An MVP that takes twelve months defeats its own purpose: by the time you finish, the market has moved and the hypotheses have gone stale. Ninety days is enough — if you cut in the right places.
What fits into 90 days
One main scenario that creates value (an order, a booking, a calculation), sign-in, one key integration and an admin for managing data. Weeks 1–2: discovery and prototype. Weeks 3–11: development with a demo every Friday. Weeks 12–13: deployment, analytics, handover. Budget €42,000–68,000.
What does not belong in an MVP
Multiple languages if you sell in one market. A mobile app if the web is enough. Five permission roles when ten people will use the system for the first six months. Each of these is a legitimate phase two — in phase one it just postpones the day you learn the truth from users.
The hardest part of a 90-day MVP is not the code. It is the discipline to say “not this, not now” — and for that you need a vendor who can push back, not nod along.