How to Build an MVP in the AI Coding Era

Dalton + Michael revisit the classic startup advice around building an MVP and update it for the AI coding era. When building features with Claude Code or Codex is easy, its easy to make something with a ton of features that is bloated and not what people want. A good MVP is just as much about what *not* to build as it is what to build. Remember: don't stop talking to users no matter how tempting it might be. Dalton + Michael is brought to you by @Standard_Cap Sign up for the StandardDB MVP that Dalton references here: https://www.standarddb.com/ Dalton Caldwell on X: https://x.com/daltonc Michael Seibel on X: https://x.com/mwseibel

Michael SeibelhostDalton Caldwellhost

May 18, 202612mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: May 18, 2026
Duration: 12m
Channel: Dalton + Michael
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Dalton + Michael revisit the classic startup advice around building an MVP and update it for the AI coding era. When building features with Claude Code or Codex is easy, its easy to make something with a ton of features that is bloated and not what people want. A good MVP is just as much about what *not* to build as it is what to build. Remember: don't stop talking to users no matter how tempting it might be. Dalton + Michael is brought to you by @Standard_Cap Sign up for the StandardDB MVP that Dalton references here: https://www.standarddb.com/ Dalton Caldwell on X: https://x.com/daltonc Michael Seibel on X: https://x.com/mwseibel

SPEAKERS

Michael Seibel
host
Managing Partner at Y Combinator and startup founder/executive (Justin.tv/Socialcam).
Dalton Caldwell
host
Managing Partner at Y Combinator and entrepreneur (founder of App.net).

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Dalton + Michael, featuring Michael Seibel and Dalton Caldwell, How to Build an MVP in the AI Coding Era explores building MVPs with AI means editing ruthlessly, not shipping more AI coding makes feature creation so fast that founders can accidentally build bloated MVPs in days, requiring aggressive cutting to regain clarity.

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