)
• You have potential customers ready to try it
• You need real usage data to iterate

What It Looks Like

An MVP is a working product — but only barely. It does one thing well.

What’s included:

• Core functionality that solves the main problem
• User accounts and basic authentication
• Essential integrations (payments if B2C, key APIs if B2B)
• Production deployment

What’s NOT included:

• Nice-to-have features
• Admin dashboards (unless essential)
• Advanced customization
• Scalability for 100,000 users (you don’t have them yet)

The Feature Trap

This is where most founders go wrong. They build an “MVP” with 20 features when they need 3.

The test: Can you describe your MVP in one sentence without using “and”?

• Bad: “Users can track habits AND see team progress AND get reminders AND customize goals AND export data AND…”
• Good: “Users complete a daily 30-second check-in, and their team sees the streak.”

What Success Looks Like

Example Scenario

A lean habit-tracking MVP might include only:

• Daily check-in (yes/no + optional note)
• Team streak visualization
• Weekly email summary

That’s it. No reminders, no gamification, no integrations.

What good early traction could look like:

• 10-30 paying teams in the first month
• 25-40% day-7 retention
• Clear feature requests emerging (e.g., Slack integration)

Next step: If metrics are healthy, continue development based on user feedback.

Cost & Timeline

The Decision Framework

Not sure which stage you’re at? Use this flowchart:

Question 1: Do you have evidence people want this?

• No → Start with a Landing Page
• Yes → Continue to Question 2

Question 2: Can you explain the solution without showing it?

• No (complex UX, novel concept) → Build a POC
• Yes → Continue to Question 3

Question 3: Do you have users ready to pay or commit?

• No → Build a POC to generate interest
• Yes → Build the MVP

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Skipping the Landing Page

The thinking: “I know people want this, I’ll just build it.”

The reality: You think you know. A landing page costs €500 and 1 week. A failed MVP costs €10,000 and 3 months. Always validate first.

Mistake 2: POC That’s Too Polished

The thinking: “If it looks real, people will take it seriously.”

The reality: An over-polished POC sets wrong expectations. Users get frustrated when features don’t work. Keep it simple, set expectations clearly.

Mistake 3: MVP With Too Many Features

The thinking: “Users need X, Y, and Z to get value.”

The reality: They don’t. Find the ONE thing that delivers core value. Ship that. Add the rest based on real feedback.

Mistake 4: Skipping POC When You Need It

The thinking: “Prototypes are a waste of time, let’s just build.”

The reality: If your concept is hard to explain, a POC saves money. Adjusting a prototype is quick and cheap. Changing code costs thousands.

Our Staged Approach

We believe in validation at every stage. That’s why our services are designed to let you progress (or pivot) with minimal risk:

After each stage, you decide: move forward, iterate, or stop. No pressure to continue if the data says otherwise.

Every product is different — your market, your users, your constraints. But the underlying principles stay the same: validate before you build, learn before you scale, and always let real data guide your decisions.

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Not Sure Which Stage You Need?

We offer free 30-minute consultations to help you figure out the right approach for your specific situation. No sales pitch — just honest advice.

Book a free consultation

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