Learn before building a full product
Imagine opening a food stall before committing to a restaurant. Customers can try the food, and the owners can learn whether people want it, what they will pay, and what confuses them.
An MVP works the same way. It offers just enough to test the biggest uncertainty with real users. “Viable” means it must still be useful and credible enough for their behaviour to teach the team something.
Minimum depends on the question
An MVP might use a manual service behind a simple interface instead of a fully automated platform. It is not necessarily the first public release, and it still needs to be safe and accessible. A good MVP names the assumption being tested, the people it is for, and the decision the team will make with the results.