ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a framework for understanding the milestones and their inter-relatedness. The entrepreneurial journey seeks their validation, which most of the time results in their modification around what turns out to be possible or feasible. The business model is the equivalent of the architectural model: a physical (or virtual) representation of a structure aimed to visualize or communicate its design and to determine the fulfilment of its purpose and its technical or cost viability. The keystone nature of the business model is well captured by the words of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright: "It is easier to use an eraser on the drafting table than a wrecking ball on the building site". The business model has three main elements: a customer interface, a production infrastructure, and a financial model. The so-determined structure represents the business model for the venture.
