How can you use the Lean Canvas to develop a minimum viable product?

The Lean Canvas is indeed a useful tool for the ideation stage of a business, providing a clear structure to outline key components of your business model. However, it's important to acknowledge that spending too much time on it can lead to analysis paralysis. While it's great for documenting assumptions and testing hypotheses, there's a risk of getting too bogged down in theory. The key is to balance planning with action. Use the Lean Canvas as a guide, but don't let it hinder the momentum of actually building and testing your product in the real world.

The Lean Model Canvas is a strategic document that enables entrepreneurs to build the right solution for their chosen audience. A lean model canvas enables you to identify your value proposition and your go to market strategy to be able to solve a problem for your potential users. It is safe to say that the lean model canvas should be used as an experimentation document and would need to be regularly updated as you get more feedback from your users.

Well, for me, using lean canvas is the easiest way to see your idea is viability and the shortest path to align things, then leaning into larger models to create an MVP. 2(First and the last) points off all nine that stand out for me and I see most critical are what problem are you solving, and what is the unfair advantage your solution has

Lean Canvas: 1. Overview: - One-page business model canvas. - Adaptation of Business Model Canvas by Ash Maurya for startups. 2. Sections: - Problem, Solution, Key Metrics, Unique Value Proposition, Unfair Advantage, Customer Segments, Channels, Customer Relationships, Revenue Streams, Cost Structure. 3. Purpose: - Streamline business planning. - Focus on key elements for product development. 4. MVP Development: - Identify critical components. - Prioritize features based on customer needs. - Efficient resource allocation.

The Lean Canvas acts as a strategic GPS for entrepreneurs, providing a condensed yet powerful roadmap to navigate the complexities of business ideation. By distilling key elements such as value proposition, customer segments, and revenue streams into nine concise blocks, it facilitates a laser-focused approach to business planning.

Always start with the customer. What they value, what their pains are, and what their world looks like. That's the part that drives everything else. Once the customer segments and how we'll serve them is figured out (and ideally validated by a few customers), working on the rest of the canvas can begin to figure out how we can provide that service to the customers sustainably.

I have always used the lean canvas for any business startup I have developed and use it year after year when teaching students at University. I always start with the problem..the solution and then revenue streams, and then work everything out from there. If you are not solving a problem and you have no revenue stream then there is no business to plan!

The Lean Canvas is a great resource to be clear and concise with the problem(s) you're trying to solve. One added resource to clarify everything briefly is mystorybrand.com that shows every section broken down. Now I will say that this will help with initial phases of ideating like most have said, however, these tools only help you IDENTIFY rather than EXPERIMENT/TEST who your real MVP is. Early on you must test, test, test, and test some more to really understand the target audience and how you tailor your product to them as well as whether it is worth moving forward with. SUMMARY - Check out the following: - Mystorybrand.com - The Right It by Alberto Savoia and his YT videos - Test once you have identified your MVP - Tweak - Finalize MVP

Filling out the Lean Canvas starts with identifying customer problems and then outlining potential solutions. Next, you determine your unique value proposition – what sets your solution apart? Then, look at customer segments: who are your users? Also, chart out channels for reaching them, revenue streams, cost structure, key metrics for success, and finally, list out any unfair advantages you might have. The goal is to get a clear, concise view of your business model.

To use the Lean Canvas to develop an MVP: 1. Problem: Clearly define the problem. 2. Solution: Propose a simple, focused solution. 3. Key Metrics: Identify key performance indicators (KPIs). 4. UVP: Clearly articulate the unique value proposition. 5. Channels: Determine effective communication channels. 6. Customer Segments: Identify and prioritize primary customer segments. 7. Cost Structure: Outline basic development and launch costs. 8. Revenue Streams: Define initial revenue generation. 9. Unfair Advantage: Identify distinctive competitive advantages. 10. MVP: Develop a stripped-down version for quick validation.

First, ensure clarity regarding the assumptions underlying your MVP. Specifically, list the conditions that must be met for customers to use your product/MVP. For example, if you envision your product as a mobile app, you could be assuming that a significant portion of your customers have access to smartphones, are comfortable using apps, posses high-speed internet, and that an app offers a superior user experience compared to other alternatives. Second, identify the riskiest assumptions, recognizing that you may need one or more iterations of MVP to validate these. Third, ideally, your initially MVP should be something you can quickly assemble using existing tools within a matter of days (or weeks). Avoid building a custom product.

Filling out the Lean Canvas is already a quite helpful training for any entrepreneur. It helps to outline key elements of your business while focussing on the problem-solution space you‘re in. By addressing customer problems and proposed solutions in a concise format, entrepreneurs can quickly iterate and refine their ideas (espacially in combination with building an MVP)

To develop an MVP using the Lean Canvas, focus on the problem, solution, and key metrics sections. Your MVP should address the core problems your customers face with a simple yet effective solution. The key metrics section will guide you in measuring the MVP’s success. This approach ensures that your MVP is tightly aligned with customer needs and has clear success criteria.

