Introduction
I’ve Built, Scaled, and Invested in Startups – Here’s What I’ve Learned About B2B market research
I’ve spent the last 15 years scaling venture-backed startups, building marketing teams, and investing in high-growth companies. I’ve been a part of some fantastic companies that achieved exits Idio, A2IA, Atcore, Zero2Ten and even some that failed miserably. I helped with the successes and I certainly had blindspot that led to epic f*k ups and failures.
Today I run Estes Media, where we help B2B SaaS companies break into competitive markets, and function as a Head of Platform and Marketing at Parameter Ventures, where we invest in Seed to Series B startups and apply capital along product expertise to help founders at the early days with some of their most pressing problems (product). I meet and speak with 100’s of founders a year, I’ve seen firsthand how B2B market research (or the lack of it) can make or break a company.
One of the biggest, easy-to-fix mistakes I see many first-time founders make where they get burned fast early on?
They assume they already know the market.
Ass of You & Me…
I get it—when you’re a founder, you’re convinced you have a game-changing idea.
You don’t.
Many others do.
But what separates successful founders from the ones who burn cash and die?
- A great experienced and blood thirsty team
- Relentless execution (you have no other life and are a slave to the dream)
- A deep, real understanding of the problem, market, customers, and competition
And that last part? It’s an easy spot where many founders get it wrong or overlook it all together….dumb. But not you dear reader!
Market Research: The Startup Cheat Code Nobody Talks About
Market research isn’t just a one-time task you check off your startup to-do list.
It’s an ongoing process that evolves as your product matures. 
Here’s the deal: “So don’t stop, get it, get it (get it)” – Gorillaz
- You don’t stop doing market research after launch.
- You don’t stop doing market research after funding.
- You don’t stop doing market research even when you hit product-market fit. – “Until you’re cheddar headed” aka Exited
Some of the best companies in the world are obsessed with knowing their market, their competitors, and their customers better than anyone else.
Market research is NOT just ‘talking to customers.’
It’s about analyzing competitors’ sales strategies, understanding pricing models, dissecting marketing tactics, tracking industry shifts, and reverse-engineering product roadmaps.
Knowing your market is your edge. If you do this right, you’ll out-execute, out-sell, and out-market your competition.
When Should You Do B2B Market Research? (Hint: Always.)
B2B market research isn’t a one-time box you check before launch. It’s a continuous process that helps you refine your strategy at every stage.
Stage 1: Pre-Product (Before You Write a Single Line of Code)
Key Question: Is This Worth Building?
Before you burn months of time and hundreds of thousands of dollars, you need to validate the problem.
Did you live this shitty problem? Did you fight in the trenches? Find out if your market even exists beyond your use case.
- Identify your competitors (both direct & indirect)
- Understand how customers are already solving the problem
- Test demand before spending $$$ on development
Here’s how:
✅ Talk to 50+ potential customers
💡 Pro Tip:You competitors proudly display their clients on their site. Contact under the guise of a friendly neighborhood researcher, blogger or podcaster.
✅ Join industry Slack/Discord groups and observe pain points
💡 Pro Tip: Dont be pushy and dont try and sell anything.
✅ Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to search for people with the problem you’re solving
💡 Pro Tip: In the very early days, avoid the BS AI many to one outreach tools. This is personal. Be genuine.
✅ Run $2,000 in Google/LinkedIn ads to test messaging & demand
💡 Pro tip: Before you even build an MVP, try this: run a $2,000 Google Ads test with landing pages that describe your solution (even if it doesn’t exist yet). If nobody clicks, your positioning is off.
💡 Pro Tip: If nobody clicks on your ads, your positioning is off.
Stage 2: Beta & Post-Beta (After You Have Some Users, But Before You Scale)
Key Question: Are We Solving the Right Problem?
- Figure out which customers actually would use your product (your first ICP is rarely your best one)
- Test different sales motions: PLG, sales led, partnerships.
- Refine your ICP based on actual user behavior
- Analyze what marketing channels are actually converting
Here’s How:
✅ Track user behavior (Mixpanel, Heap, Amplitude)
💡 Pro Tip: If users aren’t reaching key activation points in your product, your onboarding flow needs a major rethink. Look at drop-off points and optimize.
✅ Run surveys & polls to gather feedback
💡 Pro Tip: Ask users why they signed up and why they didn’t take action. The difference between intent and execution will tell you a lot.
✅ Measure time-to-value (TTV)
💡 Pro Tip: If it takes too long for users to get a “win” with your product, they’ll churn before they even see the value. Focus on reducing friction in the onboarding experience.
✅ Test different sales motions—PLG, outbound, partnerships?
💡 Pro Tip: Your go-to-market (GTM) strategy might be just as much of a problem as your product. If users convert but never upgrade or retain, your monetization and sales model could be misaligned with actual demand.
intent.
