Lean Canvas Template
The Lean Canvas swaps the Business Model Canvas's partner-focused blocks for problem, solution, and unfair advantage — better suited to brand-new ideas.
Lean Canvas vs. Business Model Canvas
The Lean Canvas replaces Key Partners, Key Activities, Key Resources, and Customer Relationships with Problem, Solution, Key Metrics, and Unfair Advantage. It's built for untested startup ideas, where the biggest risk is that nobody wants what you're building.
Start with problem and segment
Fill in Problem and Customer Segments first — everything else depends on them. If you can't name a specific customer with a specific pain, the rest of the canvas is decoration.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between Lean Canvas and Business Model Canvas?+
Lean Canvas focuses on risk in new ideas — it includes Problem, Solution, Key Metrics, and Unfair Advantage. The Business Model Canvas focuses on how an established business operates, with Key Partners, Activities, Resources, and Customer Relationships.
Which should I use?+
Use the Lean Canvas for a brand-new idea you haven't validated yet; use the Business Model Canvas when the model is clearer and you're mapping how it all fits together.
Students build this inside Playbook
Playbook is an entrepreneurship simulation where frameworks like this are guided, graded, and tied to a business students actually build.