The solution was a learning sequence that matched product investment to the uncertainty being tested. ¹

WorkedDid not

Initial mechanism

SMS ordering

Full app first

Testing context

Internal pilot, then cafés

One context only

User choices

Coffee, café, pick-up time

No richer flow

Evidence

Orders and revenue

Assumptions without measures

FastCafé first tested viability through SMS, generating around 20 orders in one week. ¹ Only after that did the team invest in an HTML-based mobile application that let users pick a coffee, café, and pick-up time. ¹ The sequence made the product richer when the learning need became richer.

The second MVP extended the test into a real café setting. FastCafé collaborated with 4 cafés over 3 days and captured approximately $700 in orders. ¹ The team then used early metrics to refine interface and business model assumptions. ¹ This is a practical model for scope control: keep the first build small, measure the behaviour, and expand only where the next experiment can produce better evidence.

FastCafé’s first MVP used SMS to test coffee ordering