Just because someone says they’d use your product doesn’t mean they will.
💡 Pro Tip: Beta users are NOT your final ICP. Expect to iterate before finding the right product-market fit.
Stage 3: Scaling & Expansion (Optimizing Growth & Market Positioning)
Alright, you made it past the messy early days where everything fell on your shoulders. Congrats! You’ve found some traction, maybe even product-market fit. But here’s the thing: what got you here won’t get you to the next level. Now it’s time to double down on what’s working, cut the dead weight, and aggressively position yourself as the dominant player in your space. Focus in the channels that scale beyond you!
Double down on what works (and cut what doesn’t)
At this stage, stop being a sentimental beta baby about channels, strategies, or customer segments that aren’t delivering. You’re scaling now. Data—not gut feelings—should be running the show.
✅ What acquisition channels have the lowest CAC and highest LTV? Double down.
✅ Which personas convert the fastest and churn the least? Prioritize them.
✅ Which features get the most adoption and usage? Build around them.
💡 Pro Tip: If you’re still saying, “I think this is working,” you don’t have enough data. Stop thinking, start measuring. Your a big girl, and dead reckoning wont get you much further.
Run competitive analysis—who’s winning & why?
By now, you know your competitors inside and out. But here’s the deal: they’re evolving too. You need to constantly reassess the landscape and adapt.
✅ Watch their ads. Are they doubling down on LinkedIn? Facebook? Google? Steal what’s working. Follow the art of war: Meet them head on or where they arent!
✅ Scrape their job postings. Are they hiring outbound SDRs? PLG marketers? Follow their strategic moves.
✅ Listen to their customers. Are there feature gaps? Complaints? Unmet needs? Find a way to exploit them.
💡 Pro Tip: Look, if you know you’re the stronger force—whether that’s better funding, a sharper strategy, or sheer execution speed—you don’t play nice. You dominate. Sun Tzu knew a thing or two about winning battles, and this one’s straight out of his playbook:
“If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
💡 Pro Tip: Have your sales team ask every prospect, “Who else are you considering?” and “Why?” This real-time competitor data is gold.
Test pricing models & market positioning
Your pricing isn’t permanent. Too many startups set their pricing once and forget about it. Massive mistake. Pricing needs testing, iteration, and optimization just like your product.
✅ Experiment with different models (per-seat, usage-based, value-based, freemium-to-paid).
✅ Analyze discounting trends. Are you closing more deals when offering flexible pricing? That’s a signal.
✅ Adjust pricing based on ICP. Enterprise vs. SMB buyers have different price sensitivities. Optimize accordingly.
💡 Pro Tip: Want to see how your pricing compares? Ask 10 of your prospects what they think is “too cheap,” “reasonable,” and “too expensive.” That’s your pricing window.
Expand into new verticals or geographies
If your core market is saturated or plateauing, it’s time to expand—but do it strategically.
✅ Look at your existing customer base. Are there untapped industries already buying your product?
✅ Test geo-expansion with paid ads. Before hiring sales teams in new regions, test the demand first.
✅ Build credibility fast. Case studies and testimonials from a similar industry/geography will accelerate adoption.
💡 Pro Tip: Don’t go after multiple new verticals at once. Pick one, execute hard, dominate, then move to the next.
How to Reverse Engineer Your Market (Competitive Research That Actually Matters)
Most founders do lazy competitor research. They skim a few websites, look at pricing pages, and think they’re done.
That’s not how winning SaaS founders operate.
Here’s how to actually analyze your competition—beyond just product features:
💡 Pro tip: If you’re not sure what your competitors are doing, schedule a demo with their sales team and see how they sell. Take notes. Use their own process to improve yours.
Building Your B2B market research Stack: The Tools You Need
B2B market research is easier than ever—if you have the right tools.
Here’s what I recommend:
✅ Customer Research: Typeform, Google Forms, Hotjar
✅ Competitor Research: SEMrush, Ahrefs, SpyFu, G2
✅ Ad Intelligence: Facebook Ad Library, LinkedIn Ad Transparency
✅ Product Analytics: Amplitude, Mixpanel, FullStory
✅ CRM & Sales Data: HubSpot, Salesforce, Apollo.io
💡 Pro tip: You don’t need all of these tools—start with free versions, test what gives you useful data, and double down on what works.
Final Thoughts: B2B market research is Your Secret Weapon
If you want to win, do the hard work:
- Obsess over your competitors (not just their products, but how they sell)
- Know your ICP better than anyone (and keep refining it)
- Test your positioning constantly (because markets evolve)
Need help with B2B market research, GTM, or positioning? Estes Media specializes in SaaS demand gen, competitor analysis, and category creation. Let’s chat. 🚀
Next Steps:
Want a step-by-step competitor analysis template? Drop your email.
Need help building a scalable GTM plan? Let’s talk.
