Lean Canvas

# Lean Canvas — [Your Business Name]

**Updated:** [DATE]

## 1. Problem
- Top 3 problems your customer is trying to solve, in their own words:
  - [Problem 1]
  - [Problem 2]
  - [Problem 3]
- Existing alternatives they use today:
  - [Alternative 1 — e.g. a manual workaround, a competitor, a spreadsheet]

## 2. Customer Segments
- Target customer (one sentence):
  - [Role + company size + situation]
- Early adopter (the customer most likely to buy first):
  - [More specific description]

## 3. Unique Value Proposition
- Single, clear, compelling message that explains why you're different and worth buying:
  - [One sentence]
- High-level concept (e.g. "Uber for X", "Stripe for Y" — only useful if it's accurate):
  - [Optional analogy]

## 4. Solution
- Top 3 features that solve the top 3 problems above:
  - [Feature 1]
  - [Feature 2]
  - [Feature 3]

## 5. Channels
- How you'll reach customers (in order of priority):
  1. [Primary channel — e.g. direct outreach to 50 ICPs]
  2. [Secondary channel — e.g. niche community presence]
  3. [Future channel — e.g. SEO content]

## 6. Revenue Streams
- Pricing model:
  - [e.g. $49/mo per user, or one-time $499]
- Lifetime value estimate (rough):
  - [$X]
- Gross margin target:
  - [%]

## 7. Cost Structure
- Customer acquisition cost (target):
  - [$X]
- Distribution costs:
  - [List]
- Hosting / fixed costs:
  - [List]
- People costs:
  - [List]

## 8. Key Metrics
- The 1–3 numbers you'll watch every week:
  - [Metric 1 — e.g. paying customers]
  - [Metric 2 — e.g. activation rate]
  - [Metric 3 — e.g. monthly net new MRR]

## 9. Unfair Advantage
- What's hard for competitors to copy?
  - [Insider knowledge / network / proprietary data / personal brand / something else]
- If you're not sure, write "TBD" and keep building. Most unfair advantages emerge from doing the work.

---

## Worked example — fictional B2B SaaS

| Box | Your prompt | Worked example |
|---|---|---|
| Problem | Top 3 problems your customer is trying to solve | (1) Manual invoice reconciliation eats 4 hours/week. (2) Late-payment chasing falls to founder. (3) Existing tools don't integrate with the local accounting platform. |
| Customer Segments | Target customer (one sentence) + early adopter | UK-based 5-15-person professional services firms; early adopters: agencies billing 30+ invoices/month |
| Unique Value Proposition | Single compelling message | "Invoice reconciliation that closes the books on Friday — automatically." |
| Solution | Top 3 features | Auto-match invoices to payments; chase reminders by SMS; Xero + QuickBooks integration |
| Channels | Priority order | (1) Direct outreach to 50 ICPs on LinkedIn; (2) Niche Slack community for UK agency owners; (3) SEO for "agency invoicing software" |
| Revenue Streams | Pricing + LTV + gross margin | £49/mo per company; LTV £1,200; gross margin 85% |
| Cost Structure | CAC + variable + fixed | CAC target: £200; hosting £30/mo; SMS £0.05/message |
| Key Metrics | 1-3 weekly numbers | Paying customers; activation rate (first reconciliation within 7 days); monthly net new MRR |
| Unfair Advantage | What's hard to copy | Founder ran an agency for 8 years; built the rolodex of 200+ UK agency owners willing to take her calls |

Use this as a sanity check. If your version is significantly thinner than this example, you don't yet know your business well enough — go talk to 5 more customers.

---

## How to use the canvas

1. **First pass: write it solo in 30 minutes.** Don't over-think. Capture the current thesis.
2. **Second pass: review with 1-2 trusted founder friends.** They'll spot weak boxes immediately.
3. **Third pass: pressure-test against 5 customer conversations.** Update the canvas with what you heard.
4. **Re-do every 90 days.** The canvas is a snapshot. Strategy drift is real; refresh quarterly forces the conversation.

The canvas is not the strategy — it's the proof that you've thought through every box. If you can't fill a box honestly, the gap is the work to do next.