Partnership Bd

Partnership & BD

Help the user build strategic partnerships and business development deals using insights from 9 product leaders.

How to Help

When the user asks for help with partnerships or BD:

1. Understand the opportunity - Ask about the potential partner, what each side wants, and what the ideal outcome looks like 2. Assess network vs. merit dynamics - Determine if success depends on relationships or product quality, and plan accordingly 3. Design the approach - Help them craft a pitch that shows mutual benefit, not just their own needs 4. Navigate the negotiation - Guide them on timing, leverage, and when to say no

Core Principles

Partnerships are network-dependent in some industries

Ayo Omojola: "Very often the way to make things happen is network-dependent, not necessarily about the merit of the thing itself. There are companies that exist because the founders know the CEO of every major payer." In industries like healthcare, finance, or enterprise, relationships matter more than product. Determine if your business is network-dependent early.

Position yourself as a case study for the platform

Adam Grenier: "Let me into your alpha, because I have five years of experience buying mobile ads. If you get us to work, we're a killer case study for a category you want to grow." When partnering with major platforms, show how your success helps them prove their business model. Offer to be an alpha tester for new features.

Build scalable platforms, not bespoke deals

Keith Yandell: "We'll build you a product so you won't need to ask us every time. Then you'll know the parameters in which you can negotiate." Effective BD teams work with Product to create self-serve platforms for partners rather than negotiating one-off integrations. This increases velocity and reduces engineering load.

Strategic patience leads to better deals

Jason Droege: "McDonald's approached us and I said 'No.' I pushed them off for four or five months. It ended up being a net benefit because we got a great deal." Don't rush into partnerships just because of the partner's size. Initial resistance can lead to better terms or exclusivity.

Channel partners won't sell like founders

Jen Abel: "The problem with channel partnerships is there are a hundred of you on the list and you're expecting them to sell on your behalf. They're not visionaries, they're consultants." Don't expect Accenture or Deloitte to evangelize your product. They lack the founder's vision-casting ability.

Use corp dev to find internal sponsors

Julia Schottenstein: "Use that corp dev team to your advantage. Take that meeting, say you're not interested in acquisition yet, but push them for an introduction to someone who could sponsor the deal - usually someone in Product or a GM." Corp dev teams are gateways to internal sponsors even if you're not looking to sell.

Find partners at the moment of need

Meltem Kuran: "VCs ask portfolio companies 'What platform do you trust for hiring?' So people go to their VCs for that kind of question." The best partners are those your target audience already consults at the exact moment the problem arises.

Treat partnerships as iterated prisoner's dilemma

Tobi Lutke: "Being a good partner is like a corporate marshmallow test companies tend to fail. The correct way to play iterated prisoner's dilemma is coordinate for both sides - it's way more valuable over long periods." Resist pulling future profits forward at the expense of a partner. Long-term coordination always beats short-term defection.

Test with manual operations before building

Keith Yandell: "We should have tested this at one hotel with hacky operations before asking for product resources." Validate partnership hypotheses with manual operations before committing engineering time. Dream big, start small.

Questions to Help Users

• "What does the partner want from this deal? What's in it for them?"
• "Is this industry network-dependent, or will product merit win?"
• "Can you position yourself as a case study for something they want to prove?"
• "What's your leverage? Can you afford to say no?"
• "Are you building toward a scalable platform or negotiating a one-off deal?"
• "Who inside the partner organization can sponsor this internally?"

Common Mistakes to Flag

• Expecting partners to sell for you - Channel partners and consultants won't evangelize like founders. Don't outsource vision-casting
• Rushing into big-name partnerships - Strategic patience often leads to better deal terms. Don't let FOMO drive bad deals
• Building before validating - Test partnership ideas with manual operations before committing engineering resources
• Ignoring network dynamics - In some industries, relationships matter more than product. Know which game you're playing
• Short-term defection - Pulling profits forward at a partner's expense destroys long-term value. Play the long game

Deep Dive

For all 11 insights from 9 guests, see references/guest-insights.md

Related Skills

• Founder Sales
• Enterprise Sales
• Building Sales Team
• Negotiating Offers

Partnership & BD - All Guest Insights

9 guests, 11 mentions

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Adam Grenier

Adam Grenier

"I was able to basically position and say, 'Look it, you want to work with us. Let me into your alpha, because I have five years of experience already buying mobile ads. I know the space. I know it'll work. And if you get us to work, we're a killer case study...'"

Insight: Securing strategic partnerships with major platforms (like Facebook or Google) requires demonstrating how your success helps them prove their own business model.

Tactical advice:

• Offer to be an alpha tester for new platform features to gain a first-mover advantage
• Pitch your company as a unique case study for a category the platform wants to grow

Timestamp: 00:22:13

Ayo Omojola

Ayo Omojola

"Very often the way to make things happen is network-dependent, not necessarily about the merit of the thing itself. So it's just like, there's companies that exist because the founders know the CEO of every major payer in the country"

Insight: In highly regulated industries like healthcare, business development is often driven by high-level network access rather than product merit alone.

