Growth thinking vs. Business Model Canvas

Nader Sabry — Growth Hacking
9 min readApr 11, 2021

Originally published https://mygrowththinking.com/growth-thinking-vs-business-model-canvas/

Growth thinking, like business model canvas, is both design methodology for problem-solving. Business model canvas is for building a company, whereas growth thinking is about accelerating growth.

Both serve an equally important role as they complement each other in several ways. They compliment each other, whereas business model canvas is about building and starting, and growth thinking is an accelerating growth methodology.

If you look at the spectrum of business methodologies, there are four types.

Accelerating growth​

How to accelerate and manage exponential growth using growth thinking. Some examples of methods are:

  1. Pirate Funnel AARRR
  2. G.R.O.W.S.-process
  3. T-shaped Growth Hacker
  4. One Metric That Matters
  5. North Star Metric

Build a company​

How to start a company from the beginning. Some examples of methods are:

  1. The Business Model Canvas
  2. The Value Proposition Canvas
  3. Lean Startup Canvas
  4. Blitzscaling Canvas Business
  5. Model Innovation Framework

Managing projects​

How to effectively implement and manage a product management model that works. Some examples of methods are:

  1. Agile
  2. Scrum
  3. Waterfall
  4. Kanban
  5. PRINCE2

Offering Design

How to optimize and manage product design using approaches like design thinking. Some examples of methods are:

  1. Design Thinking
  2. Google Design Sprints
  3. Lean Startup
  4. Double Diamond Design
  5. Kano Model

Where do business model canvas and growth thinking connect

There are two perspectives to this; the first is if a new startup is beginning from scratch, and the second is if you are already operating a business regardless of size.

If you a startup — business model canvas becomes your business plan and blueprint for founders, investors, and other stakeholders, and growth thinking is where it helps accelerate those plans.

If you’re an operating business — growth thinking would supersede business model canvas as you would have your company ready to accelerate its growth.

Will business model canvas improve design thinking

In short, no, they work in total isolation from each other, but they complement one another when combined in the right sequence — knowing which method to us when is an essential part of a leader’s and founder’s strategy.

Selecting the right methodology is about the following aspects:

  1. Can it achieve what we need
  2. Is it easy to use and learn
  3. Is there enough supporting materials
  4. Can it improve our ROI

Those four factors help you choose the right method at the right time. Supporting materials and being able to learn the method are critical. The faster and easier you can adapt to a new method, the better it is. This factor would supersede inherent drawbacks, which they would all have.

It’s more important to learn quickly vs. inherited drawbacks because once you know the drawbacks, you can become even more creative with those methodologies. Many of the methodology designers focus on updates and upgrades over time.

Business model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas is a methodology to map and plan the various components of your business model. It is an effective way to bring together all strategy elements, from the initial costs to the customers’ revenue streams.

When the business model canvas is filled correctly, almost everyone can understand your business and its functions straightforwardly and intuitively.

Business plans vs. business model canvas

While traditional business plans are cumbersome to read, a business model is a one-page document that addresses a startup’s core business objectives (most of which are launched), such as getting customers to pay. It beats the traditional business plan, including several pages, by offering a much easier way to understand your business’s various core elements in a single picture.

If you don’t delve deep into the concepts, it gives you an idea of what the business is and how it works. Business model screens are one of the most popular business models in the world today, and they can describe your business model straightforwardly and intuitively, unlike other methods that use visual descriptions.

Initially developed by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, Business Model Canvases is a strategic management tool that enables you to visualize and evaluate your business ideas and concepts. They introduce you to the process of developing and testing your organization’s business model (s), according to the website.

Value Proposition Canvas

Just like the business model canvas itself, the Value Proposition Canvas can help in the process of business and model design to challenge and build your company’s values in a structured and thought-out way. Values are the essence of a business model, so it is impossible to avoid them without a clear description while building a business model. This allows you to create a visual representation of the values and their potential impact on your organization’s business.

Companies need a clear vision of how their product should reach their customers. The business canvas model helps them define their vision for the value of their products and services and their value proposition.

Business Model Canvas has a clear value set that can guide you through this critical task when creating a business plan. If the business model is known and only minor innovations are required, founders can dive directly into the Canva business model. Business models allow you to outline your existing services and products quickly, prototype your business models and new concepts, and test — drive your products and services in real-world environments. Business models Canvas allows you to understand, design systematically, and differentiate your business model from others.

