"Love Will Forgive You Everything" but… "The whole point is that two want it at the same time." Entering the market with a product that users will immediately love is much more difficult than the classic MVP path, but this is the only way to gain market share today. What truly makes a product meet criteria of Minimum Loveable Product, and to what extent are they consistent with the classic MVP concept? This perspective is based on my experience working on a startup within a large organization.
Watch this WaysConf session, then continue with related talks or explore the current programme.
A minimum lovable product adds a deliberate emotional reason to choose, remember, and recommend a product without abandoning the discipline of a small first release. The talk contrasts a merely functional MVP with products that feel complete, distinctive, and coherent through details such as language, brand personality, onboarding, packaging, and service. It argues that love cannot be bolted on as decoration: teams must decide what their singular “lovable factor” is, keep the experience simple, and accept that stronger affection can also create stronger rejection.
A small release can still contain one memorable quality that gives people an emotional reason to prefer it over equally functional alternatives.
Watch from 3:24Reducing scope should not leave the chosen customer journey feeling unfinished; simplicity works when the remaining experience is coherent from end to end.
Watch from 3:24Naming, sorting labels, microcopy, and small surprises can express a product’s personality without adding a large feature set.
Watch from 6:04Installation aids, packaging, instructions, and other operational details can become part of what customers value and remember.
Watch from 11:19A distinctive product will not be loved by everyone, so teams should define whose enthusiasm matters instead of optimizing for universal neutrality.
Watch from 14:05These concise notes were edited from automatic captions and checked against the talk structure. They are not a verbatim transcript.
Lean product thinking helped teams reduce risk after the excesses of the early internet economy, but viability alone does not explain why someone chooses one adequate product over another. The missing layer is a focused emotional benefit: a small release should solve the job and also contain one quality that feels intentional, human, and worth remembering.
Watch from 1:01A minimum lovable product is not a larger MVP. It narrows the experience, then makes that selected experience feel whole. The challenge is to remove breadth without creating a visibly incomplete journey. A simple object can feel excellent when its purpose, form, and behavior align and there is no accidental friction around the core promise.
Watch from 3:24Lovability can emerge through language rather than expensive functionality. A sorting label, feature name, illustration, or piece of microcopy can signal who the product is for and how it sees the world. These choices work best when they reinforce the product’s main promise instead of appearing as unrelated jokes or decorative flourishes.
Watch from 6:04Customers judge the entire path to value, including setup, instructions, packaging, and recovery from mistakes. A well-designed template or installation aid may take little engineering effort, yet it can make the customer feel that the company anticipated their situation. That practical act of care becomes part of the product experience.
Watch from 11:19Products that inspire loyalty also give people something definite to reject. Trying to remove every polarizing quality usually produces a bland experience with no advocates. Teams should choose the audience whose enthusiasm supports the product, understand the cost of that choice, and build a consistent signature rather than chasing universal approval.
Watch from 14:05
