Most MVP conversations do turn into framework and AI speed talk, and that usually means the hard question was skipped. Faster at what, exactly?

The version that works for us is to treat the first release as one problem with a measurable outcome, for example that a new user can book and pay in under two minutes. Everything else stays on a later list. That also makes quotes comparable, because a team can price one defined outcome far more accurately than a six-month wishlist compressed into six weeks.

When a founder insists three features are all equally essential, how do you usually force the cut?