Tactical advice:

• Determine if your business model is network-dependent early on.
• Be extremely crisp about your use case to lower the social capital cost for others to introduce you.
• Focus on identifying the specific person in an organization who has their 'finger on the button' for decisions.

Timestamp: 42:23

Jason Droege

Jason Droege

"McDonald's actually approached us and they said, 'We'd love to do food delivery with you.' And I said, 'No.'... I pushed them off for four or five months... I think it actually ended up being in net benefit because we got a great deal with them."

Insight: Strategic patience and the willingness to say 'no' to a major partner can lead to better deal terms and exclusivity.

Tactical advice:

• Don't rush into partnerships just because of the partner's size
• Use initial resistance to negotiate better deal terms or exclusivity

Timestamp: 00:57:27

Jen Abel

Jen Abel 2.0

"The problem with channel partnerships and why I don't believe in them is there are a hundred of you on this list and you're expecting them to sell it on your behalf. Biggest no-no, they're not vision casters, they're not visionaries, they're consultants."

Insight: Relying on large consultancies (e.g., Accenture, Deloitte) as channel partners is often ineffective because they lack the founder's visionary selling ability.

Tactical advice:

• Don't expect consultants to disseminate your product; they are not incentivized to be your visionaries.

Timestamp: 00:44:02

Julia Schottenstein

Julia Schottenstein

"Use that corp dev team to your advantage. It's their job to meet absolutely every company that could be potentially interested. So take that meeting, say you're not interested in an acquisition just yet, but push them to make an introduction to someone that could sponsor the deal. So usually that's someone in product or maybe a GM."

Insight: Corporate development teams are gateways to internal product sponsors; use them to build relationships even if you aren't ready to sell.

Tactical advice:

• Take meetings with corp dev teams even if you aren't currently looking for an exit.
• Ask corp dev for introductions to GMs or Product leaders who could act as internal sponsors for future deals.

Timestamp: 00:40:12

Meltem Kuran

Meltem Kuran

"Venture capital partners was a huge one because when you get money from a new VC, they ask, they're like, 'Okay, thank you for giving us this money, now we want to expand our team with the money you gave us. What are your other portfolio companies using? What is a platform that you trust that you would recommend?' So people go to their VCs for that kind of question."

Insight: The best partners are those whom your target audience already views as a trusted resource for the specific problem you solve.

Tactical advice:

• Identify partners who are consulted at the exact moment the customer's problem arises (e.g., VCs during hiring phases).

Timestamp: 00:35:18

Sriram and Aarthi

Sriram and Aarthi

"I just had a conversation on the internet. I have this whole thing where I do think a lot of people trying to get ahead in their career, especially in technology, should just write cold emails, cold DMs, notes, put out content, et cetera and that leads to good things."

Insight: Cold outreach and content creation are powerful tools for building high-value relationships and partnerships.

Tactical advice:

• Send cold DMs or emails to leaders you admire.
• Provide value or show genuine interest in their work to initiate a relationship.

Timestamp: 00:06:18

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"Go and meet every single peer that you have you don't directly meet with. Go get coffee with them and ask them, 'Hey.' Have no agenda. Just ask them what's going on in their life, who are they, what their life story is and then who are a couple of interesting people that you should meet with?"

Insight: Internal networking within a company builds a resource pool for future hiring, role-seeking, and problem-solving.

Tactical advice:

• Schedule two 'no-agenda' coffees per week with peers and leaders.
• Always ask for introductions to two more interesting people at the end of a meeting.
• Follow up at least once a year to maintain the relationship.

Timestamp: 00:21:29

Keith Yandell

Keith Yandell

"Why don't you figure out what the scalable solution is for this? We will build you a product. You won't need to come ask us every time to build something. And then you'll know the parameters in which you can negotiate."

Insight: Effective BD teams work with Product to build scalable platforms rather than negotiating bespoke, one-off integrations.

Tactical advice:

• Define the parameters of what can be negotiated before entering partnership talks
• Build self-serve platforms for partners to increase velocity and reduce engineering load

Timestamp: 49:32

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"We should have gone out and tested this at one hotel with just some hacky operations and seen what the uptick was... before going and asking for the product resources."

Insight: Use manual operations to validate partnership hypotheses before committing precious engineering resources to a build.

Tactical advice:

• Test partnership ideas with 'hacky' manual operations (e.g., physical promo codes) first
• Apply the 'Dream big, start small' philosophy to BD deals

Timestamp: 50:35

Tobi Lutke

Tobi Lutke

"Being a good partner in business is like this corporate marshmallow test that companies tend to fail in a very funny way... If you're talking about long timeframes, like 100 years, there is no question. But clearly, the correct way to play iterated prisoner's dilemma is coordinate for both sides. It's way more valuable doing that over long periods of time than any momentary defection could possibly be convenient at a moment."

Insight: Strategic partnerships succeed by treating them as an iterated prisoner's dilemma where long-term coordination always beats short-term defection.

Tactical advice:

• Resist the urge to pull future profits forward at the expense of a partner
• Operate on the assumption that both you and your partner will win your respective markets
• Pass the 'corporate marshmallow test' by choosing long-term coordination over immediate convenience

Timestamp: 01:06:44