Build the Right Thing
First. Not Everything.
MVP Development from $8,000

A startup MVP costs $6,000 to $25,000 with CV Infotech at $30 per hour, depending on the product type. A simple mobile MVP (5-8 screens, basic backend) costs $8,400 to $18,000 and takes 8 to 12 weeks. A web app MVP (SaaS dashboard with API) costs $6,000 to $15,000 and takes 6 to 10 weeks. A cross-platform MVP on Flutter or React Native costs $12,000 to $25,000. An AI-integrated MVP with GPT, embeddings, or a RAG system costs $15,000 to $35,000. These are development costs — hosting, third-party API costs, and app store fees are separate.

An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is a working version of your product with only the core features needed to test your main hypothesis with real users. Building an MVP before a full product is the right decision for most startups because: it reduces initial investment by 40 to 60%, gets you to real user feedback 3 to 6 months faster, and lets you validate your assumptions before spending on features nobody uses. Most successful software products — including AI platforms we have built — started as focused MVPs that grew based on real usage data.

A focused MVP takes 6 to 16 weeks depending on the product type. A simple web app MVP takes 6 to 10 weeks. A mobile MVP takes 8 to 14 weeks. A cross-platform MVP (iOS and Android together) takes 10 to 16 weeks. A full-stack MVP combining web and mobile takes 14 to 22 weeks. These timelines assume a clear brief and product definition at project start. Vague requirements or frequent scope changes extend timelines by 30 to 50%.

Build a web app first if your users are primarily desktop or laptop users (B2B SaaS, productivity tools, dashboards). Build mobile first if your product's core value is delivered on the go (consumer apps, delivery, bookings, fitness). Build both simultaneously only if your business model requires it — this is the most expensive path and usually unnecessary for an MVP. Most startups validate on one platform first, then expand. A web app MVP is typically 20 to 30% less expensive than an equivalent mobile MVP and faster to iterate on.

Your idea is ready to build when you can answer three questions: (1) Who specifically is the user, described in enough detail to find 20 of them today? (2) What specific problem does the app solve for them, and what do they currently use instead? (3) Why would they change their current behaviour to use your app? If you cannot answer all three, spend 2 to 4 weeks on validation first — a landing page test, user interviews, or a manual process that mimics the app. Building before you can answer these questions is the most common cause of expensive, unused MVPs.

For web apps and SaaS products: Next.js (React) is the most common choice in 2026 — full-stack, strong SEO, large ecosystem. For mobile apps: Flutter for cross-platform if your team does not have existing JavaScript expertise. React Native if your team already works in JavaScript or if you have an existing React web app to share code with. For AI-integrated products: Python backend (FastAPI or Flask) with a JavaScript frontend. The technology choice should be driven by your team's expertise, your hiring plans, and your product's specific requirements — not by what is currently trending.

In the MVP: the one core user workflow that solves the primary problem. User authentication if required. Basic notifications. App store-ready stability. In the MVP only if it is core to the value proposition: payment processing, real-time features, AI integration. Wait until after launch: social features, gamification, advanced analytics dashboards, multiple user roles, admin panels beyond basic needs, integrations with third-party systems. The discipline of defining 'in' and 'out' before development starts is what separates a focused, launchable MVP from a never-shipping product that adds features indefinitely.

Pre-revenue startups typically work with CV Infotech on a fixed-scope, fixed-price model — you know the full cost before work starts. We produce a written scope document covering every deliverable and excluded item before any payment. Payment is staged (30% to start, 40% at mid-point, 30% on delivery) to align with your funding cycles. We recommend building the smallest scope that can be launched and tested, then returning for Phase 2 based on real user data. We have worked with pre-revenue founders from Australia, the UK, and the US.

Yes. Funded startups (pre-seed to Series A) often work with CV Infotech as their core development team during the build phase, before they are ready to hire in-house. The model: we build the MVP and initial traction features, the founder uses the product to raise or grow revenue, and then they hire in-house developers to take over — or they continue with us as a long-term partner. Steven, our longest-running client, started with a focused MVP in 2019 and continues to work with us as the product has evolved significantly.

Yes. CV Infotech builds AI-integrated applications using OpenAI, Anthropic, and open-source models. Common AI MVP patterns: GPT-powered assistant or chatbot integrated into a product, document processing with embeddings and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), image analysis or classification pipelines, and recommendation systems. UltimaBot and UltimaWriter — AI SaaS platforms we have maintained since 2019 — are examples of AI products built and evolved continuously by our team.

After launch, most startups work with CV Infotech on one of two models: time-and-materials for ongoing feature development (you prioritise, we build, we invoice against actual hours), or a monthly retainer for a dedicated part-time team. We include 30 days of post-launch support in every project for issues in the delivered build. Ongoing development is scoped in Phases — Phase 1 is the MVP, Phase 2 adds features based on user data, Phase 3 addresses scale. We recommend not planning Phase 3 until Phase 1 has real users.

Three differences: We publish our rate ($30/hour — US agencies charge $100 to $200 for the same work). Our team is 100% in-house — no subcontractors, no freelancers, your code stays within our team. We have built and maintained AI SaaS platforms since 2019 — we are not a startup development agency that builds MVPs and moves on; we are still with our longest-running clients after 6+ years. 512 verified 5.0 reviews on Freelancer.com and 35 verified 5.0 reviews on Clutch confirm this over 14 years.