The Business Model CANVAS
If you are teaching any type of business class, the Canvas Model is an excellent tool for students and business people alike to assist with organizing ideas and actions. In a nut shell, Wikipedia describes the "Business Model Canvas is a strategic management and lean startup template for developing new or documenting existing business models. It is a visual chart with elements describing a firm's or product's value proposition, infrastructure, customers, and finances."
An example of the Canvas Business Model
Some Benefits of using the Canvas Model:
- Focus - narrows done ideas to make them manageable
- Speed and Agility - It is just as easy to change as it is to create the model
- Common Language - It is transparent to all who look at the Canvas
- Value Proposition - It is centered on the key factor that drives the business
Some Great Resources:
Content - Description of the nine parts of the Canvas Model
Strategyzer - print material and books related to Canvas
Canvanizer - online tool with a yearly subcription
bmFiddle - free online tool
Forbes - Article on Canvas
Youtube - Tutorial Videos
Are their other applications to the Canvas Model? Maybe Science, Math....
Please post your thoughts.
Tech Tool Review:
Explee is the application that allows you to create powerful and efficient animated video. The whiteboard style called “whiteboard animation” or “video scribing“ is an efficient way to simply explain an idea, a project or a complex notion.
Some features include:
- A wide variety of clipart
- Ability to upload clipart
- Different looking font
- Animation and transitions
- A selection of music
- Ability to upload music
- Voice over option
Nothings for free. Costs???
- Educational 1 year subscriptions is $30 which allows you to create your videos and the option to upload them!!!
- Their is also a School plan option which is $30 a student. With this plan, you can share videos and teachers have the ability to manage their classroom through a dashboard.
Educational Applications:
- Introductory videos to a new topic
- Explanations of key concepts
- Advertisements (Business side of me)
- Reaching the audio/visual learners
Is it difficult to use??
NO!! This application must be one of the easiest tool I have used in a while. It is a drag-n-drop and does not take much time to create. If our have an idea or plan ready convert to a video it is a smooth transition. Check out the following video I did on the 4 P's of Marketing. It took me about 50 minutes to create, 5 minutes to download, and 5 minutes to upload to youtube for a grand total of one hour!! This was my first time using it!!
For those not familiar with the shows (according to wikipedia);
Dragons' Den is a Canadian reality television format featuring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas in order to secure investment finance from a panel of venture capitalists. Dragons Den is currently in season 13.
Shark Tank is an American reality television series that premiered August 9, 2009, on ABC. The show is a franchise of the international format Dragons' Den, which originated in Japan in 2001. Shark Tank shows aspiring entrepreneur-contestants make business presentations to a panel of "shark" investors, who then choose whether or not to invest. Shark Tank is currently in season 7.
For the past 5 years, I have incorporated both shows into the curriculum for all my business classes. Some example activities my students have participated in are:
- "Compare and Contrast" - students watch an episode and compare a contrast between a successful and unsuccessful pitch.
- "What would you do?" - students watch the entrepreneurs pitch and before the Dragons or Sharks begin, we have a class discussion on what we would do if we were the investors.
- Youthrive - my entrepreneur class participates in a venture project with the University of Windsor
- Class or School Dragons Den - students compete in a Dragons Den style competition against classmates
The following is a list of learning skills that students can obtain by watching these two shows!!
Minus the barrage of insults from Kevin O'Leary!!
Communication Skills:
- Presentation Skills - how the entrepreneurs present their idea or product/service
- Negotiation Skills - between Sharks/Dragons and the entrepreneurs
- Idea Generator - stimulates new ideas and applications from the pitches
Business Concepts:
Each pitch highlights important business concepts like:
- Sales, Sales Forecasts, Cash flow & Margins
- Distribution & Supply Chain
- Differentiation, Copyrights & Patents
- Market Niche, Social and Traditional Marketing
- Royalties, Debt & Equity
Personal Growth:
- Inspirational - pitches that involve helping a community or those in need
- Motivation - the student edition episode highlights young budding entrepreneurs
- Excitement - encourages students to share their ideas
