Prototypes vs. Building: Save 80% on Validation

Ever been told you need to “build an MVP“ right away? Here’s a secret: you might be skipping the most important step that could save you thousands of dollars and months of headaches.

Let me tell you about a founder I worked with. She had this amazing idea for a photo management app. She was so excited that she jumped straight into building it. Six months and $80,000 later, she realized users didn’t actually want the fancy signup process she’d spent all that time creating. Ouch.

What if she could have learned that lesson for just $15,000 instead?

That’s the magic of prototypes. Think of them like making a really detailed movie trailer before filming the actual movie. You get to see if people are interested without spending millions on production.

What’s a Prototype Anyway?

A prototype is like a clickable blueprint of your product. It looks real, it feels real, but there’s no actual code behind it. It’s built in tools like Figma (basically fancy drawing software that makes your ideas look like real apps).

The best part? A prototype typically costs about 20% of what actual building costs. So if someone quotes you $100,000 to build your product, you could get a working prototype for around $15,000-$20,000.

Why Prototypes Are Your Secret Weapon

1. They’re Fast

Building real software takes months. A solid prototype? Usually just 4-8 weeks. That means you can test your ideas way faster and make changes without rewriting a bunch of code.

2. Changes Don’t Cost a Fortune

With a prototype, moving a button or completely redesigning a page takes minutes, not days. Once something is built with actual code, even tiny changes can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. With a prototype, you can try ten different versions until you get it right.

3. Everyone Gets on the Same Page

Ever tried explaining your vision to a developer and ended up with something totally different? Prototypes fix that problem. When everyone can see and click through exactly what you want, there’s no confusion. Your engineering team knows what to build, investors understand what you’re making, and your team stops having endless debates about how things should work.

4. Users Give You Real Feedback

Here’s the thing: people don’t always know what they want until they can actually see it and touch it. With a prototype, you can show potential customers your product and watch how they use it. Do they get confused on page three? Do they love that feature you weren’t sure about? You’ll find out before spending a penny on development.

One of my clients used a prototype to discover that their main feature—the one they were most excited about—was actually confusing their users. They redesigned it before building anything. Imagine if they’d built the whole product first!

The Difference Between a Prototype and an MVP

I get this question all the time: “Isn’t a prototype the same as an MVP?”

Nope! Think of it this way:

A prototype is like a detailed movie set. It looks perfect, but if you tried to actually live in those houses, you’d realize they’re just facades with no real walls or plumbing.

An MVP is like a tiny, basic apartment. It’s real, it works, and you can actually live in it—even if it’s not fancy yet.

A prototype can’t process real data or handle actual users. An MVP can, but it only does the absolute minimum your product needs to work.

When Should You Build a Prototype First?

Pretty much always! But especially when:

• You’re not 100% sure what users want

• You need to convince investors or partners

• Your product is complicated and hard to explain

• You want to avoid building features nobody will use

• You’re working with limited budget (and who isn’t?)

The Smart Way to Use Prototypes

Here’s my recommended approach:

Step 1: Build a high-quality prototype that looks and feels real

Step 2: Show it to potential customers and watch them use it

Step 3: Make changes based on what you learned

Step 4: Repeat steps 2-3 until people love it

Step 5: NOW build the real thing with actual code

Following this process, you’ll know exactly what to build, and you won’t waste money on features people don’t care about.

What Makes a Good Prototype?

Not all prototypes are created equal. You want what we call a “high-fidelity prototype”—fancy words that mean it looks professional and works smoothly. Users should be able to click around and feel like they’re using a real product.

A good prototype includes:

• Real-looking design (not rough sketches)

• Clickable buttons that go to the right places

• Content that makes sense (not just “lorem ipsum” placeholder text)

• Smooth transitions between screens

• The main features users will interact with most

The Secret Bonus Nobody Talks About

Here’s something cool: that prototype you build isn’t just for testing. You can use it everywhere!

Think about it. You can show it in pitch decks to investors. You can demo it in meetings (even though nothing’s actually working behind the scenes—they’ll never know!). You can put screenshots in your marketing materials. You can even let potential customers “test drive” it to build up excitement.

This means you can build an audience BEFORE you launch.

Most founders do it backwards. They spend months building in secret, then launch and... crickets. Nobody knows about their product yet, so they have to start building interest from zero.

But with a prototype, you’re generating buzz while you’re still building the real thing. By the time you actually launch, you’ve already got a list of people waiting to use it. Some of my clients even get customers to prepay for early access based on the prototype alone!

Imagine launching your product to hundreds of excited people who’ve been waiting for it, instead of launching to an empty room. That’s the power of starting with a prototype.

The Bottom Line

Look, I get it. When you’re excited about your idea, you want to start building right away. But trust me on this one: spending a few weeks and a fraction of the cost on a prototype first will save you so much pain later.

Remember that founder with the photo app? If she’d started with a prototype, she could have tested that fancy signup process with real users first. She would have learned it wasn’t working and pivoted before spending $80,000. Instead, she’s now starting over with barely any budget left.

Don’t be that founder.

Start with a prototype. Test it with real people. Learn what works and what doesn’t. Then build the real thing knowing you’re creating something people actually want.

Your bank account will thank you. Your investors will thank you. And most importantly, your future users will thank you by actually using what you build.

Coming Next Week: Realistic Tech Budgeting for Business Leaders - Why most tech estimates are way off and how to plan better.