如今，全世界都在谈论苹果公司（Apple）刚推出的iPhone6和苹果手表（Apple Watch），人们很难相信，这家价值数万亿美元的科技巨头曾经也只是一家很小的初创电脑公司。
对于许多创业者们而言，苹果、Facebook或Twitter的发展轨迹，证明消费者市场才是创业的蓝海。
但这一点并非始终都是正确的。如果放弃与公司做生意（与消费者市场相反）的潜力，创业者们将错失大量有利可图的好机遇。
作为芝加哥创业服务组织1871的董事会成员，笔者接触过许多初创企业，因此很清楚B2C（企业对消费者）公司可以从B2B（企业对企业）初创公司学到什么，包括人力资源管理公司Fieldglass、在线企业硬件交易平台MarkITx和会议与活动在线交易市场Eved。
B2B领域有巨大的潜力；通过将新技术整合到传统业务当中，创业者们可以显著提高效率，开发新市场，解决长期存在的问题，在某些情况下，甚至会颠覆整个行业。事实上，越来越多的B2B初创公司正在经历快速增长，同时获取了令人艳羡的利润。
以Fieldglass为例。这家芝加哥软件公司最初规模很小，如今已成为全世界最大的供应商管理系统（VMS）提供商。据报道，该公司在今年五月被SAP公司以超过10亿美元的价格收购，这是近几年规模最大的私人科技公司交易。
再比如企业IT硬件在线交易平台MarkITx，公司成立仅8个月，市值便已经达到1,200万美元。笔者从公司联合创始人弗兰克o姆斯卡莱罗那里了解到，公司今年的收入同比增长了300%。
要创建下一家伟大的初创公司，创业者们应该从B2B公司学会以下六条经验：
明智地确定第一批客户
许多B2B公司往往会围绕最初客户来设计产品与服务，因此通过战略方法吸引第一批客户就变得至关重要。Eved成立之初，公司创始人兼CEO塔利亚o弥赛亚追逐的目标是戴尔（Dell）等大公司。后来，她设计了Eved平台和在线市场，以解决这些客户的需求，使客户可以直观了解会议和活动的总开支。而这为吸引其他大公司奠定了基础，帮助她将客户增加到5,000多家公司。
客户的长期价值至关重要
一般而言，B2B公司的销售周期比B2C公司更长。但大多数B2B客户都是长期客户，最终，B2B公司可以从客户获取更多价值。1999年，贾伊o谢卡瓦特成立Fieldglass，他花了超过一年时间才找到第一批客户，其中包括威瑞森（Verizon）、美国国际集团（AIG）、葛兰素史克（GlaxoSmithKline）和强生（Johnson &Johnson）。但他一直紧紧抓住这批客户，现在这些客户每年在合同雇工方面的开支都达到数十亿美元。到目前为止，Fieldglass的客户保持率超过99%。
要获得稳定的收入，应该抓住能够产生经常性收入的机会。
将最有可能重复使用公司产品或服务的客户放在首位。
姆斯卡莱罗深知，金融公司将是其在线交易平台的理想供应商，因为金融公司会在IT方面进行大量投入，并且经常要清理库存，为最新技术腾出空间。MarkITx的第一家客户是芝加哥商业交易所（Chicago MercantileExchange），从2013年8月以来已进行了22次交易。
开发有粘性的服务或产品
要与客户保持长期关系，必须创建天生具有“粘性”的产品与服务，并且为同一家公司客户包含多个层级的整合服务。MarkITx的仪表板可以通过应用程序接口（API）连接到客户公司，为客户提供其资产的实时市场价值数据，以及更新IT基础设施的最佳时间。结果，这些公司会经常查看仪表板，而且在需要出售资产的时候，会更倾向于使用MarkITx。通过投身客户遇到的实际困难当中，Fieldglass可以提前为客户打造整合性服务。例如，公司会密切关注劳动法的变化（谢卡瓦特估计，仅在欧洲，每月便会有25-30处变化），并确保其软件能及时反映这些变化。因此，为了解决问题，客户对Fieldglass变得越来越依赖。
从眼前寻找商机
思考一下你的公司目前面临的问题，或者你会如何解决行业内的问题。商机无处不在——或许这些机遇没有那么令人兴奋，但却非常可靠且有利可图。谢卡瓦特在产生创建Fieldglass的想法之前，曾做过合同程序开发员，为一家技术供应商工作，并为买方和客户提供咨询，后来他发现了管理合同雇工所面临的挑战。对行业内情的了解，也使他创建的公司轻松打败了其他5家竞争对手（这些公司都已破产）。
清楚何时采取下一步行动
思考一下，你现在的工作能否变成更大的事业。2010年，Eved进军国际市场之前，还是一家本土服务公司，公司规模在4年内增长到1,000万美元，并入选Inc. 500强（Inc. 500）排行榜。但弥赛亚清楚，海外有更多机会。于是，她出售了Eved的服务部门，保留了研发部，将其重新打造成一家全球性公司，她的目标是公司市值达到十亿美元。（中国进出口网）
With the world buzzing over Apple’s reveal this month of the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, it’shard to believe that this multi-trillion-dollar tech giant was once a small computer startup.
