Why so many new B2B start-ups struggle and what it tells us about the importance of brand strength in B2B.
Launching a B2B start-up can feel like pushing a boulder up a mountain. You’ve got a product. You’ve got a proposition. You’ve even got some budget. But the leads don’t come. The sales cycle drags. And doors refuse to open. What gives? Often the founders’ willingness to continue.
Here’s the hard truth: most B2B start-ups struggle as they lack brand strength. Not just design assets or a tidy strapline – but the three things that sit at the heart of every successful B2B brand:
- Familiarity – Being known
- Relevance – Being understood by an audience
- Trust – Being chosen
And if you don’t have those three things? You’re invisible.
Start-ups face a stacked deck
The odds are already against them. Research shows the majority of UK start-ups don’t make it past year three. For B2B firms, the barriers to success are even higher:
- Longer buying cycles, where every touchpoint has to build confidence
- Multiple decision-makers, all with different needs and biases
- Buyers who default to safety, often choosing brands they already know or those with an established reputation
And in B2B, most buyers only actively consider three suppliers on a shortlist. If you’re not already known, or trusted, you don’t even make the list.
Brand strength: the most underused advantage in B2B
In a recent Velo Voice article, we broke down how to assess B2B brand strength. The key takeaway? Brand isn’t what you say. It’s what others remember, believe and repeat about you.
That’s a big problem for start-ups. They have:
- No awareness in the market
- No track record of proof
- No distinctive positioning
- And no memory structures in the minds of buyers
That lack of brand equity makes everything harder — from getting meetings to closing deals. And it’s why many early-stage founders end up over-investing in sales tactics chasing leads and under-investing in brand-building. But without a strong brand, even the best sales pitch hits a wall.
Trust: the non-negotiable in modern B2B
According to Edelman’s global B2B Trust Report, 71% of decision-makers say trust is critical when selecting a new business partner. It’s the shortcut that buyers use when they’re short on time, or facing pressure to justify a recommendation.
For start-ups, trust is the hardest asset to earn — and the easiest to overlook. You can’t fast-track credibility. But you can design for it:
- Craft a clear, compelling position that shows you understand the market
- Publish thought leadership that proves expertise
- Build social proof through testimonials, awards and case studies
- And align your culture, messaging and behaviour — because brand is everything you say and everything you do
AI is making brand strength even more important
Here’s what’s changing fast: AI is becoming the gatekeeper in more B2B buying journeys. Whether through procurement tools, search assistants or decision support systems, these models lean on known sources, trusted content and established signals of authority.
If your start-up doesn’t have a digital footprint, press coverage or respected third-party validation, you might not even make it to a human’s screen.
In short: No brand = no training data = no visibility in AI-driven journeys.
Building a strong brand
You can’t buy your way into brand strength overnight. But you can start building:
- Clarity – Be crystal-clear about who you’re for, what problem you solve and why it matters
- Consistency – Repeat your message across channels and campaigns so it sticks
- Confidence – Sound like the expert you are, even if you’re the new name in town
When buyers see you behaving like a brand they should trust, they’ll start to believe it too. Many established brands would benefit from this too, as cutting investment from the brand harms longer-term prospects. Brand strength isn’t a luxury — it’s a survival strategy.
Because in a world of AI shortlists, cautious buyers and competitive noise, being good is no longer good enough. You have to be known. You have to be trusted. You have to be chosen.
You need a strong brand.
