The business model canvas has been around for years.Most people either fill it out like a checklist or treat it like a one-time project they can forget about.
It deserves better.
This came back to me recently while designing another artifact, when I saw the familiar canvas blocks again.It took me straight back to my CMU days, where we used it not because we had to, but because it made thinking sharper.I started sketching ideas, but put them aside.
A few days earlier, while coaching someone through a startup idea, it hit me even harder: Entrepreneurs, product leaders, and product managers should use the canvas — but more importantly, they should learn how to fill it differently depending on who they are.
Different stakes mean different questions.Different questions mean a different order.If you do not adjust, you are just filling out a form — not building anything real.
Here’s how to actually use the canvas based on who you are and what you are building.
What the business model canvas really is
The business model canvas is not a box-checking exercise.It is a thinking tool to answer one question:
Are we building something valuable enough to survive?
In my version, the sections I use are slightly adapted to what actually happens in real work:
Twelve sections.
Twelve uncomfortable conversations you need to have early.
For entrepreneurs: your job is to prove the business is real
Fill it out in this order:
Why this order
If you are an entrepreneur, you do not get to decorate a canvas like it’s arts and crafts. You have to prove a real problem exists, that real people feel it, and that your solution is not just another forgettable option.Until you do that, you have no business talking about revenue, team building, or scaling.You are not building a product. You are fighting to prove there is even a business worth starting.
Where entrepreneurs usually go wrong
- Fall in love with their own solution.
- Skip validating the real problem and real customer.
- Celebrate early excitement without testing for real, scalable demand.
- Burn time, money, and goodwill chasing markets that never existed.
One rule to remember
Fall in love with the problem, not your product.
For product leaders: your job is to build portfolio-level clarity
Fill it out in this order:
Why this order
As a product leader, your job is to move the business, not just ship things that look good in a roadmap review.You have to lock down the problem, the customer, and real success metrics before anyone builds anything.You pressure-test the competition early so you sharpen your positioning and avoid wasting years.Only after that do you define marketing, revenue, and team plans — because scale only matters if the foundation is real.
If you are leading a B2B product, you might want to flip revenue and marketing, because revenue models usually dictate how you go to market, not the other way around.
Where product leaders usually go wrong
- Champion products that look shiny but do not move business goals.
- Chase too many disconnected bets instead of building a real portfolio.
- Build for internal stakeholders instead of the actual market.
- Lose the trust of executives and the focus of the team.
One rule to remember
Connect every box to a business outcome. No exceptions.
For product managers: your job is to deliver real outcomes
Fill it out in this order:
Why this order
At the PM level, you are judged by what ships and what sticks.You have to nail the problem, the user, and the landscape before you even sketch a solution.You define what success looks like early, tie it to a real business goal, and then fight for adoption like it does not happen by magic.You plan for risks, not excuses, because when things break mid-sprint, nobody is asking where the canvas went.
Where product managers usually go wrong
- Fall into feature factory mode.
- Focus on shipping instead of solving.
- Say yes to every request because they cannot show why to say no.
- Forget that launch is the beginning of the job, not the end.
One rule to remember
The broken canvas is your permission slip to say no.
Entrepreneurs: are you building a business, a product, or a feature?
Most early ideas feel bigger in your head than they ever look in the real market (I’m sorry but that is the truth…)That is why you cannot just fill out the canvas and call it a day. You have to pressure-test what you are actually sitting on.
If you are building a feature, it solves a tiny pain, maybe improves a workflow, but it is not strong enough to stand alone.
If you are building a product, it solves a bigger workflow need — it can survive independently — but it is still contained.
If you are building a business, you are solving a deep need, you have multiple ways to expand, and winning once unlocks new territory.
So, ask yourself:
- If you remove this tomorrow, do users collapse or shrug?
- Does solving this justify a full company, with sales, support, partnerships, and R&D?
- If you win once, do you automatically unlock future growth — or are you boxed in?
If the answers lean toward “collapse,” “full company,” and “future growth,” you might have something real.If not, build smarter.Features and products are not failures — they just need different playbooks.
Final thoughts: it is a thinking tool, not a box-checking exercise
You can treat the canvas like a form.You can treat it like a real conversation with yourself and your team.
One way creates noise.The other creates clarity.
It is not about filling all the boxes perfectly.It is about forcing yourself to slow down and actually understand what you are building, why it matters, and how it survives.
Pick wisely. You are not just filling a canvas. You are deciding what deserves your time, your team, and your bets.
