I had different circumstances and a very different outcome. In my previous business, we were 100% focused on consumer but by the second year, B2B was 50% of our revenue and growing (it ultimately represented 80%+). I could put in the same effort to generate a $10K order or a $100K order. It seemed like a no-brainer.
The problem is that the soul of the company was really with consumers and I was simply chasing short-term money at the expense of the long-term. Ultimately, the B2B channel was more sensitive to our high cost structure (built for consumers) and the best ones went on to find lower-cost solutions. Investing in B2B meant that I wasn't investing in consumer, so that business languished. I rationalized this with 5+ years of > 100% CAGR and $15 million of the easiest money ever raised, but how I always described the business and what people were investing in was the consumer business. By the time the problems worked themselves through our B2B channel, we had dug too big of a hole to be able to retreat back to consumer.
The moral? Not 100% sure, but a few thoughts:
1. Make sure you think your pivot through. Listen to the market, but have some conviction about the long-term.
2. If you do pivot, then pivot. I tried to serve two markets at once. I have a black belt in rationalization as I'm sure you do as well. Even if something is 10% of your business, it probably takes just as much energy as the 90%.
3. If you ever think you can change the wine industry with a clever idea... shoot me a message before you invest your time!!!
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