Every founder I work with has a feature list that's 3x too long for an MVP. That's not a criticism — it means they've thought deeply about their product. The problem is that building all of it takes 6 months and €40K, and they have 10 weeks and €12K.
The skill isn't cutting features. It's knowing which features to cut so the product still solves the core problem. Cut wrong and you ship something nobody wants to use. Cut right and you ship in 10 weeks, get real users, and learn what to build next.
Here's the framework I use, followed by 5 real examples.
The cut framework
Every feature gets one of three labels:
Must-have: Without this, the product doesn't solve the core problem. If you remove it, the first user on day 1 cannot complete the main workflow. Examples: user login, the core CRUD, payment processing (if the business model requires it).
Should-have: Makes the product better but isn't required for day 1. If you remove it, users can still complete the workflow — they just do it less efficiently. Examples: bulk operations, search/filter, dashboard analytics, email notifications.
Nice-to-have: Makes the product polished but doesn't affect whether the core problem gets solved. Examples: dark mode, custom theming, CSV export, multi-language support, admin audit logs.
The MVP ships must-haves and the 2–3 most impactful should-haves. Everything else goes to version 2.
The decision isn't "is this feature useful?" — almost every feature is useful. The decision is "does this feature need to exist before the first paying user touches the product?"
Example 1: Logistics dispatch SaaS
Full wish list (22 features): Job CRUD, state machine, driver management, zone management, dispatcher dashboard, admin dashboard, analytics, Google Maps integration, route optimization, payment integration, email notifications, SMS notifications, push notifications, audit log, CSV export, API for third-party integrations, driver mobile app, customer tracking link, proof-of-delivery photos, automated job assignment, multi-tenant support, custom branding.
What shipped in the MVP (10 weeks, €12K):
| Feature | Label | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Job CRUD + state machine | Must-have | Ship |
| Driver management | Must-have | Ship |
| Zone management | Must-have | Ship |
| Dispatcher dashboard | Must-have | Ship |
| Google Maps (driver locations) | Should-have | Ship — key differentiator |
| Payment (Stripe) | Should-have | Ship — needed for revenue |
| Admin dashboard + analytics | Should-have | Cut — founder runs SQL manually for 3 months |
| Email notifications | Should-have | Ship — minimal templates |
| Route optimization | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| SMS/push notifications | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Audit log | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| CSV export | Nice-to-have | Cut — added in month 2 (3 hours) |
| Third-party API | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Driver mobile app | Nice-to-have | Cut — drivers use mobile web |
| Customer tracking link | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Proof-of-delivery photos | Nice-to-have | Cut — added via buffer hours |
| Automated assignment | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Multi-tenant | Nice-to-have | Cut — single-tenant for v1 |
| Custom branding | Nice-to-have | Cut |
22 features → 8 shipped. Full cost breakdown of this project.
What the founder did manually: Ran analytics queries in Postgres directly. Sent SMS from their phone. Assigned jobs manually instead of using automation. None of these were pleasant — all of them were tolerable for 3 months.
Example 2: Online course marketplace
Full wish list: Course catalog, video hosting, progress tracking, quizzes, certificates, instructor dashboard, student dashboard, payment, subscriptions, coupons, affiliate tracking, reviews, community forum, live chat, email campaigns, mobile app.
What shipped (8 weeks, €9K):
| Feature | Label | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Course catalog + detail pages | Must-have | Ship |
| Video hosting (Mux embed) | Must-have | Ship |
| Progress tracking | Must-have | Ship |
| Payment (Stripe Checkout) | Must-have | Ship |
| Student dashboard | Must-have | Ship |
| Instructor dashboard | Should-have | Cut — instructor uploads via admin panel |
| Quizzes | Should-have | Cut — no assessment in v1 |
| Certificates | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Subscriptions | Should-have | Cut — one-time purchase only in v1 |
| Coupons | Should-have | Ship — 4 hours, Stripe native coupons |
| Reviews | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Forum / chat | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Email campaigns | Nice-to-have | Cut — manual Resend for announcements |
| Mobile app | Nice-to-have | Cut — responsive web |
| Affiliate tracking | Nice-to-have | Cut |
16 features → 6 shipped. The founder launched with 3 courses and validated demand before building subscriptions, quizzes, and certificates.
Example 3: Event ticketing platform
Full wish list: Seat selection, general admission, QR tickets, check-in scanner, payment, refunds, event management, venue management, analytics, email confirmations, waiting list, season passes, group bookings, accessibility seating, promo codes, resale marketplace, mobile app.
