Mobile MVPs fail in two directions. Too little — a prototype that can't be meaningfully tested because it doesn't do enough. Too much — a version one that took six months and consumed the seed budget without answering whether anyone wants it. The difference is scope discipline: being precise about what question version one needs to answer, and building exactly enough to answer it.
The Anatomy of a Well-Scoped Mobile MVP
One primary user journey, completed end-to-end. Authentication that works — Supabase handles this cleanly with built-in auth, consistent regardless of how many frontend clients you add later. A backend that doesn't need replacing — Supabase on PostgreSQL costs almost nothing at MVP scale and scales to enterprise workloads without replacement. Push notifications built from the start. Analytics to answer the core question — event tracking on the core user journey, completion rates, return usage.
Architecture Decisions That Determine Future Flexibility
Backend: Supabase over proprietary backends — PostgreSQL is portable and scalable. Automation: n8n for any workflow logic running outside the app. Data model: design for the product you're building, not just MVP features. API layer: design a clean API between the mobile frontend and Supabase from day one — adding a web frontend later requires no backend changes.
A Real-World Breakdown: Luis's Logistics App
Luis is building a last-mile delivery platform for independent courier companies in Portugal and Spain. We scoped the MVP around one journey: driver receives a job, confirms acceptance, navigates to pickup, marks collected, navigates to delivery, captures signature, marks complete. Backend: Supabase with a schema designed to support the dispatcher view (v2) and client tracking portal (v3). Automation: n8n handling job assignment and status notifications. Frontend: React Native connecting to Supabase via API. Build time: fourteen weeks for the driver MVP. Dispatcher web app added in Bubble six weeks later. Client tracking portal in Webstudio.is four weeks after that. Total: six months from first conversation to three-sided platform — because the backend was designed correctly from day one.
What to Leave Out of Version One
In-app chat, complex reporting dashboards, multi-language support, advanced permission systems, and payment processing — unless payments are the core value mechanism — should all be deferred. Version one isn't a finished product. It's an instrument for learning.