The canvas provides a one-page framework that compels you to distill your idea into its essential components. Its clarity helps you articulate your vision and ensures alignment among all team members and stakeholders, guiding you to identify the core elements necessary for the first version of your product. Additionally, it aids in identifying the critical areas in which to invest for your MVP. Projects succeed when they achieve a strong product-market fit, which we attain through active listening to our customers. The canvas model places a significant emphasis on customer segments, problems, and solutions, guaranteeing that your MVP is customer-centric from the get go.

By focusing on the most critical aspects of the business, entrepreneurs can create a product that meets the needs of their customers while minimizing waste and maximizing value.

While a Lean Canvas is a great way to start developing an MVP, in my opinion you need to continuously talk to potential customers in order to keep updating both your lean canvas and your MVP development. What I have found is that everyone thinks, and in posterity, they like to add points to their feedback or initial interviews. I talk to every potential customer atleast twice over a two week period in order to gather any more information they may have left out or wish to add to their feedback. In my experience, this helps in gathering more comprehensive feedback over the short term and if you can repeat this process once more after a month, you might update your Lean Canvas and have a much better MVP.

Te centra en lo esencial: el ajuste entre el problema y la solución, y cómo tu producto encaja en el mercado. Olvídate de perder tiempo en detalles y características innecesarias. Esta herramienta te guía para construir solo lo necesario, probando y validando tus ideas con clientes reales, reduciendo incertidumbres y riesgos. Además, te ayuda a ahorrar recursos valiosos, tanto en tiempo como en dinero. Con el Lean Canvas, estás constantemente aprendiendo de tus clientes y adaptando tu producto a sus necesidades. Y no es solo útil para ti, también permite comunicar tu modelo de negocio de manera clara y efectiva a tu equipo, socios e inversores. En resumen, es tu aliado perfecto para construir un MVP que realmente resuene en el mercado

Por varias razones: Simplicidad y claridad: Formato visual y conciso. Permite capturar y comunicar rápidamente las ideas clave de tu producto. - Enfoque en el valor para el cliente: Identificar y comprende las necesidades y problemas de los clientes, lo que te permite crear un MVP que satisfaga sus requerimientos principales. - Iteración y aprendizaje continuo: Puedes lanzar rápidamente un MVP y obtener retroalimentación temprana de los usuarios. - Reducción de riesgos: Puedes identificar y abordar los principales riesgos y suposiciones relacionados con tu producto muy temprano.

To improve your Lean Canvas and MVP: - Seek and incorporate customer feedback for Lean Canvas refinement. - Iterate regularly based on validated learning from user interactions. - Identify and prioritize key metrics relevant to the MVP. - Streamline the MVP with minimum essential features for quick validation. - Use rapid prototyping to test and validate ideas before full development. - Foster cross-functional collaboration for a holistic approach. - Embrace a culture of lean experimentation for quick validation. - Stay open to pivoting based on feedback and metrics.

Improving your Lean Canvas and MVP is an iterative process. Gather feedback on your MVP, reflect this back onto your Lean Canvas, and make adjustments. Maybe you’ll discover new customer segments or find that your key metrics aren’t quite right. Continuously tweaking both your Lean Canvas and MVP in response to real user data is key to refining your business model and product

Developing MVPs I consider to the one of the most "fun" and "enjoyable" elements of business start-up, its the exciting try it out and see phase, learn from it and then watch as you can develop and improve your offering with customer feedback - its always a very satisfying process to look back on and see how far you have come since developing the first MVP for any given business start up.

Know that you'll get it wrong the first time, the second time, and likely many more times. The point is to clarify your assumptions and validate them with customers enough until you find something that works. It's all fun and games to come up with ideas and plans but what actually moves the needle is to go out there and find customers for your business idea or iterate and pivot until you do. Steve Blank famously said "No business plan survives the first contact with a customer". So go out there and validate your model. The faster you iterate, the faster you get results.

The Lean Canvas model can have a serious disadvantage: it can ignore important details and omit elements that are important in helping you develop your business strategy. Depending on your objectives you should also consider other tools that are more detailed and therefore take more time to complete but could be more appropriate, particularly for product managers that want to have the full picture.

Es necesario contar con el apalancamiento financiero, ya sea de accionistas o inversionistas como ángeles inversores, empresas de capital de riesgo o incluso de plataformas de crowdfunding para poder acceder al financiamiento de la idea de negocios, porque aunque se tenga la mejor idea del mundo, sin dinero para comenzar a construir los activos necesarios para comenzar a operar, no se podrá echar a andar el proyecto. Aquí se debe de tener un gran cuidado con los accionistas y/o inversores, porque lo mejor es establecer que el emprendedor o startup debe de controlar la mayoría o por lo menos más del 50% de las acciones para poder decidir en Junta Directiva, lo mejor para el negocio y sus clientes y no solo en los intereses de los inversores.

While the Lean Canvas is a fantastic tool, it’s important not to get too locked into your initial assumptions. Be prepared to pivot as you learn more about your customers and market. Sometimes, the most valuable insights come from unexpected places, and flexibility can be your biggest asset in the early stages of developing your MVP