Business Model Canvas Workflow
Complete guide to creating your Business Model Canvas including value proposition, customer segments, revenue streams, and cost structure
The Business Model Canvas workflow guides you through creating a comprehensive business model that covers all aspects of how your startup creates, delivers, and captures value.
Overview#
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Phases | 3 |
| Tier | Free |
| Typical Duration | 1-2 weeks |
| Best For | Early-stage planning, investor prep, strategy alignment |
What is the Business Model Canvas?#
The Business Model Canvas is a strategic tool that describes how your organization creates, delivers, and captures value. It consists of 9 building blocks:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS │
├───────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┤
│ │ │ │
│ 8. KEY PARTNERS │ 7. KEY ACTIVITIES │ 1. VALUE PROPOSITIONS │
│ │ │ │
│ Who are our key │ What key activities do │ What value do we │
│ partners and │ our value propositions │ deliver to the │
│ suppliers? │ require? │ customer? │
│ ├─────────────────────────────────┤ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ 6. KEY RESOURCES │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ What key resources do │ │
│ │ our value propositions │ │
│ │ require? │ │
│ │ │ │
├───────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────┤
│ │ │
│ 9. COST STRUCTURE │ 5. REVENUE STREAMS │
│ │ │
│ What are the most important costs │ For what value are our │
│ inherent in our business model? │ customers willing to pay?│
│ │ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────┘
│ │ │
│ 4. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS │ 2. CUSTOMER SEGMENTS │
│ │ │
│ What type of relationship does │ For whom are we │
│ each customer segment expect? │ creating value? │
│ │ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │
│ │ │
│ 3. CHANNELS │ │
│ │ │
│ Through which channels do our │ │
│ customer segments want to be reached? │ │
│ │ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────┘
Phases#
Phase 1: Customer & Value (3-4 days)#
Agents: business-analyst
Define who you serve and what value you provide.
Tasks:
- Define customer segments
- Create value proposition canvas
- Map customer jobs, pains, gains
- Align value proposition to customer needs
Customer Segments Template:
1## Customer Segments
2
3### Primary Segment: [Name]
4
5**Demographics:**
6- Industry: [e.g., B2B SaaS]
7- Company size: [e.g., 50-500 employees]
8- Role: [e.g., Engineering Manager]
9- Geography: [e.g., North America, Europe]
10
11**Characteristics:**
12- Annual budget for tools: $X
13- Technical sophistication: [High/Medium/Low]
14- Current solutions: [List]
15
16**Size Estimate:**
17- Total companies: [X]
18- Target roles per company: [Y]
19- Addressable market: [X * Y]
20
21### Secondary Segment: [Name]
22
23[Repeat structure]
24
25### Segment Prioritization
26
27| Segment | Market Size | Pain Level | Willingness to Pay | Accessibility | Priority |
28|---------|-------------|------------|-------------------|---------------|----------|
29| Segment A | Large | High | High | Medium | Primary |
30| Segment B | Medium | Medium | Medium | High | Secondary |
31| Segment C | Small | High | Low | High | Deprioritize |Value Proposition Canvas:
1## Value Proposition Canvas
2
3### Customer Profile
4
5#### Jobs to be Done
6**Functional Jobs:**
71. [What task are they trying to accomplish?]
82. [What problem are they trying to solve?]
93. [What need are they trying to satisfy?]
10
11**Social Jobs:**
121. [How do they want to be perceived?]
132. [What status do they want to gain?]
14
15**Emotional Jobs:**
161. [How do they want to feel?]
172. [What security/peace of mind do they seek?]
18
19#### Pains
20**Obstacles:**
211. [What prevents them from getting the job done?]
222. [What risks do they face?]
23
24**Undesired Outcomes:**
251. [What negative outcomes do they experience?]
262. [What frustrates them about current solutions?]
27
28**Pain Severity (1-5):**
29- Pain 1: [X] - [Description]
30- Pain 2: [X] - [Description]
31- Pain 3: [X] - [Description]
32
33#### Gains
34**Required Gains:**
351. [What must the solution deliver?]
36
37**Expected Gains:**
381. [What do they expect from solutions?]
39
40**Desired Gains:**
411. [What would delight them?]
42
43**Unexpected Gains:**
441. [What could exceed expectations?]
