Lean Start-Up & The Business Model Canvas


 

When starting a business, it takes more than dreaming about a sign in the window declaring you are, "Open." For a business idea to come to fruition, a plan is needed. This week we will explore two methods for creating a business, the lean start-up and the business model canvas. 

THE LEAN START-UP

The lean start-up begins with simple questions, "Should this product be built? Can we build a sustainable business around this set of products and services? and What are the five why's?" If affirmative, determine what the problem is that needs to be solved (what the business will create/do). Experiment through the lean start-up "build, measure, and learn" feedback loop. In the article, Why the lean start-up changes everything, Steve Blank states, "Rather than engaging in months of planning and research, entrepreneurs accept that all they have on day one is a series of untested hypotheses—basically, good guesses. So instead of writing an intricate business plan, founders summarize their hypotheses in a framework called a business model canvas." I hadn't thought of new businesses as "untested hypotheses!" It makes sense to me as my husband created a company based on turbo technology that he invented. It is true that in the beginning, he could only hypothesize that the technology would work. He did not have the skills of a lean start-up or the business model canvas which would have saved time and money. 

THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS


There are nine elements in this model that are used to create a map for a new product, business, or social innovation. They are key partners, key activities, value propositions, customer relationships, customer segments, key resources, channels, cost structure, and revenue streams. 

To help others be successful in business, having sharp skills is important. I feel that teaching methodologies like the lean start-up and the business model canvas are important. In those methods the skills of taking action, being able to pivot, and listening to customers are the most important. 

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