The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a well-known and widely used tool both in the business world (for developing new ventures, corporate restructuring, etc.) and in the startup ecosystem. It's so prevalent that it's often included as a final assignment, alongside the pitch, in many startup challenges or hackathons.

As a result, participants often find themselves filling in its nine sections in the final minutes, trying to summarize their idea in as few words as possible to capture the judges' attention while still aiming to be clear and comprehensive.

But is this really the right way to use it?

While the BMC is a useful tool for summarizing the main components of your idea and forces you to consider all aspects of a solid business (often overlooked during brainstorming), such as key resources, partners, or channels, it risks becoming just a collection of untested hypotheses—a static snapshot of your idea and its context.

What sense does it make to specifically describe the partners you'll use if you don't even know whether the problem truly exists or if people would pay for your product?

So how should you use the BMC?

A different approach to this tool is described by Steve Blank (entrepreneur, author, and Stanford professor, among the early proponents of the Lean approach). For him, it's not a static tool but a dynamic one, where the BMC isn't a snapshot but a movie composed of evolving frames that can guide your efforts.

His strategy is to start with the BMC as the first step, writing down your hypotheses in the appropriate sections (don't worry if you can't fill in all nine at the beginning; they'll come as the idea develops). Then, move on to the testing phase (interviews, surveys, landing pages, MVPs, small social media campaigns, etc.). Next, revisit the BMC with the hypotheses you had written, highlight the ones that were correct and those that were wrong based on the tests you conducted, and finally, compile a new BMC with the updated hypotheses based on the tests.

Repeat this process (BMC1 > test > corrections > BMC2) every week until you've verified all the hypotheses.

The result will no longer be a snapshot of words from a brainstorming session but a map of truths that will be extremely useful in limiting risks and avoiding costly missteps (plus, you can include the test results in your pitch—they're highly appreciated by judges and investors).

In summary:
Whether you're participating in a hackathon or meeting with an investor, don't wait until the last minute to write the BMC. Instead, use it in the initial brainstorming phase, plan small tests to validate your hypotheses, and use it as an operational tool to determine if you're heading in the right direction.

Good luck and stay rational.

Author: Marco Carabelli

Inspired by: Startupper (book - Steve Blank)