45
46---
47
48### Value Map
49
50#### Products & Services
511. [Your core product/feature]
522. [Supporting services]
533. [Additional offerings]
54
55#### Pain Relievers
56| Customer Pain | How We Relieve It |
57|---------------|-------------------|
58| [Pain 1] | [Our solution] |
59| [Pain 2] | [Our solution] |
60| [Pain 3] | [Our solution] |
61
62#### Gain Creators
63| Customer Gain | How We Create It |
64|---------------|------------------|
65| [Gain 1] | [Our approach] |
66| [Gain 2] | [Our approach] |
67| [Gain 3] | [Our approach] |
68
69---
70
71### Fit Assessment
72
73**Problem-Solution Fit Score: [X/10]**
74
75| Criteria | Score | Notes |
76|----------|-------|-------|
77| Addresses top pain | /5 | |
78| Creates desired gains | /5 | |
79| Better than alternatives | /5 | |
80| Customer validated | /5 | |Phase 2: Delivery & Relationships (3-4 days)#
Agents: business-analyst, ui-ux-expert
Define how you reach and serve customers.
Tasks:
- Map distribution channels
- Define customer relationships
- Identify key activities
- Identify key resources
- Identify key partners
Channels Template:
1## Channels
2
3### Awareness Stage
4How do customers discover us?
5
6| Channel | Cost | Reach | Conversion | Priority |
7|---------|------|-------|------------|----------|
8| Content/SEO | Low | High | Medium | High |
9| Social media | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
10| Paid ads | High | High | Medium | Low |
11| PR/Media | Medium | High | Low | Medium |
12| Word of mouth | Free | Low | High | Build over time |
13
14### Evaluation Stage
15How do customers evaluate us?
16
17| Channel | Description | Investment |
18|---------|-------------|------------|
19| Website | Product info, pricing, testimonials | High |
20| Free trial | Hands-on experience | High |
21| Demo videos | Show value quickly | Medium |
22| Case studies | Social proof | Medium |
23| Comparison pages | vs. competitors | Medium |
24
25### Purchase Stage
26How do customers buy?
27
28| Channel | Model | Notes |
29|---------|-------|-------|
30| Self-serve | Credit card on website | Primary for SMB |
31| Sales-assisted | Demo + proposal | For enterprise |
32| Marketplace | App stores, etc. | Future |
33
34### Delivery Stage
35How do we deliver value?
36
37| Channel | Description |
38|---------|-------------|
39| Web application | Primary product delivery |
40| Email | Onboarding, updates, engagement |
41| In-app notifications | Feature education |
42| Documentation | Self-service support |
43
44### After Sales
45How do we support customers?
46
47| Channel | Description |
48|---------|-------------|
49| Help center | Self-service documentation |
50| Email support | Async support |
51| Chat support | Real-time for paid tiers |
52| Community | User forum, Slack/Discord |Customer Relationships Template:
1## Customer Relationships
2
3### Relationship Types by Segment
4
5| Segment | Relationship Type | Description |
6|---------|------------------|-------------|
7| Free tier | Self-service | Automated onboarding, docs, community |
8| Pro tier | Self-service + Email | Priority email support |
9| Enterprise | Dedicated | Account manager, Slack channel |
10
11### Relationship Goals
12
13| Stage | Goal | Tactics |
14|-------|------|---------|
15| Acquisition | Convert trial to paid | Onboarding emails, in-app guidance |
16| Activation | First value moment | Success milestones, tutorials |
17| Retention | Prevent churn | Health checks, engagement campaigns |
18| Expansion | Increase revenue | Usage-based prompts, feature education |
19| Advocacy | Generate referrals | Referral program, case studies |
20
21### Relationship Metrics
22
23| Metric | Target | Current |
24|--------|--------|---------|
25| NPS | > 40 | TBD |
26| CSAT | > 4.5/5 | TBD |
27| Support response time | < 4 hours | TBD |
28| Churn rate | < 5%/month | TBD |Key Activities, Resources, Partners:
1## Key Activities
