Can a startup afford a minimal viable product (MVP)?

A minimal viable product is very interesting to examine several hypotheses before introducing a product to the market. It may be a different story when a startup introduces a minimal viable product on the market.

Introducing a minimal viable product on the market can be risky. For example, the product may be limited, customer satisfaction is low, the brand has directly a poor image, poor financial results (debtors) etc.

A startup usually does not have the capacity, competences and financial resources to accelerate rapidly from a minimal viable product to a reliable product with more features and capabilities that can be made available to multiple customers. If the MVP really is "minimal" then the priority is most often on “damage control” and in a worst case scenario the startup may collapse.

Our startup, Innofication, did sufficient research for our product/solution, but the final product introduced to the market was far beyond a minimal viable product to mitigate risk.

How should you handle a MVP for the market introductions?

We are very curious about your opinion!