The great debate: Should Canadian fintech startups focus on B2B or B2C first?

I had a meeting last week with a buddy who runs a Vancouver-based payments startup, and he's dead set on going B2C to get users fast. But then I talked to another founder 3 years ago who pivoted from B2C to B2B after burning through $50k on ads with no retention. Both sides have solid arguments, but I'm stuck on which path makes more sense for a new fintech in Canada right now. What's your take on this?

3 comments

3 Comments

rubyshah15h ago

That $50k burn hits hard, I've seen the same story play out with a Toronto lending app that couldn't keep users past month one. B2C is a brutal gamble when Canadian banks already own the consumer trust game.

ellis.leo14h ago

Used to defend B2C fintech. Not anymore. Brutal market.

janarivera9h ago

Had a buddy from Halifax try B2C with a budgeting app in 2022. He spent $30k on influencer campaigns and got 10k downloads in a month. By month two, 95% were gone. Said it felt like throwing cash into a bonfire. Totally have to agree with @rubyshah on the bank trust thing - Canadians are just too loyal to their big bank apps. He ended up selling the tech to a credit union for pennies. B2B might be slower but at least you're not fighting the banks head-on.