September 27, 2026
The Manual MVP: How to Get Paid Before You Write Code
How to sell a B2B product before you build it, and when to stop doing it by hand.
Prefer to read? The full guide is below.
Definition
A Manual MVP is a B2B product delivered by hand, with AI tools, to paying customers before any custom code is written. The term is used by Matt Ainsworth and The Lean CPTO as the first step of the Sell as you build method.
Yes, you can sell a B2B product before you build it. A manual MVP (also called a concierge or Wizard of Oz MVP) is you, a one-page website, a payment link and AI doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes. You sell the outcome, deliver it by hand to your first three to ten customers, and only build software for the steps that keep repeating once people are paying.
Proof it works: Tracksuit
Tracksuit, a brand-tracking startup from New Zealand, pre-sold its product to 11 companies at $10K each before a single line of code was written. The founders then ran the business on customer revenue for 20 months before raising any institutional money.
They later raised a $6.8M seed round (2023), a $20.5M Series A (2024) and a US$25M (A$38M) Series B (2025), at a reported A$400M valuation. You don’t need to become Tracksuit. The point is that selling first is not a shortcut for small ideas. It’s how some very big companies started.
Flip the order: sell it, build it, grow it
The old startup playbook says: find a CTO or tech co-founder, build the MVP, raise money, then go and find customers. That playbook was written for technical founders backed by investors. Today, investors want to see traction first, and AI has made building much easier. What AI hasn’t solved is knowing what to sell, what to build and who will pay. That’s a business skill, and non-technical founders usually have more of it than any developer.
So flip the order:
- Sell it. Validate by asking for money. You end up with either a prepaid pilot or a clear no.
- Build it. Build only what that paying pilot actually needs.
- Grow it. Turn your first customers into a case study and referrals, and grow through one channel with a 90-day plan.
Why building first is risky
If you build first, the product is shaped by your guesses and assumptions about how it should work, what value it delivers and what outcome buyers want. Two things make that worse:
- AI-generated code can be messy. It’s fast, but it can be insecure and hard to scale, and you still have no buyer.
- Developer quotes tend to grow. Estimates for new products are hard to stick to, and unforeseen problems keep pushing the cost up.
What is a manual MVP?
A manual MVP looks like a product to the customer, but behind the scenes it’s you making it happen. It has four parts:
You
The face of the offer, and the one delivering it behind the scenes.
A one-page site
The problem, your solution, the outcome, the price and how to pay.
A payment link
Through Stripe or PayPal, so buyers can pay for the pilot.
AI backstage
Spreadsheets, email and an AI assistant doing the heavy lifting.
Manual MVP vs concierge MVP vs Wizard of Oz MVP
A Manual MVP is the concierge MVP, delivered by hand with AI, for B2B. All three test demand before you write code. The difference is what the customer sees and what they pay for.
| Concierge MVP | Wizard of Oz MVP | Manual MVP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the customer sees | A person delivering the service openly | What looks like working software | A clear offer and outcome, delivered by you |
| What happens behind the scenes | You do the work by hand | People do the work the “software” claims to do | You do the work, with AI and simple tools |
| Do they pay? | Sometimes | Sometimes | Always. A paid pilot is the point |
| Best for | Learning what customers need | Testing a product experience | Non-technical B2B founders getting a first paying customer |
| What it leads to | Insight | Insight | Revenue, a case study, and a clear list of what to build |
The 3-question test
Not every idea fits a manual MVP. For a B2B offer, ask yourself:
- Will a business pay for the outcome, not the software? If you sell a result you deliver, rather than a tool they use inside their business, you control what happens behind the scenes.
- Can you deliver it by hand for your first three to ten customers? Do you have the time, the skills and the tools to make it work with no code on day one?
- If you get it wrong, can you fix it without serious harm? To you, your reputation, or your customer’s business.
Three yeses is a good sign you can start exploring a manual MVP. Any no? Check the sector table next.
