Are you a startup founder considering a partnership with a big player in your industry? Before you sign that deal, you might want to think twice. In this eye-opening episode we dive deep into the dangers of partnering with or selling to incumbents when you're trying to disrupt an industry.

Chris and Yaniv explore the concept of "killing your customers" – not literally, of course, but in the sense of disrupting the very companies you might be tempted to partner with. They break down the "funnel of doom" that many startups fall into when pursuing B2B2C partnerships, and explain why going direct to end users is often the better strategy for truly innovative products.

In this episode, you will:

- Discover the 10 steps of the "funnel of doom" for B2B2C partnerships
- Learn why incumbents often struggle to understand and implement disruptive innovations
- Understand the importance of owning your user relationships and data
- Explore real-world case studies of successful direct-to-consumer disruptors
- Debate the limitations of white-label and B2B business models
- Gain insights on how to avoid common startup pitfalls when choosing a go-to-market strategy
- Recognize the value of iterating quickly and maintaining control over your product

00:00 Intro
02:15 The Pitfalls of Partnering with the Wrong Customers
04:21 Why B2C is Often Better Than B2B2C
05:04 Disrupting Your Industry
06:41 The Challenges of Partnering with Incumbents
13:37 High Probability Negative Outcomes
17:12 The Reality of Big Company Partnerships
22:32 Competitors Moving Faster
23:00 The Reality of First Versions
23:54 The Painful Experience of Partnership
25:52 The Brutal Reality of Iteration
28:20 The White Label Trap
34:50 The Power of Direct to Consumer
36:02 Case Studies of Disruption
37:53 Shopify: A Unique Example
41:40 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Links mentioned in the EP:
⁠https://www.tsp.show/edu-b2c-vs-b2b2c-driving-direct-disruption-w-matt-holme/⁠ 

B2B vs B2C comparison Table:
⁠https://docs.google.com/document/d/11ICK-KmnPJgzfQC1wkxz6Tf-l69pUptmk1QyKH9QB9M/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.1izb56alryed

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The Startup Podcast website: https://tsp.show

Learn more about Chris and Yaniv
Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/
Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/
Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Editor: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur
Content Strategist: Carolina Franco https://www.linkedin.com/in/francocarolina/
Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

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