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Money, pricing & model

Should I sell to businesses (B2B) or consumers (B2C)?

B2B usually means fewer customers paying more, longer sales cycles, and rational buyers, easier to reach ramen profitability. B2C means huge markets but fickle users, hard monetization, and you often need scale before the model works. If you want to bootstrap, B2B or B2B-flavored products are the safer bet.

Go deeper

2 resources, 2 link-checked.

📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

YC's Startup Library is the canonical, no-fluff reference on how startups actually make money, curated from partners who've seen thousands of companies. It cuts through business-model jargon with practical framing founders can apply immediately.

Business Models & Metrics, Y Combinator Startup Library

From ycombinator.com by Y Combinator browsable library

  • Recurring-revenue models are more defensible than one-time transactional ones
  • The best model is usually an existing proven model with one thing dramatically improved
  • Who pays, how often, and whether revenue compounds matters more than the model's label
Open ycombinator.com →
📄 Article
✓ Link checked Freemium Intermediate

Lenny's Newsletter is the most trusted operator-written resource on product, growth, and monetization, drawing on data from hundreds of companies. It's specific and tactical where most business-model writing is generic.

Lenny's Newsletter, Growth, Business Models & Monetization

From lennysnewsletter.com by Lenny Rachitsky newsletter archive

  • Match your monetization model to how customers already buy in your category
  • Freemium is a growth engine only if free users convert at a meaningful rate
  • B2B vs B2C is a fundamental fork that changes sales, pricing, and funding needs
Open lennysnewsletter.com →

People also ask

What business model should I choose for my startup? 3 → What's the difference between SaaS, marketplace, and transactional business models? 3 → How do I make money from a free product or freemium model? 3 → How does a marketplace actually make money and solve the chicken-and-egg problem? 3 → How does Zerodha make money without charging brokerage on delivery trades? 2 → How do I figure out my unit economics before I have real customers? 3 →

Also in D2C

The same ground, over in Money, pricing & unit economics, our D2C track.

I'm not a finance person, what books/records do I actually need to keep from day one? 3 → What is cohort analysis, and why does it matter more than a single repeat-rate number? 3 →

Also in How Founders Use AI

How founders actually use AI for this, over in Finance & Accounting.

How do founders use AI for bookkeeping, invoicing, runway and burn analysis? 4 → Why build financial models with AI instead of from a blank spreadsheet? 4 →

Also in GTM

The same ground, over in Close deals and price right, our GTM track.

I have a call booked with a real prospect tomorrow. What do I do on it? 4 → I have no idea what to charge. How do I pick a first price? 4 →

Also in Wealth

The same ground, over in Founder money foundations, our Wealth track.

How much should I pay myself as a founder? 2 → How big should my emergency fund be when my income is lumpy? 3 →
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