2
3### Product Development
4- Feature development
5- Bug fixes and maintenance
6- Infrastructure management
7- Security and compliance
8
9### Customer Success
10- Onboarding new customers
11- Support ticket resolution
12- Customer health monitoring
13- Churn prevention
14
15### Growth
16- Content marketing
17- SEO optimization
18- Product-led growth features
19- Partnership development
20
21---
22
23## Key Resources
24
25### Intellectual Property
26- Proprietary algorithms/technology
27- Brand and domain
28- Customer data and insights
29
30### Human Resources
31- Engineering team
32- Product team
33- Customer success
34
35### Financial Resources
36- Runway: [X months]
37- Revenue: [MRR]
38- Funding: [raised/raising]
39
40### Infrastructure
41- Cloud infrastructure (Vercel, Neon)
42- Third-party services (Stripe, Clerk)
43- Development tools
44
45---
46
47## Key Partners
48
49### Strategic Partners
50| Partner | Value Exchange | Importance |
51|---------|---------------|------------|
52| [Cloud provider] | Infrastructure | Critical |
53| [Auth provider] | Authentication | Critical |
54| [Payment processor] | Payments | Critical |
55
56### Integration Partners
57| Partner | Integration | Value |
58|---------|-------------|-------|
59| [Tool A] | Data sync | Customer request |
60| [Tool B] | Workflow automation | Differentiation |
61
62### Channel Partners
63| Partner | Relationship | Status |
64|---------|--------------|--------|
65| [Marketplace] | Distribution | Planned |
66| [Agency] | Referral | Exploring |Phase 3: Financial Model (3-4 days)#
Agents: business-analyst
Define how you make money and what it costs.
Tasks:
- Design revenue model
- Define pricing strategy
- Calculate unit economics
- Project cost structure
- Model financial scenarios
Revenue Streams Template:
1## Revenue Streams
2
3### Primary Revenue Model: SaaS Subscription
4
5| Tier | Price | Target Segment | Features |
6|------|-------|----------------|----------|
7| Free | $0 | Individual developers | Core features, limited usage |
8| Pro | $29/mo | Small teams | Full features, higher limits |
9| Team | $99/mo | Growing teams | Collaboration, priority support |
10| Enterprise | Custom | Large orgs | SSO, SLA, dedicated support |
11
12### Pricing Strategy
13
14**Value Metric:** [What customers pay for]
15- Option A: Per seat
16- Option B: Per usage (API calls, storage)
17- Option C: Flat rate per tier
18
19**Pricing Philosophy:**
20- Positioned as: [Premium / Mid-market / Budget]
21- Compared to: [Competitor A at $X, Competitor B at $Y]
22- Anchored to: [Value delivered - e.g., "saves 10 hours/week"]
23
24### Revenue Projections
25
26| Month | Free | Pro | Team | Enterprise | MRR |
27|-------|------|-----|------|------------|-----|
28| M1 | 100 | 5 | 0 | 0 | $145 |
29| M3 | 500 | 25 | 3 | 0 | $1,022 |
30| M6 | 2000 | 100 | 15 | 1 | $5,395 |
31| M12 | 10000 | 400 | 60 | 5 | $23,560 |
32
33### Other Revenue Streams (Future)
34
35| Stream | Description | Timeline |
36|--------|-------------|----------|
37| Marketplace | Premium integrations | Year 2 |
38| Services | Implementation support | Enterprise only |
39| Training | Certification program | Year 2+ |Cost Structure Template:
1## Cost Structure
2
3### Fixed Costs (Monthly)
4
5| Category | Item | Cost | Notes |
6|----------|------|------|-------|
7| Infrastructure | Vercel Pro | $20 | Scales with traffic |
8| Infrastructure | Neon Pro | $19 | Database |
9| Infrastructure | Domain/DNS | $2 | Cloudflare |
10| Services | Clerk | $25 | Auth (up to 10K MAU) |
11| Services | Stripe | 2.9% + $0.30 | Per transaction |
12| Services | Resend | $20 | Email |
13| Services | Sentry | $26 | Error tracking |
14| Services | PostHog | $0 | Analytics (free tier) |
15| **Total Fixed** | | **~$112/mo** | |
16
17### Variable Costs
18
19| Item | Unit Cost | Scales With |
20|------|-----------|-------------|
