Feature Overload Is Killing Your MVP—This AI Prompt Fixes It in Minutes
Building too much, too soon? Use this AI-powered method to cut the clutter and launch faster.
You Have 100 Ideas. Your MVP Needs 3.
Picture this: You’re sipping coffee, scribbling MVP features for your SaaS tool.
AI-powered dashboards! Community forums! Dark mode!
Excitement fades as reality hits: Building all of this could take a year.
Most founders drown here—paralyzed by possibilities.
But what if you could pinpoint the exact features your MVP needs in days?
Let’s fix that.
The MoSCoW Method: Ruthless Prioritization
MoSCoW isn’t a Russian city—it’s a laser-focused filter for your feature list.
Sort features into four categories:
Must-have: Non-negotiables. No product without them.
Example: A B2B sales tool needs CRM integrations.
Should-have: Important but not urgent.
Example: Automated follow-up emails for that same sales tool.
Could-have: “Nice-to-haves” if time permits.
Example: A Slack bot integration.
Won’t-have: Save for later (or never).
Example: A built-in AI sales coach (cool, but not essential).
💡 Pro Tip: If you debate whether something is a “Must-have,” ask:
“Would people still pay for this without it?”
The MVP Canvas: Your Blueprint
Prioritization is only half the battle. You also need to be sure your features align with your core problem-solution fit—that’s where the MVP Canvas comes in.
It breaks your idea into four non-negotiable boxes:
Problem: What’s the urgent pain point?
Example: Sales teams waste hours manually tracking leads.
Solution: What’s your MVP’s core fix?
Example: A tool that auto-updates deal stages from emails.
Key Metrics: How do you know it’s working?
Example: Time saved per week, sales closed via automation.
Features: The minimum required to test your solution.
Before building anything, fill this out first.
If a feature doesn’t directly serve the Problem or Solution, cut it.
Bringing It Together: MoSCoW + MVP Canvas in 3 Steps
List every feature—yes, even the wild ones.
Slash using MoSCoW: Label each as Must/Should/Could/Won’t.
Pro Tip: Limit “Must-haves” to 3-5 features max.
Map to the MVP Canvas: If a “Must-have” doesn’t fit the Problem or Solution, demote it.
🔹 Real Example: Before launching, Superhuman (the ultra-fast email app) thought a collaborative inbox was a must-have.
❌ But their MVP Canvas pointed to their core promise: speed.
🚀 They cut everything unrelated to speed—including collaboration— and instead built the world’s fastest email experience.
Avoid These 3 MVP Mistakes
Overengineering “Should-haves”
• A founder spent months building an onboarding wizard pre-launch.
• Users didn’t care—they just wanted faster setup.
Ignoring Metrics
• If your key success metric is engagement, but a feature has zero traction, kill it.
• Example: Before launching globally, BeReal killed multiple features that distracted from its core promise: a single unfiltered photo per day.
Skipping Validation
• Instead of building a full product, Cameo tested demand with simple video requests before scaling up.
• You can do the same—use Figma mockups or a waitlist before committing months to development.
Use This AI Prompt to Prioritize Your MVP Instantly
Instead of spending days debating features, let AI cut through the noise and create a focused MVP plan in minutes.
🛠 Copy and paste this into ChatGPT (or your preferred AI tool):
🔹 AI Prompt:
“I’m building a startup called [your startup name], which is a [briefly describe your product] for [your target audience].
Here’s a list of all the features I’m considering:
[Paste your full feature list here]
Step 1: Apply the MoSCoW Framework
Categorize each feature as:
• Must-have: Essential for the MVP. The product can’t function without it.
• Should-have: Important but not required for the first version. Could be in a later update.
• Could-have: Nice to have, but won’t affect early adoption.
• Won’t-have: Not relevant for the MVP, or too complex for now.
Prioritize features based on user value, development effort, and launch speed. If a feature doesn’t directly impact user adoption or revenue, push it to a later phase.
Step 2: Map Must-Haves to the MVP Canvas
Now, take only the Must-have features and fit them into this framework:
1️⃣ Problem: What urgent pain point does my product solve?
2️⃣ Solution: How does my MVP address this problem in the simplest way possible?
3️⃣ Key Metrics: What numbers will prove my MVP is working? (e.g., signups, retention, conversions)
4️⃣ Features: What is the absolute minimum set of features required to test my solution?
If any Must-have feature doesn’t align with the Problem/Solution, suggest whether it should be downgraded or removed.
Step 3: Generate My MVP Execution Plan
Now, based on my MVP Canvas, create an action plan for the next 30 days.
• Week 1: [List of immediate tasks]
• Week 2: [Key development or design milestones]
• Week 3: [User testing or pre-launch strategies]
• Week 4: [MVP launch + feedback collection]
Keep the plan lean and realistic—I want to launch quickly with minimal resources. Also, suggest any no-code or AI-powered tools that can help me validate faster.”
Final Thought
Your MVP isn’t a masterpiece. It’s a test.
The faster you launch, the sooner you learn.
Cut the fluff. Pick your 3 essentials. Ship. 🚀
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