Pitching the business model

Use Business Model Canvas to get your idea across and talk about the next steps as you grow your business.

The creation of your business model requires little time, especially compared to classic business plans. Creating a business plan based on the business model is very easy, as you do not need to use any specific tools.

Finally, it is essential to develop a profitable business model and business plan to stay ahead of the curve and be successful.

Business models canvas and beyond the traditional business plan

That should be the core of your startup idea, and a good business model and a good business plan for it are what sets it in motion on the business screen — the model screen. Business Model Canvas helps you plan your business strategy, whether you choose a subscription-based service or selling your product through a stationary and mortar-based business model.

There are several ways to show and shape your business model, but the most common is the Business Model Canvas.

A business model is a blueprint for companies that take away all the fine details of a traditional business plan that you create and figure out in a conventional business plan.

Business model canvas a successful methodology

Business Model Canvas offers a way to show all the critical elements of a business model on a single sheet of paper. Business Model Canvas is an easy way to document and share essential building blocks of your business with your team and highlight the assumptions behind it. It has become a well-known medium for businesses, enabling them to be a valuable resource for entrepreneurs, managers, and business leaders alike.

An Effective Business Model Canvas

If you call your business model a one-sided business plan, it shouldn’t replace your business plans. Business model screens can beat traditional multi-page business planning because they offer a much easier way to understand the various core elements. They can also beat conventional business plans, business models, and multi-page business strategies because they provide a much simpler approach to understand the different core elements.

The creation of your business model requires little time, especially compared to classic business plans. Creating a business plan based on business models is very easy, as you do not need to use any specific tools. At the end of the process, your business models should look significantly different from the beginning.

Starting or existing businesses alike

Whether you’re starting a business or analyzing your current, a business model canvas can help you see the bigger picture. A business model is an effective way to bring together all the strategy elements, from the initial costs to the customer revenue streams.

You should see how easy it is to present your company’s complete business model on just one piece of paper. You can create a business model proposed by Alex Osterwalder and write a business canvas with investors’ financial attractiveness. You can use the business models’ value structure on the screen to develop further detailed business scenarios. With the Canvas business model, we can quickly outline the existing service or product, design a business model for a new concept, or draw up business plans for our investors’ financial attractiveness.

A business model is an excellent tool to help you start or expand your business. Entrepreneurs, managers, and strategic partners can develop new business models when working with software development companies or refine existing ones. A ready-made business model canvas can also help you start a collaboration in a software development company. Although this still works across many different types of business. One of the great things about the business model canvas is excellent for attracting and onboard business partners at all levels.

Evolving your business

A business model also helps companies evolve, and a business model allows companies to adapt to the market by iterating as often as possible. Business model canvas help to lay the foundation for the business model and to develop and adapt it. A well-made business model canvas can help entrepreneurs streamline business planning, development, and execution. When the Business Model Canvas is filled in correctly, almost everyone can understand your business and its functions.

A Business Model Canvas can provide you with added value to your business model that can be critical to its success. Values are the essence of a business model, so it is impossible to avoid them and to provide a clear description when building a business model. The presentation of your customers is looking for your products or services and the customers’ expectations and expectations.

Questions and Answers for this article

What is Business Model Canvas

Business Model Canvas is a strategic management tool used for developing new business models and updating existing ones.

What is Growth Thinking

Growth thinking is a design system for growth hackers to quickly and easily take a growth hack from idea to execution and scale in a systemic and visual system that dramatically increases the success rate of growth and growth hacking for organizations.

SOURCES

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What's the difference between business model canvas and growth thinking?

Both serve an equally important role as they complement each other in several ways. They compliment each other, whereas business model canvas is about building and starting, and growth thinking is an accelerating growth methodology.

What is the business model canvas?

The Business Model Canvas is a methodology to map and plan the various components of your business model. It is an effective way to bring together all strategy elements, from the initial costs to the customers’ revenue streams.

What is the difference between a Business plan and a business model canvas?

A business plan is a comprehensive yet static planning process for the establishment of a new business or the growth plan of an existing one. Whereas in complete contrast the business model canvas is a dynamic and visual modeling process that allows business models to be communicated quickly in detail but also allows for changes and upgrades to take place without heavy workloads

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Nader Sabry — Growth Hacking
Nader Sabry — Growth Hacking

Written by Nader Sabry — Growth Hacking

Strategist entrepreneur & innovator in space tech, government, & health/wellness. Has raised $20m directly /+$100m indirectly for startups. www.nadersabry.com