Which sectors work by hand?
| Sector | Works by hand | Watch out | Red line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consulting | Audits, diagnostics, reporting | Drifting into custom work | Licensed advice |
| Recruitment and HR | Shortlisting, interviews, onboarding | Candidate data privacy | Employment law decisions |
| Sales and marketing | Lead lists, content, outreach | Promising results you can’t control | Spam and scraping rules |
| Operations | Scheduling, quotes, coordination | Volume you can’t keep up with | Safety-critical steps |
| Finance | Reconciliations, bookkeeping, dashboards | Access to client accounts | Holding client money |
| Health | Admin, bookings, content | Anything clinical | Diagnosis or treatment |
Red lines: build properly first
Don’t run these by hand. They usually need proper software, testing, and sometimes a licence before you go to market:
Disclaimer: these are general examples, not legal advice. Always check the local laws, regulations and licences in your applicable market(s) before you sell or deliver anything.
When to stop doing it by hand
- By hand, with AI helping. Deliver for your first customers, with AI speeding up reports and admin.
- Automate what repeats. Start with the steps that are the most repetitive and the most time-consuming, using tools like Zapier or Make before custom code.
- If it needs AI, get the customer to pay for it. AI usage (tokens) can get expensive, so understand the cost and build it into your price.
- Bring in a developer when revenue takes off. Then you can keep doing the founder sales, content and referrals.
What growth actually looks like
A buyer conversation every day.
A payment ask every week.
A build decision every month.
That rhythm is the core of Sell as you build, our program for non-technical B2B founders: sell a paid pilot first, build only what it needs, then grow through one channel.
Can you sell it before you build it?
Take the free Manual MVP Check: 5 questions, 2 minutes. You’ll score green, amber or red, then see what works by hand in your sector.
Get the free Manual MVP Check See Sell as you buildFrequently asked questions
What is a manual MVP?
A manual MVP is a version of your product that you deliver by hand, using a simple landing page, a payment link and tools like spreadsheets and an AI assistant, instead of custom software. It’s also called a concierge MVP or a Wizard of Oz MVP.
Can you really sell a B2B product before building it?
Yes. Tracksuit pre-sold $110K to 11 companies before writing any code. B2B buyers pay for outcomes, so if you can deliver the outcome by hand, you can sell it before the software exists.
Do I need a CTO or technical co-founder first?
No. You don’t need one to sell your first pilot or to deliver a manual MVP. Once you have paying customers, you’re in a much stronger position to hire a developer or attract a technical co-founder.
When should I start building software?
When a step in your delivery repeats often, takes a lot of time and customers are already paying for it. Automate that step first, and bring in a developer once revenue is growing.
Which ideas should not use a manual MVP?
Anything that needs a licence, handles other people’s money, gives financial, legal or medical advice, or processes sensitive personal data. Check the local rules in your market.
Related guides
- Stuck at 80%: what to do when your AI-built app stops working
- The Paid Pilot playbook
- How much should an MVP cost in 2026?
- Is your AI-built app safe to sell?
Video chapters
- 0:00 How Tracksuit pre-sold $110K
- 1:19 Free Manual MVP Check
- 2:07 Who I am
- 3:08 Sell it, build it, grow it
- 4:32 Why building first is risky
- 5:19 What is a manual MVP?
- 6:42 The 3-question test
- 8:15 Which sectors work by hand
- 9:41 Red lines
- 10:24 When to stop doing it by hand
- 12:07 What growth looks like
- 12:47 Next step
Sources: Forbes Australia (pre-sales and bootstrapping), Startup Daily (seed), Mi3 (Series A), Startup Daily and Tracksuit (Series B and valuation).
About the author
Matt Ainsworth is the founder of The Lean CPTO. He has spent 20+ years across product, tech, sales, marketing and comms in Australia and Japan, including nearly a decade in Tokyo, and has mentored founders for more than 10 years, working on both sides of the developer relationship.