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Your MVP isn't Viable if Nobody's Buying It
The Only Thing That Matters in Business is Sales
Gregory Kennedy
July 14, 2025
Vibe Your SaaS West Coast Tour
I asked The Who to open up, but Roger is off in Monaco for July. Maybe next time, he said. Well, anyway, you can catch me all over the West Coast:
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Who is going to be there? Founders: Silicon.net, Skyp.ai, Fluora.ai, Syftdata.com, Cypressai.co, Getelevenapp.com, Skillprint.ai + VCs: Garuda.vc, Chrisneumann.com, Aheadvc.com, Humanrace.vc
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Live Presentation and Q&A with Gregory Kennedy and Alexander Shartsis, Entrepreneur and early-stage Startup Advisor.
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The 10 Email Secrets Top Founders Use to Triple Their Response Rates
Broadcasting live on July 30th from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM Pacific Time.
Your MVP isn't Viable if Nobody's Buying It
Let's get real: The only thing that matters in business is sales.
Your MVP might be 'viable' technically, but if it's not sellable, you just have an expensive hobby, not a startup.
I see this every week with founders who demo their 'perfect MVP.' It’s all beautiful code, with a smooth user experience, and great feedback from beta users. But zero revenue.
Here's what they're missing: Viable doesn't mean sellable.
The MVP Trap
The startup world has convinced us that building an MVP is the holy grail. Test your hypothesis. Get user feedback. Iterate based on learnings. It sounds so pure and logical.
But here's the problem: MVPs don’t test for sellability.
They're built to prove a concept, not to generate revenue. They're designed for validation, not for customers who pull out their credit cards.
The result? Founders spend months (sometimes years) perfecting their MVP while burning through savings, wondering why nobody's buying.
Introducing the MSP: Minimum Sellable Product
This is why I've started recommending something different to my clients: Build an MSP instead of an MVP.
A Minimum Sellable Product.
MVP = Can we build it? MSP = Will people pay for it?
An MSP is the smallest version of your product that delivers enough value for someone to actually pay money for it. Not just try it. Not just give feedback. Actually buy it.
The Difference That Makes All the Difference
Here's what separates an MSP from an MVP:
Trust Signals: Your MSP looks professional enough that people trust you with their money. This doesn't mean over-designed, it means credible.
Complete Value Loop: Users can sign up, get the core value, and understand why it's worth paying for all without your help.
Revenue-Ready: Pricing is clear, payments work, and the onboarding flow ends with a purchase decision, not just "thanks for trying."
One Core Job: Instead of testing multiple hypotheses, your MSP does one thing well, the thing people will pay for.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
Every founder I work with faces the same pressure: show traction quickly or risk running out of runway.
But here's the thing, revenue is the ultimate traction.
100 active users who pay $10/month = $1,000 MRR
10,000 active users who pay $0/month = $0 MRR
Which one gets you closer to sustainability?
The MSP Mindset Shift
When you shift from MVP to MSP thinking, everything changes:
Features: You only build what directly contributes to someone paying
Design: You optimize for conversion, not just usability
Launch: You target buyers, not just users
Metrics: You measure revenue, not just engagement
Your Next Move
Ask yourself: Is your current product an MVP or an MSP?
If people aren't paying for it yet, you're likely still in the MVP phase. And that's okay, but now you know what to focus on.
Until then, remember: Viability is just the entry fee. Sellability is the game.
Episode 005 - The Gregory and Paul Show, Friday, July 11, 2025
On the Gregory and Paul Show, we break down the latest in startups, SaaS, AI, and whatever the internet is debating this week.
On this episode, Paul beams in from a sunny Ontario patio to debate whether NVIDIA’s $4 T valuation signals peak-AI, dissect Apple’s stealth diffusion-model leak and its on-device future, unpack the wild story of an engineer juggling 30 YC jobs, and mine growth lessons from a Redditor who launched 39 startups before striking gold. Plus Google’s new “Forums” search tab, a flurry of IRL tech events, and the Sam-Altman-in-sunglasses meme of the week.
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VBMRKTR
I'm Gregory Kennedy, former creative director, 3x head of marketing, and founder of Vibe Your SaaS. I help early-stage startups build real momentum with strategic clarity, AI-driven execution, and zero BS.
Greogry Kennedy // Vibe Your SaaS // www.vbmrktr.com
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