Osterwalder

Alexander Osterwalder is a Swiss business theorist, author, and entrepreneur best known for co-creating the Business Model Canvas, a strategic management tool that helps visualize a business model on a single page. His work focuses on business model design, innovation, and value creation, bridging academic research and practical application.

The Business Model Canvas was developed during Osterwalder’s doctoral work at the University of Lausanne with Yves Pigneur. The canvas identifies nine building blocks: Customer Segments, Value Propositions, Channels, Customer Relationships, Revenue Streams, Key Resources, Key Activities, Key Partnerships, and Cost Structure. Since its introduction, the canvas has become widely used in entrepreneurship education, startups, and corporate strategy.

Osterwalder co-authored the influential book Business Model Generation (2010) with Pigneur, which popularized the canvas. He later contributed to Value Proposition Design (2014) and Testing Business Ideas (2015), expanding the framework to value proposition design and idea validation. He helped found organizations that commercialize these concepts, including Business Model Foundry and Strategyzer, a company that offers tools, training, and software for business model design and testing. His work has had a broad impact on how teams brainstorm, test, and iterate business ideas across education, consulting, and industry.