How to Fill Out a Business Model Canvas (Step by Step)

The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is the world's most widely used business model framework. Created by Alexander Osterwalder, it lets you see on a single page how your business creates, delivers, and captures value.

Unlike the Lean Canvas — which is oriented toward validating hypotheses at early stages — the BMC is ideal for modeling businesses at any stage, especially when you already have clarity on your market and operations.

1. Customer Segments

Define the groups of people or organizations your business serves. A business can have multiple segments, but each requires a distinct value proposition.

Ask yourself: For whom are we creating value? Who are our most important customers?

• Segment types: mass market, niche market, segmented, diversified, multi-sided platforms.
• Example: Latin American startup founders at the idea or validation stage; MBA students in entrepreneurship programs.

2. Value Propositions

Value propositions are the bundle of products and services that create value for a specific customer segment. They're why customers choose you over the competition.

Value can be quantitative (price, speed) or qualitative (design, experience, status).

• Value drivers: newness, performance, customization, convenience, price, risk reduction, accessibility.
• Example: An AI assistant that guides founders through each canvas block, generating context-aware ideas and actionable feedback in real time.

3. Channels

Channels describe how your company communicates and delivers its value propositionto each customer segment. They cover communication, distribution, and sales.

Channels can be direct (your website, your sales team) or through partners (distributors, third-party stores).

• Channel phases: awareness, evaluation, purchase, delivery, after-sales.
• Example: Organic SEO for discovery, entrepreneur communities for conversion, email marketing for retention.

4. Customer Relationships

Define the type of relationship you establish with each customer segment. Relationships can be personal, automated, community-based, or self-service.

Ask yourself: What type of relationship does each segment expect? How much does it cost to establish and maintain? How does it integrate with the rest of our model?

• Examples: Dedicated personal assistance, self-service, automated services, communities, co-creation.
• Example: Automated onboarding + always-available AI assistant + user community.

5. Revenue Streams

Revenue streams represent the cash a company generates from each customer segment. A business model can have two types: transaction revenues (one-time) and recurring revenues.

It's important to understand how much each segment is willing to pay and why.

• Revenue models: asset sale, usage fee, subscription, lending/renting, licensing, brokerage, advertising.
• Example: Freemium (basic access), Pro Monthly ($12/mo), Pro Annual ($97/yr), One-Month Pro ($15).

6. Key Resources

Key resources are the most important assets required to make the business model work. They can be physical, intellectual, human, or financial.

Each business model requires different resources. A manufacturer needs physical infrastructure; a digital platform needs data and software.

• Categories: physical (equipment, facilities), intellectual (brands, patents, data), human (expert team), financial (capital, credit lines).
• Example: User database, AI model trained on business context, technical team, established brand.

7. Key Activities

Key activities are the most important actions a company must take for its business model to work. They vary significantly by business type.

• Categories: production (manufacturing, design), problem-solving (consultancies, hospitals), platform/network (Google, Airbnb).
• Example: Continuous product development, AI agent improvement, user acquisition, educational content production.

8. Key Partners

Key partners are the network of suppliers and allies that make the business model work. Companies form alliances to optimize their model, reduce risk, or acquire resources.

Not all suppliers are key partners — only those without which the model doesn't work.

• Alliance types: strategic alliances between non-competitors, coopetition, joint ventures, buyer-supplier relationships.
• Example: OpenAI (AI provider), Supabase (database infrastructure), Paguelo Fácil (payment processor), startup accelerators (distribution channel).

9. Cost Structure

The cost structure describes all costs incurred to operate the business model. Once key resources, activities, and partners are defined, the most relevant costs emerge naturally.

Models can be cost-driven (budget airlines, discounters) or value-driven (luxury, personalization).

• Cost types: fixed costs (salaries, rent), variable costs (inputs, commissions), economies of scale, economies of scope.
• Example: Fixed: team, hosting. Variable: AI API per use, payment processing. Goal: lean structure with high margins.

Reading the Complete BMC

Once filled in, read the canvas as a system: the right-side blocks (customers, channels, relationships, revenue) represent the market side; the left-side blocks (partners, activities, resources, costs) represent the operations side. The value proposition at the center connects both halves.

A well-built BMC lets you see at a glance whether your model is consistent: Do your resources support your activities? Do your activities generate your value proposition? Does your value proposition justify what customers pay?

Prefer to start with the Lean Canvas? How to fill out a Lean Canvas step by step → Or compare both frameworks: Lean Canvas vs Business Model Canvas →