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Kennesaw State University · on Coursera

Business Model Canvas: A Tool for Entrepreneurs and Innovators

Beginner English University CertificateFREE
SkillsBusiness Model CanvasBusiness modellingValue propositionEntrepreneurshipVenture planning

Is this course right for you?

Our take
A hands-on, project-centred Kennesaw State course built around a single, genuinely useful tool: the Business Model Canvas.

Good for: Learning and applying the Business Model Canvas hands-on.

Skip if: You want a broad entrepreneurship overview or funding content.

Rather than read about it, you work the canvas for a real or imagined venture, mapping how the business creates and captures value — which is exactly why it's worth taking if applying the tool is the goal, and too narrow if you wanted a broad entrepreneurship overview or funding content. Free to audit on Coursera; a certificate needs a subscription (about $49/month) or Coursera Plus, with financial aid available. The canvas has been a staple of startup thinking for years and isn't going anywhere (as of 2026).

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About this course

Business Model Canvas: A Tool for Entrepreneurs and Innovators is a hands-on, project-centered course built around a widely used tool in entrepreneurship. From Kennesaw State University's Dan Stotz, it walks you through each block of the Business Model Canvas — value proposition, customers, channels, revenue, costs, and more — and has you apply it to a real idea.

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Instructor

DS
Dan Stotz
Coursera instructor

Dan Stotz teaches entrepreneurship at Kennesaw State University and has extensive experience in business coaching and innovation. The course reflects a practical, do-it-yourself approach to business modelling.

Frequently asked questions

It is a one-page visual template for mapping how a business creates, delivers, and captures value — covering nine building blocks like customer segments, value proposition, revenue streams, and cost structure. From Kennesaw State University, the course teaches you to use it to design, test, and refine a business model quickly. It is a widely-used entrepreneurship tool for thinking through a venture on a single, clear page.

It helps, but is not essential. You can learn the canvas conceptually without one, but applying it to an actual idea — your own or a hypothetical — is where it clicks, since it is a tool for mapping and testing a specific business model. If you have an idea, work it through the canvas as you learn; if not, use an example. Either way, no fully-formed venture is required.

No — it is focused specifically on the Business Model Canvas as a tool, rather than a broad entrepreneurship course covering funding, marketing, operations, and so on. It goes deep on this one framework and how to use it well. If you want the full entrepreneurial journey, a broader course or specialization suits better; this teaches one genuinely useful tool thoroughly.

Yes, you can audit it on Coursera and watch the lectures at no cost. The graded elements and the certificate require a subscription, with financial aid available if you apply. Since much of the value is understanding and applying the canvas, auditing gives you the substance if you want the tool rather than the credential.

It is a focused course — typically a few hours to a couple of weeks at a light pace — since it centres on one tool. That makes it a quick way to learn the Business Model Canvas, after which the real value comes from actually applying it to map and refine a business idea of your own.
Free
to audit
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