The Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas allows you to describe, design, challenge, invent, and pivot your business model. It is a visual chart with elements describing a firm's value, infrastructure, customers, proposition and finances.

 

Initially proposed by Alexander Osterwalder based on his earlier work on Business Model Ontology. Since the release of Osterwalder's work in 2008, new canvases for specific niches have appeared, such as the SaaS Canvas.

 

You can make a business presentation, pitch a Venture Capital, consult with your clients, and more features. The Canvas is licensed as creative commons so you can use it free. Just be sure to link back to businessmodelgeneration.com after your use, and share your work under a similar licence. Anyone may use the Business Model Canvas and the Value Proposition Canvas for their own work or to support others in understanding, analysing or changing their business models. This includes people who use the tools within their own companies or in a consulting capacity. The requirement, whether Creative Commons or Copyright, is full identification and credit of the source of the tool. Here's the legal info.

 

The Business Model Canvas can be printed out on a large surface so groups of people can jointly start sketching and discussing business model elements with post-it note notes or board markers. It is a hands-on tool that fosters understanding, discussion, creativity and analysis.

 

·· Business Model Canvas Website.

 

·· Business Model Canvas on Wikipedia.