For many entrepreneurs, the epic trajectory of Apple AAPL -0.87% — or Facebook FB -1.63%or Twitter TWTR 0.07% , for that matter — serves as evidence that the consumer space iswher you go to launch a winning startup.
But that doesn’t always hold true. By foregoing the potentials of selling to business (asopposed to consumers), entrepreneurs are missing out on a world of opportunities — andlucrative ones at that.
As a board member at 1871, Chicago’s entrepreneurial hub for startups, I see a lot ofstartups and know what B2C companies can learn from B2B startups, including Fieldglass,MarkITx and Eved.
The B2B space is rife with potential; by integrating new technologies into traditionalbusinesses, entrepreneurs can dramatically improve efficiencies, uncover new markets, solvelongstanding problems and, in some cases, disrupt entire industries. Indeed, an increasingnumber of B2B startups are experiencing rapid growth while achieving enviable profit margins.
Take Fieldglass, for example. Once a small startup, the Chicago-based software company is nowthe biggest vendor management system (VMS) provider in the world. In May, it was reportedlyacquired by SAP for more than $1 billion, one of the largest sales of a privately held techcompany in recent years.
Or consider MarkITx, an online marketplace to trade enterprise IT hardware, which earned a$12 million valuation after only eight months of operations. After speaking with its co-founderFrank Muscarello, the company’s revenues are up 300 percent this year compared to last.
To launch the next great startup, here are six lessons that entrepreneurs can learn from B2Bcompanies about how to launch the next great startup:
Target your first customers wisely
Many B2B businesses design their products and services around their initial clients, making itcritically important to take a strategic approach to recruiting those first customers. TaliaMashiach, founder and CEO of Eved, went after large firms like Dell when her company was stillin its early stages. She then designed Eved’s platform and online marketplace to addressthose customers’ needs and provide visibility into their meeting and the total amount spent onan event. That set the stage for the recruitment of other large-scale firms and helped herstock her online marketplace with more than 5,000 companies.
Long-term value of customers is critical
Generally speaking, B2B companies have longer sales cycles than B2C firms. However, mostB2B customers are long-term customers and, in the end, companies can extract greater valuefrom them. After Jai Shekhawat founded Fieldglass in 1999, it took him more than a year toland his first customers, which included Verizon VZ -0.80% , AIGAIG -3.34% , GlaxoSmithKlineGSK -1.33% and Johnson & Johnson JNJ -2.36% . But he held on to them, and now eachspend billions on contract labor annually. To date, Fieldglass boasts a customer retention rateof more than 99%.
To generate steady revenue, focus on opportunities to generate reoccurring revenue
Prioritize customers that are most likely to use your product or service repeatedly.
Muscarello knew that financial companies would serve as ideal suppliers for his online exchangebecause they invest heavily in IT and frequently purge their inventory to make room for thelatest technology. MarkITx’s first customer, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, is now on its22nd trade since August 2013.
Build something that sticks
To develop a long-term relationship with your customers, you need to create products orservices that are inherently “sticky” and provide several levels of integration within acompany. MarkITx’s dashboard plugs into companies via API and provides real-time data aboutthe mark-to-market value of their assets and the optimal time to refresh their ITinfrastructure. As a result, these companies regularly check the dashboard and are more apt touse MarkITx when it comes time to sell their assets. Fieldglass takes integration a step furtherby staying enmeshed in its customers’ problems. It monitors, for example, changes in laborlaws (in Europe alone, Shekhawat estimates that there are 25-30 changes per month) andensures that its software immediately reflect those shifts. In turn, customers grow moredependent on Fieldglass to manage their problem for them.
Look for a business idea on your desk
Think about the problems your company is facing or how you might address issues in yourindustry. There are business ideas there — maybe not sexy ones, but solid, profitable ones.Shekhawat came up with the idea for Fieldglass after serving as a contract developer, workingfor a technology vendor and consulting for buyers and customers, wher he witnessed thechallenges of managing contract labor. That insider knowledge also enabled him to build acompany that easily overshadowed the five preceding competitors (all have since gone out ofbusiness).
Know when to venture further
Consider whether the work you’re doing now could parlay into something bigger. Before Evedwent global in 2010, it was a local service company that grew to $10 million in four years andlanded on the Inc. 500. But Mashiach knew that there was a bigger opportunity out there. Soshe sold Eved’s service side, took its R&D and re-launched it as a global company, withher sights set on a billion-dollar goal.
