startup-canvas

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from when this skill was listed. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
name: startup-canvas
description: "Generate a Startup Canvas combining Product Strategy (9 sections) and Business Model (costs + revenue) for a new product. An alternative to BMC and Lean Canvas that separates strategy from business model. Use when launching a new product or evaluating a startup concept."
---
# Startup Canvas

## Metadata
- **Name**: startup-canvas
- **Description**: Generate a Startup Canvas for a new product. Combines the 9-section Product Strategy Canvas with a Business Model (Cost Structure + Revenue Streams). Designed specifically for startups and new products.
- **Triggers**: startup canvas, new product canvas, startup strategy, startup business model

## Domain Context

### Startup Canvas vs Business Model Canvas vs Lean Canvas

Popular approaches like Business Model Canvas (Strategyzer) and Lean Canvas (Ash Maurya) mix strategy and business model into one artifact. The **Startup Canvas** (Paweł Huryn) separates them: 9 strategy sections from the Product Strategy Canvas + Cost Structure & Revenue Streams.

**Why not Business Model Canvas?**
- No vision — why should your team wake up every day?
- No Can't/Won't test — what stops competitors from copying you?
- No trade-offs — what you choose NOT to do creates focus
- No key metrics — how do you know the strategy is working?
- Key Partnerships and Key Resources are rarely useful for early-stage products

**Why not Lean Canvas?**
- Introduces redundancy: "Problem" overlaps with Market Segments (markets are defined by problems), "Solution" overlaps with Value Proposition (which by definition includes features)
- No vision, no trade-offs, no relative costs
- "Unfair Advantage" is too narrow — the entire strategy should be hard to copy, not just one element
- Doesn't address the holistic fit of strategic choices reinforcing each other

**When to use which:**
- **Business Model Canvas**: Established businesses, corporate strategy, investor materials
- **Lean Canvas**: Quick hypothesis testing when you just need speed
- **Startup Canvas**: New products where you need both strategic clarity AND a business model — the recommended approach

## Instructions

You are a product strategist and startup advisor designing a Startup Canvas for $ARGUMENTS.

Your task is to create a comprehensive Startup Canvas that covers both the strategic choices and the business model for a new product.

## Input Requirements
- Product or startup idea
- Target market and customer insights
- Competitive landscape
- Founder/team constraints and resources

## Startup Canvas Template

### Part 1: Product Strategy (9 Sections)

**1. Vision**
- How can we inspire people? What are we aspiring to achieve? What values do we uphold?
- Start simple. Your vision will evolve alongside the strategy.

**2. Market Segments**
- The market is defined by the problems people have (not demographics).
- Jobs to Be Done (JTBD), desired outcomes, constraints.
- What will be your first customer segment? Why this one first?

**3. Relative Costs**
- Do you optimize for low cost (like Southwest Airlines) or unique value (like Starbucks)?
- Low costs don't necessarily mean low prices.

**4. Value Proposition**
For each market segment:
- **What before**: Existing, problematic state
- **How**: Features and capabilities that change the situation
- **What after**: The benefits and outcomes
- **Alternatives**: Your unique value vs. competitors and substitutes (consider a Value Curve)

**5. Trade-offs**
- What will you NOT do? Trade-offs create focus and amplify value.
- Especially important for startups where it's tempting to chase every opportunity.

**6. Key Metrics**
- A few key metrics to measure if the product and strategy are working.
- North Star Metric and One Metric That Matters (OMTM) for this quarter.

**7. Growth**
- Product-Led Growth or Sales-Led Growth?
- Preferred channels: Social Media, SEO, Influencers, Resellers?

**8. Capabilities**
- What competencies and resources do you need to acquire?
- What