You know I’m a fan of the simplicity and usability of the Business Model Generation approach to turning a business idea into a revenue-generating model (or seeing how your competitors make money)
Well it’s about to appear on an iPad near you. Or near me, as I am still unable to talk myself into buying one – it will take over my life and I’ll stick to having others use one around me.
UPDATE: The App is now available at the Business Model Toolbox page
According the BMTBox Business Model Canvas iPad App page, we’ll be able to:
- Sketch out a full business model using all 9 of the building blocks defined in the book
- Add guesstimate figures for revenue, costs, market size, pricing etc without struggling through spreadsheets
- Produce reports on profitability, customer segments etc
With careful facilitation, the ‘BMGen’ approach is a tool for any business looking to get a grip on where the next dime should come from. Or where substantial new revenue streams can be developed. The challenge is often following through with the model and ensuring that everyone in the company that needs to know about it can use it. It does take an hour or two for the approach to sink in and be usable, so I introduce it by encouraging innovative approaches to storyboarding the business idea or value proposition. Then there is a big ‘reveal’ of the canvas.
There’s talk, too, of Web apps to allow the non-tabletters to use the approach. On a team basis, I do prefer the giant sheet of paper and lots of pens and post-its. I work with clients to turn that into Powerpoints (or whatever works for them). The apps should help translate the initial sketches into real business model scenarios to provide starting points to action plans in the company. And the built-in financial analysis and scenario-planning will make things a lot easier.
Keep an eye on developments by following the hashtag #BMTBox
