How to Fill In a Business Model Canvas, Block by Block

To fill in a business model canvas, choose one business model and work through Strategyzer's nine blocks: start with your customers and what you offer them, then how you reach and keep them, then what it takes to deliver, and finish with costs and revenue. Write each entry as a short guess you can test, and date the canvas.

The canvas comes from the book Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, and Strategyzer offers the template as a free download (Strategyzer). Print it large or draw it on a wall, and use sticky notes so you can move things around.

What is a business model canvas?

Strategyzer describes it as a way to set out how your business creates, delivers and captures value on one page. The right side of the canvas is the market. The left side is what it takes to serve that market. Your value propositions sit in the middle, linking the two.

Strategyzer gives three pieces of advice I find useful. Fill in one canvas for one business model, so a company with two very different customer groups may need two canvases. Treat the canvas as a claim to test. And date and version each canvas, then redraw it as evidence comes in.

What are the nine blocks, and what goes in each?

Strategyzer's summary of the book gives one question for each block (Strategyzer book summary):

1. Customer segments: who are your most important customers?
2. Value propositions: what value do you deliver to customers?
3. Channels: how do you reach your customers?
4. Customer relationships: what type of relationship do you establish with customers?
5. Revenue streams: how does your business earn money?
6. Key resources: what assets are indispensable to your business?
7. Key activities: what activities must you excel at?
8. Key partnerships: who are your key partners and suppliers?
9. Cost structure: what are your most important costs?

In what order should I fill in the canvas?

Strategyzer's summary numbers the blocks in the order above, and its canvas page points out that the cost and revenue blocks only hold if the seven blocks above them are right. So I suggest working in four passes:

1. Customers and value. Name a specific customer segment and the problem you solve for them. Keep each segment to one group of people with the same need.
2. Reaching and keeping them. Fill in channels and customer relationships for that segment.
3. Delivery. Fill in key activities, key resources and key partnerships.
4. Money. Fill in revenue streams and cost structure last, using figures you can check.

Each sticky note should hold one short idea. If a note needs a paragraph, it is probably two ideas.

What does a filled-in canvas look like?

This is a made-up example to show the method. Imagine a small team in Nairobi that buys fresh vegetables at a wholesale market each morning and delivers them to small restaurants before lunch. Every figure is invented.

• Customer segments: owners of small restaurants and food kiosks in one part of Nairobi who buy vegetables daily.
• Value propositions: the order arrives by 10am, the produce is graded, and the owner no longer loses two hours a morning at the market.
• Channels: orders by WhatsApp the evening before, plus visits by one sales person to new restaurants.
• Customer relationships: a named contact for each restaurant and a standing weekly order that can be changed by message.
• Revenue streams: a markup on the produce plus a small delivery fee, paid by M-Pesa on delivery or weekly for regular customers.
• Key resources: two motorbikes with cool boxes, a phone line for orders and a buyer who knows the market.
• Key activities: buying early, sorting and packing, delivery routes and collecting payment.
• Key partnerships: three wholesale traders who hold stock for the team, and riders paid per trip.
• Cost structure: produce, fuel, rider pay, spoilage and phone airtime.

Reading the whole page shows where the risks are. In this example, the business depends on restaurant owners trusting someone else to choose their vegetables, and on spoilage staying low. Those are the first two guesses to test.

How do I test my business model canvas?

Every block is a guess until customers confirm it. Pick the guess that would sink the business if it were wrong, and design a small test for it:

• For customer segments and value propositions, talk to people in the segment about how they handle the problem today.
• For channels, try reaching ten customers through the channel and count how many reply. That number is an example; set your own target before you start.
• For revenue streams, ask for payment for a first order or a short pilot.
• For costs, run the activity by hand for a week and record every shilling you spend.

After each test, update the canvas, change the date and keep the old version. Strategyzer's canvas page notes that moving one block, such as a customer segment, means the channels, activities and costs have to move with it. Our guides on validating your startup idea and the lean startup method go deeper on running these tests.

What mistakes do founders make with the canvas?

• Writing "everyone" or "SMEs" as the customer segment. Name a group you could find and call this week.
• Listing features in the value proposition. Write what changes for the customer.
• Filling in revenue before the customer side is clear.
• Putting several business models on one canvas.
• Treating the canvas as finished once every box has a note in it.

Where can I work on my canvas with other founders?

A canvas improves when someone outside your team challenges it. You can book a meeting room at the house for a working session, or use a day pass for KES 1,000. If you are at the idea stage and want 12 weeks of structured work on your model, the Spark track of the Hackhouse Residency costs KES 25,000 and takes no equity. HH Gen 27.1 applications are open.

Key facts

• The business model canvas has nine blocks and fits one business model on one page.
• It comes from Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur.
• The right side covers the market, the left side covers delivery, and value propositions sit in the middle.
• Fill in customers and value first, and costs and revenue last.
• Treat every note as a guess, test the riskiest one first, and date each version.
• Strategyzer offers the canvas template as a free download.

Frequently asked questions

Is the business model canvas free to use?

Strategyzer offers the template as a free download that you can share with your team. Its paid playbooks are optional.

How long does it take to fill in a business model canvas?

A first draft can take an hour or two with your team. Testing the blocks with customers takes much longer, and the canvas keeps changing as you learn.

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

The canvas fits your whole model on one page so you can see how the parts depend on each other and change them quickly. A business plan is a longer document, often written for a bank or investor.

Should I make a new canvas for each customer segment?

If two segments need different value propositions, channels or revenue streams, yes. Strategyzer advises filling in one canvas for one business model.

Sources

• Business Model Canvas, Strategyzer, checked 5 Nov 2026
• Business Model Generation Book Summary, Strategyzer, checked 5 Nov 2026

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