B2B vs B2C

Definition

Business-to-Business (B2B) means selling to companies that have budgets and painful problems; B2C means selling to individuals who have wallets and abandon software at the slightest inconvenience.

Example Usage

We started B2C but we're pivoting to B2B because it turns out individuals don't pay reliably, whereas companies have legal contracts and purchase orders.

Origin

Business model terminology dating back to e-commerce definitions

Fun Fact

B2B SaaS has 5-10x higher customer lifetime value than B2C, which explains why every startup claims to be 'enterprise software' even if their product sucks

Source: Business model classification

Related Terms

Advanced

Venture Studio

A firm that builds startups from scratch by hiring teams, ideating problems, and taking equity stakes. It's like a VC that does the hard part for you, but also owns a chunk of your company and probably has opinions about your product.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

pirate metrics

The AARRR framework measuring Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, and Revenue—the key metrics for growth-stage startups. Named because AARRR sounds like a pirate, which is somehow still funny to founders.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

reps and warranties

Legal promises in investment agreements where founders swear everything they've said is true and the company isn't hiding skeletons. Breaking these can result in personal liability, making due diligence the most stressful time to discover that intern you hired in 2019 never signed an IP assignment.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

Acquisition / Acquihire

One company buying another, either for its technology and users or just to hire its talented team members—sometimes it's hard to tell which.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

ghost equity

Phantom stock or profit interests that mimic real equity without actually granting ownership, often used to incentivize employees without diluting founders. All the motivation, none of the control.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

Unicorn Club

The unofficial group of founders and investors who've experienced a billion-dollar valuation or exit. It's exclusive, pretentious, and they'll definitely mention it.

🚀 Startup / VC

Translate This Term

See “B2B vs B2C” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

restrictions

The legal fine print that tells you what you can't do with your property, crushing dreams of backyard chicken coops and ...