B2B2C Discovery is Hard Mode
When you sell through another business to reach end users, you trade connection for reach. Classic discovery (talk to users, ship fast, iterate) breaks down because every layer between you and the user corrupts the signal.
How to actually learn:
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Build a side door — Keep a free tier or direct cohort as your research lab. They're not for scale, they're for learning.
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Treat pilots as research, not just sales — This is your only window with real access. Sit in on sessions. Talk to actual users. It closes fast once you go "live."
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Bake feedback into contracts — Push for anonymous data sharing, A/B testing rights, access to support tickets. If they refuse all access, that's a red flag.
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Instrument everything early — Track repeated failed actions (= frustration). Track features that get disabled after 2 weeks (= broken promise). Your product has to tell you what users won't.
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Befriend support teams — They hear the raw truth. Help them with docs/FAQs and they'll share the war stories your metrics miss.
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Get raw feedback from champions, not their "solutions" — A feature request from a mid-level manager ≠ user demand. Push for actual complaints, not analysis.
The brutal truth: B2B2C gives you distribution before understanding. Most companies don't survive the wait. The ones that do build systems to learn despite the obstacles.
I wrote a lot more about this on my substack: https://holenventures.substack.com/p/product-discovery-without-access
