Business model
kit

Invented by Board of Innovation, this tool has helped thousands of corporate inventors, students and entrepreneurs to design successful business models.

What is this for?

The business model kit is a tool designed to explore and imagine different business models to support your solution.

The key to a sustainable business model is ensuring that all stakeholders in the ecosystem are delivering and capturing items of value.

Be sure to check out our business model examples and info on how to use the business model kit.

Dive deeper into how we work with Business Model Innovation.

Step-by-step guide

Why should you use the business model kit?

Excel is not the most engaging innovation tool, is it? Discussions on business models often end in total confusion. You’re talking about multiple revenue streams, 10+ partners and many transactions going back and forth; it’s hard to keep all the information in your mind, and even harder to communicate your ideas with the team.

That’s why we developed a visual tool that helps you ideate and refine business models, correct existing issues, and communicate the outcome to other teams in a simple way. Perfect for individual and team brainstorms about new business ideas, it creates clarity on value streams and stakeholders.

When to use the business model kit?

Opportunities to use the business model kit:

When teams are still exploring monetization options and partnerships.
To align a team on how the ecosystem around an idea might look like.
To set up different revenue models to compare during brainstorm sessions.
To present your business model to a large group.

Best when past problem-fit gate or when pivots are needed later in the process.

How do I use this tool?

Get a physical or digital version of the business model kit and meet with the team (prep).
Position yourself as a separate start-up and depict your organization as a client or supplier (5 min).
Map out all the different stakeholders (10 min).
Map out different value exchanges between stakeholders (20 min).
Ensure that your model is sustainable by checking if each stakeholder gives and receives something (10 min).
Challenge each stakeholder and transaction and try to imagine alternative business models or revenue streams (15 min).

Tip: Be specific and name every stakeholder and value exchange.

Tip: Only draw orthogonal lines between stakeholders to ensure a clear visual representation of the business model.1

What’s the difference between the business model kit and the business model canvas?

For those who are familiar with the business model canvas by Alex Osterwalder, our business model kit works in perfect harmony:

The business model kit helps you ideate multiple business model options. In particular, it raises awareness over the value exchange between stakeholders.
The business model canvas is a perfect screenshot of an existing, established business model. We suggest to use it after the business model kit.