Design MVP to Ten Letters of Intent
Design MVP led to ten signed letters of intent; a scoped v1 shipped with a clear business plan and ROI framing.
The challenge
A new portfolio product needed traction evidence before a heavy build — and the investor needed a defensible ROI story tied to real buyer intent, not internal optimism.
Portfolio expansions often fail when engineering starts from assumed requirements. This team had channel access and brand trust but weak signal on which buyer persona would adopt first, which jobs-to-be-done the new product had to win in year one, and what minimum capability would unlock budget. The investor rightly asked for evidence of pull before underwriting a larger roadmap. Without a disciplined MVP-in-design and a repeatable way to capture and rank buyer feedback, every sprint risked building the wrong slice of the roadmap — and LOIs would stay anecdotal instead of structured commercial proof.
The system
Decision system built
We treated the early phase as a decision system for what to build next: a design MVP (experience, narrative, and demo assets) built specifically for discovery — not feature parity with a competitor. Workshops and interview guides aligned sales, product, and leadership on hypotheses to test each week. Feedback was synthesised into ranked problem–solution fit signals and a thin backlog tied to revenue and retention logic. That motion produced ten letters of intent from named accounts under agreed assumptions (scope, timeline, commercial framing), which became the backbone of an investor-facing ROI model and business plan. A subsequent build phase scoped v1 to honour those commitments while cutting everything that had not earned evidence in discovery.
System components
Design MVP: clickable or high-fidelity narrative prototype aligned to the highest-value buyer journey, not a kitchen-sink demo
Discovery operating system: interview scripts, scoring rubrics, and weekly synthesis so learning compounded instead of dissipating in notes
Buyer and use-case prioritisation matrix: explicit ranking of segments to pursue for LOIs versus those parked until v2
LOI template and commercial framing: mutual clarity on intent, constraints, and what 'success' means before engineering locks scope
Investor pack linkage: traceability from each LOI theme to roadmap line items, cost assumptions, and revenue timing in the business plan
Scoped v1 delivery plan: ship list derived from LOI-backed requirements with explicit deferrals documented for the board or investor
How we worked
Engagement scope
Design MVP and assets, buyer discovery programme, LOI facilitation and synthesis, roadmap and v1 scope for build, investor-aligned business plan and ROI storyline support alongside the client leadership team.
Timeline
Discovery and LOI motion over a concentrated period; v1 build sequenced immediately after intent crystallised, with milestones aligned to investor reporting.
Operating model
Joint core team with enterprise stakeholders; Ravon accountable for discovery rigour, artefact quality, and traceability from buyer evidence to build and investor narrative — client accountable for account access and commercial sign-off.
Outcomes
Business impact & measurable results
Design MVP led to ten signed letters of intent; a scoped v1 shipped with a clear business plan and ROI framing.
Ten letters of intent from buyers the team agreed were in-scope — converting abstract pipeline into documented intent ahead of full build
Faster path to product–market fit signals by forcing build decisions through validated problems rather than internal feature voting
Investor received a coherent ROI narrative: evidence of demand, a scoped product, and a plan that matched what buyers had already endorsed
Reduced waste: features that failed discovery tests were cut or deferred with rationale, protecting engineering morale and margin
Sales and product shared one language for what v1 must deliver — shrinking rework after launch
Governance
Trust, collaboration & governance
LOI definitions and limitations stated plainly — no inflated counts from non-binding casual emails
Investor materials distinguished between validated v1 scope and roadmap optionality
Buyer anonymity and confidentiality preserved in any public-facing case narrative
Explicit deferral list so post-LOI scope creep is visible and governed
Reframe
A design MVP is not a smaller product — it's a faster way to decide what the product must be.
Across every engagement, the goal is the same: engineer a system that makes better decisions — faster, more consistently, and at scale — than the process it replaces.
Start a discovery
Most engagements begin with a conversation about context.
We do not send a proposal before we understand the problem. Start by telling us about your decision context — we will identify the highest-leverage intervention areas before any scope is agreed.