What shipped (12 weeks, €18K):
| Feature | Label | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Seat selection (interactive SVG map) | Must-have | Ship |
| General admission tickets | Must-have | Ship |
| QR ticket generation | Must-have | Ship |
| Check-in scanner (staff web app) | Must-have | Ship |
| Payment (Stripe) | Must-have | Ship |
| Event management (admin) | Must-have | Ship |
| Venue management | Must-have | Ship |
| Email confirmations | Should-have | Ship |
| Promo codes | Should-have | Ship — Stripe native |
| Analytics | Should-have | Cut — manual SQL for 2 months |
| Refunds | Should-have | Ship — manual Stripe refund, automated status update |
| Waiting list | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Season passes | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Group bookings | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Accessibility seating | Should-have | Ship — reserved section, not automated |
| Resale marketplace | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Mobile app | Nice-to-have | Cut — built later as E7 Shop |
17 features → 11 shipped. This MVP was larger because ticketing has more must-haves — you can't sell tickets without seat selection, QR codes, and a scanner. Full case study.
Example 4: Consulting firm client portal
Full wish list: Client login, document sharing, project timeline, invoicing, time tracking, team chat, video calls, task management, reporting, file versioning, e-signatures, client onboarding flow, white-label branding.
What shipped (6 weeks, €7K):
| Feature | Label | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Client login (invite-only) | Must-have | Ship |
| Document upload + download | Must-have | Ship |
| Project timeline (simple kanban) | Must-have | Ship |
| Invoicing | Should-have | Cut — use Stripe invoicing directly |
| File versioning | Should-have | Cut — re-upload overwrites, old versions gone |
| Reporting | Should-have | Cut |
| Team chat | Nice-to-have | Cut — use Slack |
| Video calls | Nice-to-have | Cut — use Google Meet |
| Task management | Nice-to-have | Cut — kanban covers it |
| E-signatures | Nice-to-have | Cut — use DocuSign separately |
| Time tracking | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Client onboarding | Nice-to-have | Cut — manual email invite |
| White-label | Nice-to-have | Cut |
13 features → 3 shipped. The most aggressive cut list — but the founder's real problem was "clients can't find their documents and we send too many emails." Login + document sharing + a timeline solved that.
Example 5: Niche e-commerce with custom products
Full wish list: Product catalog, product configurator (custom sizing), cart, checkout, payment, order management, shipping integration, inventory tracking, customer accounts, wishlists, reviews, loyalty points, gift cards, email marketing, size guide, return/exchange portal.
What shipped (9 weeks, €11K):
| Feature | Label | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Product catalog | Must-have | Ship |
| Product configurator | Must-have | Ship — key differentiator |
| Cart + checkout | Must-have | Ship |
| Payment (Stripe) | Must-have | Ship |
| Order management | Must-have | Ship |
| Customer accounts | Should-have | Ship — needed for order history |
| Email confirmations | Should-have | Ship |
| Size guide | Should-have | Ship — reduces returns |
| Shipping integration | Should-have | Cut — manual shipping label for v1 |
| Inventory tracking | Should-have | Cut — spreadsheet for v1 |
| Reviews | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Wishlists | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Loyalty / gift cards | Nice-to-have | Cut |
| Email marketing | Nice-to-have | Cut — Mailchimp separately |
| Return portal | Nice-to-have | Cut — manual email process |
16 features → 8 shipped. The configurator was non-negotiable — it was the entire value proposition. Everything else was trimmed around it.
The pattern across all five
-
Must-haves are obvious. In every project, the must-have list was clear within the first hour of the scoping call. If you can't identify must-haves quickly, the problem statement isn't crisp enough.
-
The fight is in should-haves. This is where scope creep lives. Each should-have adds 8–20 hours. Three extra should-haves = €2K–€4K and 2 extra weeks. The scoping post covers this in detail.
-
Manual work replaces nice-to-haves. Analytics → SQL queries. Email campaigns → Mailchimp. Invoicing → Stripe dashboard. The real MVP question is: what work are you willing to do manually?
-
The cut list becomes the roadmap. Every feature you cut is a candidate for v2. After launch, usage data tells you which cut features users actually need — often different from what the founder expected.
-
One feature is sacred. Each project had one non-negotiable feature that justified the entire build: the dispatch state machine, the seat map, the product configurator. If your MVP doesn't have that one thing, you're building a commodity.
Need help deciding what stays and what gets cut? Book a scoping call — I'll walk through your feature list and give you the must/should/nice breakdown with hours and cost for each.