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Introduction
Lean Canvas is a visual one-page business model. It can help you condense one page of the plan to the intended business or solution. It allows the team to concentrate on the most important aspects of the business or solution that can aid the project.
Lean Canvas
Lean Canvas is a technique also known or similar to other techniques such as Business Plan, Business Model Canvas and Value proposition Canvas.
Description
What is this tool about
The nine building blocks of Lean Canvas are customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key activities, key resources, key partners, and cost structure. By completing each of these blocks, the team will have a better understanding of their business model and will be able to identify areas that require additional research or development. Lean Canvas is a visual tool entrepreneurs and startup teams use to quickly create a one-page business plan.
For which purposes is it used
- Lean Canvas enables entrepreneurs and startup teams to iterate quickly, fail quickly, and learn from their mistakes, which is critical in the early stages of business development.
- Explain their business model in a clear and organised manner.
- Identify and prioritise the most important aspects of their company's operations, such as customer segments, value propositions, and revenue streams.
- Rapid experimentation and customer feedback are used to test and validate their assumptions.
- Refine their strategy based on the outcomes of their testing and feedback.
- Communicate their business model clearly and compellingly to stakeholders such as investors or partners.
Limitations
Time-consuming, but to save time, students can fill out a Lean canvas while working on their business idea or as they gain a better understanding of how their solution will work
How to implement these technique/tools
Make sure the students have any material to take notes and templates. For online, any document-sharing application is good. For example, Miro.
Preparation, before the session:
- As a teacher, you should have a basic understanding of how Lean Canvas works. Familiarise yourself with the template and its functioning.
- Use real-life examples relevant to the student's interests and experiences. This will make the concepts more engaging and understandable.
- Create a lesson plan outlining the goals of the class, activities, and assessments. Hands-on activities and group work should be included to reinforce concepts and encourage collaboration.
- Create a group among students, and define the activity's goals by shortlisting topics or the problem areas such as waste management, environment pollution, litter problem etc. It could be any problem locally or internationally.
- Prepare teaching materials, such as handouts, presentations, and videos, to supplement the lean canvas template.
- Encourage open discussion and create a safe and supportive environment where students can ask questions and share their ideas. Be mindful of the time.
During the session:
- Start by introducing the Lean Canvas concept and explaining what it is and how it works. Use real-life examples that are relevant to the student's interests and experiences.
- Determine a problem or opportunity that students are interested in investigating. This could be a personal problem or an opportunity they have identified in their community or the larger world.
- Assign students or groups to identify the target customer segment for their problem or opportunity. This could be a particular demographic group or a specific type of customer.
- Assign students the task of developing a value proposition that addresses the needs of their target customer segment. This should clearly describe how their solution solves the problem or capitalises on the opportunity.
- Ask students to identify the key activities and resources required to implement their solution. This includes filling the template of nine blocks in the lean canvas, such as Key Partners, Key Activities, Key Resources, Value propositions, Customer relationships, Customer segments, Channels, Cost Structure, Revenue streams etc.
- Assign students to determine the revenue streams that will be used to generate income from their solution. Sales, subscriptions, and advertising are all examples of this.
- Students should put their assumptions to the test and refine their Lean Canvas based on feedback from customers and stakeholders. Encourage them to experiment and iterate rapidly to improve their business model. Please note that the lean canvas tool is a constant and can be used in all phases of design thinking. Once students test their hypothesis, they can update the lean canvas in each iteration or phase.
- You can ask students to present their Lean Canvas to the class, using visuals and other engaging materials to help communicate their ideas.
Follow-up after the session:
- Examine each student's or group's Lean Canvas and provide feedback on areas for improvement.
- Hold a group discussion to share your insights and learnings from the Lean Canvas activity.
- Encourage students to keep experimenting with and iterating on their business models.
Examples and/or testimonials
Lean canvas can be printed on A0, Pens and markers, Post‐its in various colours and sizes (e.g., different colours per customer segment/stakeholder). For online: Laptop, Internet connection, lean canvas template on Miro or Mural Tool.
Resources
Links:
- Miro: https://miro.com/templates/lean-canvas/
- How to fill in the template: https://fulcrum.rocks/blog/fill-in-lean-canvas
Videos:
- Example and how to use the template: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvIN9STpzCQ
- Writing an effective plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nel66ZB9Ck
Papers:
- Onken, M., & Campeau, D. (2016). Lean startups: Using the business model canvas. Journal of Case Studies, 34(1), 95-102.
- Link, P. (2016). How to become a lean entrepreneur by applying lean start-up and lean canvas?. In Innovation and entrepreneurship in education (Vol. 2, pp. 57-71). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
- Felin, T., Gambardella, A., Stern, S., & Zenger, T. (2019). Lean startup and the business model: Experimentation revisited. Forthcoming in Long Range Planning (Open Access).
- Yousefi, B. H., & Mirkhezri, H. (2020, December). Lean Gamification Canvas: A New Tool for Innovative Gamification Design Process. In 2020 International Serious Games Symposium (ISGS) (pp. 1-9). IEEE.
Books:
- Maurya, A. (2016). Scaling lean: Mastering the key metrics for startup growth. Penguin.
- Maurya, A. (2022). Running lean. ' O'Reilly Media, Inc.'.
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