The Business Model Canvas

“Great products are becoming a commodity. It’s the combination between great products and a great business model that is going to keep you ahead of the competition in the coming decade.” – Alexander Osterwalder

I love working with the Business Model Canvas created by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur. It just gives you more muscles to work with. The Business Model Canvas can be explained as a strategic management and lean startup template for developing new or documenting existing business models. We have used it in several new venture projects and have found it excellent in visualizing a firm’s potential or current value proposition, customer segments, infrastructure, customers, and finances – on one page. It can also help illustrating potential trade-offs.

Below, Alexander Osterwalder shares a short video to explain the structure of the Business Model Canvas Framework. One of his key insights is that business models are becoming a commodity and that the combination of products and business model is what truly makes a business competitive. We can only agree.