Business Model Canvas Should Pay More Attention to the Software Startup Team

TL;DR

This paper argues that the Business Model Canvas should be modified to better emphasize team factors, especially in software startups, supported by literature review and case study data.

Contribution

It proposes specific modifications to the Business Model Canvas to incorporate team-related factors in software startup contexts.

Findings

Team factors are crucial in software startup success.

Current BMC lacks emphasis on team components.

Empirical data supports the need for BMC modification.

Abstract

Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a tool widely used to describe startup business models. Despite the various business aspects described, BMC pays a little emphasis on team-related factors. The importance of team-related factors in software development has been acknowledged widely in literature. While not as extensively studied, the importance of teams in software startups is also known in both literature and among practitioners. In this paper, we propose potential changes to BMC to have the tool better reflect the importance of the team, especially in a software startup environment. Based on a literature review, we identify various components related to the team, which we then further support with empirical data. We do so by means of a qualitative case study of five startups.