S2 #8: Alex Osterwalder (Strategyzer) on AI disruption, ICP, value propositions, B2B and SaaS models and why better business models beat better products

What if the real problem in B2B growth is not execution, but weak strategy, weak evidence and fragile business models?

In this episode I sit down with Alex Osterwalder, co-founder of Strategyzer and one of the creators behind the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas.

Alex has helped shape how millions of founders, leaders, consultants and teams think about business models, value creation and strategy. In this conversation, we go beyond the familiar canvases and focus on what happens when strategy meets reality.

We talk about why frameworks can create false confidence, why companies confuse activity with progress, how ICP should emerge from evidence, why value creation matters more than differentiation and what AI changes for B2B and software business models.

Alex also explains why he believes better business models beat better products, why small software tools are especially exposed in an AI-shaped market, how companies should assess AI disruption risk, and why the best companies are good at killing projects before they consume too much time and capital.

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✅ INFO:

Through GoToMarket.no and my Strategic Account Growth Program (SAGP), I help B2B companies sharpen ICP, buying committees, account prioritization, messaging and commercial execution so sales and marketing can focus on the right accounts and build stronger pipeline.

Contact: gregory@gotomarket.no

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What we cover:

• Alex’s journey from academic research to creating business tools used globally
• Why Business Model Canvas started as an attempt to make business models easier to design and test
• The difference between a framework and a tool
• Why strategy can become a “hallucination” if assumptions are not tested
• Explore vs exploit, and why existing business often kills future growth
• Why better business models can beat better products
• What GoPro, Apple, WHOOP and Oura teach us about business model resilience
• Why B2B teams often validate with users who do not control the buying decision
• How to map buying committees and prioritize the stakeholders who matter
• Why ICP should emerge from evidence, not from a workshop
• Why customers care about value before they care about differentiation
• How AI makes it easier to build polished products before proving customers care
• Why small software tools may be especially vulnerable to AI disruption
• Why ecosystems and platforms may become more important in software
• Why Strategyzer moved from books and canvases toward Playbooks and applied programs
• How Strategyzer Playbooks turn business problems into step-by-step workflows
• A practical PE/VC-backed B2B SaaS scenario: what Alex would assess first
• AI disruption risk, business model strength and where to invest next
• Why companies should kill weak projects based on evidence
• The role of boards and CEOs in balancing efficiency with future growth
• Why “technology doesn’t matter” if you get customer, value creation and value capture wrong
• Why leaders should ask for evidence, not just ideas or spreadsheets

This is a practical conversation for founders, CEOs, boards, investors, product leaders, CROs, CMOs and GTM teams navigating slower growth, AI disruption, weak differentiation and pressure for efficient growth.

If you work in B2B SaaS, software, tech, strategy, product, sales, marketing, private equity or venture capital, this episode gives you a clear way to think about what to test, what to protect, what to change and what to stop doing.

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I’m Gregory Gjini 👋

Founder of GoToMarket.no, B2B growth and GTM operator, former CMO in a 200MNOK ARR scale-up, and host of Curious by Nature.

I help B2B companies unlock growth through sharper GTM choices, stronger commercial alignment and a clearer path from ICP to revenue.

📍 Oslo | 💻 Remote
🌐 https://gotomarket.no