21| Infrastructure | ~$0.01/user/mo | Users |
22| Email | $0.001/email | Engagement |
23| Support | $0.50/ticket | Users |
24
25### People Costs (if applicable)
26
27| Role | Cost | FTE |
28|------|------|-----|
29| Founder(s) | $0 (equity) | 1-2 |
30| Contractor | $X/mo | 0.5 |
31
32### Burn Rate
33
34| Scenario | Monthly Burn | Runway |
35|----------|--------------|--------|
36| Bootstrapped | $112 | Indefinite |
37| With contractor | $2,000 | X months |
38| With employee | $10,000 | Y months |Unit Economics:
1## Unit Economics
2
3### Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
4
5| Channel | Spend | Customers | CAC |
6|---------|-------|-----------|-----|
7| Content | $500 | 50 | $10 |
8| Paid ads | $1000 | 20 | $50 |
9| Referral | $200 | 40 | $5 |
10| **Blended** | **$1700** | **110** | **$15.45** |
11
12### Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
13
14**Assumptions:**
15- Average revenue per account (ARPA): $50/mo
16- Gross margin: 85%
17- Monthly churn rate: 5%
18- Average lifetime: 20 months (1/churn)
19
20**Calculation:**LTV = ARPA × Gross Margin × Lifetime LTV = $50 × 0.85 × 20 = $850
### LTV:CAC Ratio
LTV:CAC = $850 / $15.45 = 55:1
**Target:** > 3:1 for healthy SaaS business
**Our ratio:** 55:1 (excellent, but validate at scale)
### Payback Period
Payback = CAC / (ARPA × Gross Margin) Payback = $15.45 / ($50 × 0.85) = 0.36 months
**Target:** < 12 months
**Our payback:** < 1 month (excellent)
Complete Business Model Canvas#
1# Business Model Canvas: [Company Name]
2
3## 1. Value Propositions
4- [Primary value proposition]
5- [Secondary value proposition]
6- [Tertiary value proposition]
7
8## 2. Customer Segments
9- **Primary:** [Description]
10- **Secondary:** [Description]
11
12## 3. Channels
13- Awareness: Content marketing, SEO
14- Evaluation: Website, free trial
15- Purchase: Self-serve, sales-assisted
16- Delivery: Web application
17- Support: Help center, email
18
19## 4. Customer Relationships
20- Free: Self-service
21- Paid: Self-service + email support
22- Enterprise: Dedicated account management
23
24## 5. Revenue Streams
25- SaaS subscription: $29-99/mo
26- Enterprise contracts: Custom pricing
27- [Future: marketplace, services]
28
29## 6. Key Resources
30- Technology platform
31- Engineering team
32- Customer relationships
33
34## 7. Key Activities
35- Product development
36- Customer acquisition
37- Customer success
38
39## 8. Key Partners
40- Cloud infrastructure (Vercel, Neon)
41- Auth & payments (Clerk, Stripe)
42- Integration partners
43
44## 9. Cost Structure
45- Fixed: ~$112/mo infrastructure
46- Variable: Per-user costs
47- People: [Founder time, contractors]
48
49## Key Metrics
50- LTV: $850
51- CAC: $15.45
52- LTV:CAC: 55:1
53- Payback: < 1 monthStarting the Workflow#
1# Start business model workflow
2bootspring workflow start seed-business-model
3
4# Create canvas
5bootspring seed canvas create
6
7# Add customer segment
8bootspring seed canvas segment add
9
10# Calculate unit economics
11bootspring seed canvas economics
12
13# Export canvas
14bootspring seed canvas export --format pdfDeliverables#
A successful Business Model Canvas workflow produces:
- Customer segment definitions
- Value proposition canvas
- Channel strategy
- Customer relationship plan
- Revenue model and pricing
- Cost structure analysis
- Unit economics (LTV, CAC)
- Complete Business Model Canvas
Best Practices#
- Start with the customer - Segments and value props first
- Validate assumptions - Test with real customers
- Keep it simple - Start with one segment, one channel
- Iterate regularly - Canvas should evolve with learning
- Connect the boxes - Ensure coherence across canvas
- Know your numbers - Unit economics guide decisions
Common Pitfalls#
- Building canvas without customer validation
- Too many customer segments (focus!)
- Unrealistic revenue projections
- Ignoring true cost of acquisition
- Not revisiting as you learn