Case study

FAST PARTY - Concept → MVP (Initial Product Manager)

An event planning app built to make it easy to create an event, invite people, track RSVPs, and coordinate logistics in one place.

0→1ConsumerEventsMVP

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TL;DR

What it is: An event planning app built to make it easy to create an event, invite people, track RSVPs, and coordinate logistics in one place. Public site: fastparty.ai.
My role: Initial Product Manager from concept → MVP (I did not own post-MVP evolution).
Target users (MVP): Friends/weekend hangouts and corporate gatherings.
Primary MVP success metric: Activation (a user reaches the "aha" moment and becomes an active planner/host).

Context

Event planning fails when coordination is scattered across chats, spreadsheets, and forgotten tasks. FAST PARTY started with a simple goal: turn "planning chaos" into a guided, lightweight flow so a host can go from idea → invite → coordination quickly.

For the MVP, we prioritized the highest-frequency use cases: Friends/weekend hangouts (quick planning, fast invites, lightweight coordination) and Corporate gatherings (structured planning, clarity on attendees and tasks).

What the product does

My scope (Concept → MVP)

Problem framing and user journey definition
MVP scope and prioritization
Workflow and UX requirements
Delivery coordination with design and engineering
Early feedback loops to validate activation
(Everything beyond MVP is outside my ownership - e.g., "Circles" shipped later.)

MVP capabilities

Create an event: name, date/time, location, basic details
Invite guests: shareable invite link and simple RSVP capture
Track RSVPs: host visibility into who's in/out/maybe
Coordination layer: lightweight updates/announcements and shared context
Task assignment (where needed): distribute responsibilities to keep execution smooth (especially for corporate events)

Feature highlights

Core (MVP scope)

Guided event creation → shareable invite
RSVP collection + visibility
Simple coordination in one place (reduce back-and-forth)
Lightweight task ownership (useful for corporate planning)

Deliberate "not in MVP"

Deep community/group constructs like Circles (added later)
Payments and vendor marketplace flows
Heavy design customization or complex planning modules

Key decisions

Optimize for activation, not completeness

Tradeoff: build lots of planning features vs deliver one clear "aha". Prioritized the smallest end-to-end loop that proves value quickly.

Outcome: Faster learning, clearer feedback, and a product that users can adopt in minutes.

Ship the full loop (create → invite → RSVP → coordinate)

Tradeoff: partial features vs end-to-end success. Ensured users can complete the entire planning loop in the MVP.

Outcome: Better activation signal because value is experienced, not just promised.

Keep it lightweight for hangouts, structured enough for corporate

Tradeoff: one-size-fits-all vs over-specialization. Designed flows that stay simple for friends while supporting ownership and clarity for corporate events (tasks, updates).

Outcome: Broader MVP usefulness without bloating scope.

Impact

MVP goal

Activation (create → invite → engage)

Friction reduction

Centralized RSVPs and updates

Foundation

Designed to expand into richer group/event constructs (e.g., Circles)

Collaboration

Engineering (feasibility, delivery, iteration speed)
Design (guided flow, low cognitive load, clarity of CTA/steps)
Early users/stakeholders (feedback loops to validate activation)

See resume →