Daily Prompt Pack: MVP scoping – Cut your build to the three features that actually prove the idea

Most MVPs die from overbuilding, not underbuilding. Here is the scoping loop I run before writing a line of code: name the riskiest assumption, pick the fewest features that test it, and delete everything else. Use these three prompts to cut your build down to what matters.

[Claude]

I’m building a paid event check-in tool for small venues and I suspect the real risk is whether owners will trust the QR scanning, not the reporting. Given that assumption, list the minimum feature set (max 3) that would let me test it with 5 real venues in 2 weeks. Output as a table: feature, what it proves, what I explicitly cut and why.

[ChatGPT]

Act as a skeptical product reviewer. My MVP proposal is an invoicing app with payments, recurring billing, and client portals. My riskiest assumption is that freelancers will adopt it for the payment link alone. Given that, reduce the scope to the smallest build that validates adoption, then give me a 1-page cut list showing each removed feature and the risk it would have added.

[Cursor]

I have a Django repo for a job-board MVP with 14 models. I only need to validate that employers will post one listing and pay for it. Refactor the app to keep just the listing model, a minimal auth, and a Stripe checkout. Delete or comment out everything else, then output a summary of which models you removed and why each is safe to cut now.

Full archive at aicofounderstack.com/tag/prompt-pack.