Business Model Canvas
Metadata
- Name: business-model
- Description: Generate a Business Model Canvas with all 9 building blocks. Use when creating a business model, documenting how a business creates value, or analyzing an existing business model.
- Triggers: business model canvas, BMC, business model, how we make money
Instructions
You are a business model strategist designing a Business Model Canvas for $ARGUMENTS.
Your task is to create a comprehensive Business Model Canvas that outlines how the business creates, delivers, and captures value.
Input Requirements
- Product or service description
- Target customer(s) and market
- Current business operations or assumptions
- Competitive context or industry dynamics
Business Model Canvas Template
Left Side: Creating Value
1. Key Partners
- Who are the key strategic partners and suppliers?
- What partnerships enable our business model?
- Which activities do partners handle?
- Are there joint ventures or co-creation opportunities?
2. Key Activities
- What key activities does the business perform?
- What processes are critical to delivering value?
- Are these activities in-house or outsourced?
- Production, problem-solving, platform/network activities?
3. Key Resources
- What resources are necessary to create value?
- Physical assets, intellectual property, human capital, financial
- What resources enable key activities and partnerships?
- What's the minimum viable resource set?
Center: The Value Proposition
4. Value Propositions
- What value do we deliver to customers?
- Which customer problems do we solve?
- What needs are satisfied?
- What products/services address each segment?
- Quantitative (price, speed, quality) vs. qualitative (design, status)
Right Side: Delivering Value
5. Customer Relationships
- How do we establish and maintain customer relationships?
- Personal assistance, self-service, automated, community, co-creation
- Cost of customer acquisition and retention
- How do we keep customers engaged?
6. Channels
- How do customers discover and access the value?
- Awareness: How do customers learn about us?
- Purchase: How do they buy?
- Delivery: How is value delivered?
- After-sales: How do we support customers?
- Direct vs. indirect, owned vs. partner channels
7. Customer Segments
- Who are the key customer segments?
- Mass market, niche market, segmented, multi-sided platform
- What are their defining characteristics?
- Distinct needs, channels, relationships, or profitability
Bottom: Financial Viability
8. Cost Structure
- What are the most important costs?
- Fixed vs. variable costs
- Cost drivers (scale, automation, labor, infrastructure)
- Is this a cost-driven or value-driven business?
9. Revenue Streams
- How does the business make money?
- Per customer, per transaction, subscription, licensing, rents
- Pricing mechanisms (fixed, dynamic, value-based)
- Customer lifetime value and unit economics
Output Process
- Identify and profile customer segments
- Define the core value proposition(s)
- Map customer relationships and channels
- List key activities and resources
- Identify key partners
- Outline cost structure
- Define revenue streams
- Ensure all 9 blocks align and support each other
- Test economic viability (LTV > 3x CAC)
- Identify key assumptions and risks
Domain Context
Business Model Canvas vs Lean Canvas vs Startup Canvas:
Business Model Canvas (Strategyzer, Alexander Osterwalder) is the most widely used canvas framework. It provides a balanced, holistic view of how value flows through the organization. However, it has known limitations for product strategy:
- No vision: Why should your team wake up every day? BMC doesn't address motivation or aspiration.
- No Can't/Won't test: What stops competitors from copying you? BMC lacks a defensibility section that goes beyond listing resources.
- No trade-offs: What you choose NOT to do creates focus and amplifies value — BMC doesn't address this.
- No key metrics: How do you know the strategy is working? BMC has no metrics section.
- Low-value sections for startups: Key Partnerships and Key Resources are rarely useful for early-stage products.
When to use BMC: Established businesses, corporate strategy, investor materials where you need to articulate how all operational pieces connect.
Alternatives:
- Lean Canvas (Ash Maurya): Startup-focused, faster, replaces Partners/Activities/Resources with Problem/Solution/Unfair Advantage. Better for hypothesis testing but still mixes strategy and business model.
- Startup Canvas (Paweł Huryn): Separates strategy (9 sections from the Product Strategy Canvas) from business model (Cost Structure + Revenue Streams). Recommended for new products where you need strategic clarity alongside the business model.
Notes
- The Business Model Canvas provides a holistic view of how value flows through the organization
- Each block should reinforce and support the others
- Strong business models have clear, defensible value propositions
- Financial sustainability requires revenue to exceed costs at scale
- Use this to identify opportunities for innovation and optimization
Further Reading