Startups
December 28, 2025
9 min read
The No-Overengineering Guide to AI MVPs
How to ship an AI MVP fast without drowning in toolchains, frameworks, and architecture fantasies that delay real outcomes.
Most AI MVPs fail for a boring reason.
They never ship.
The idea is exciting. The demo looks great. Then the build turns into a monster. People stack LangChain on top of agents on top of vector databases on top of tools they barely need. Weeks pass and the product becomes a research project.
The best AI MVPs are built around one outcome.
One job to be done.
One clear user moment where the AI creates value.
Start with the simplest workflow. A form input. A model call. A structured output. A clean UI. Then connect the dots with automation. When you have real usage you can justify complexity.
Most successful AI startups are not winning by having the most sophisticated pipeline.
They are winning by removing friction.
Speed is a feature.
Clarity is a feature.
Reliability is a feature.
Overengineering feels safe.
Shipping is what actually is.