On this episode of the Unlearn podcast, hosts Asher Mathew and Kelly Sarabyn welcome Rich Gardner, a partnership maven with a knack for turning industry insights into actionable strategies. Fresh from events like Catalyst and Dreamforce, Rich shares his take on peer-to-peer learning and aligning partnerships with the big picture.
Drawing from his time at Klaviyo, Rich dives into the nitty-gritty of being a true partnership operator. Join us for a candid conversation about where partnerships are headed and how to keep everyone – from your team to your partners – rowing in the same direction. It's a down-to-earth look at the future of business collaboration, sprinkled with Rich's real-world wisdom.
00:00 - Introduction
03:14 - Reflections on Catalyst and Peer-to-Peer Learning
09:47 - CEO Involvement and Partnership Strategy
14:02 - Challenges in Measuring Partnership Impact
20:23 - Operator Mindset
29:01 - The Future of Partnerships and Marketplaces
39:38 - Challenges in Collaboration with Product Teams
47:41 - The Evolution of Partnerships and Future Opportunities
50:55 - Closing Remarks
Rich discusses his time at Catalyst, noting the value of peer-to-peer learning, especially in the context of partnerships within SaaS and tech. Asher mentions the event's agenda, which was shaped by input from attendees based on key questions from the prior year. Kelly adds that the event included participants from diverse backgrounds, such as platform leaders, startups, and consultants, allowing for varied insights.
Asher highlights the involvement of CEOs at Catalyst and their role in partner strategy discussions. Rich stresses the importance of aligning partnership strategy with CEO priorities and the need for partnerships leaders to understand business metrics. Both agree on the necessity of clearly communicating the value of partnerships to CEOs and having a focused agenda for discussions.
Kelly emphasizes the need for rigorous attribution and operational systems to measure partnership impact, noting the complexities of working with both external and internal teams. Asher discusses key CEO priorities—product-market fit, growth, and resource allocation—and the importance of aligning partnership efforts with these goals. Rich adds that partnerships should drive business growth and highlights the value of experimentation and careful resource use from a CEO's perspective.
Rich reflects on his shift from lawyer to partnership leader, stressing the need for leaders to grasp all aspects of the business, from product to finance. Kelly highlights the significance of the platform business model and the opportunities in cross-ecosystem collaboration at Inbound. Rich also acknowledges HubSpot's platform ecosystem and the team's efforts to innovate in that space.
Asher highlights the importance of marketplaces and the role of partnership leaders in managing go-to-market strategies and platform listings. He stresses the need to align stakeholders internally and externally. Rich and Kelly discuss how AI could ease integration challenges by democratizing development resources. Asher also emphasizes the importance of providing a clear framework for strategic initiatives like marketplaces to ensure proper alignment and resource allocation.
Asher and Rich discuss the difficulties of collaborating with product teams, who often prefer building in-house solutions over partnering with third parties. Rich recalls his experience at Klaviyo, where he persuaded the product team to allow third-party integrations and later invest in co-development. Both agree that partnerships should be framed as a way to help product teams reach their goals more quickly, and that building strong relationships with these teams is crucial. Kelly notes that product teams' focus on core development can sometimes limit their openness to partnerships, which leaders need to address.
Kelly stresses the importance of partnership leaders using data to support their cases when seeking resources from the CEO. Rich adds that partnership leaders are accountable for their outcomes and should take full ownership of their vision and role. Asher and Rich agree that a well-resourced, aligned partnership function can help drive company success. Kelly notes the growing trend of solutions partners developing products and how AI could make integration and development more accessible, potentially shifting partnership dynamics.
Rich expresses enthusiasm for working with scale-up companies and the unique challenges they face in partnerships, stressing the need to align partnerships with the CEO's priorities. Asher and Rich discuss the value of a well-structured partnership function and the necessity for leaders to operate across various business areas. Kelly adds that the platform business model plays a key role in driving innovation and growth, with partnership leaders at the forefront of these efforts.
“Now is the perfect time to claim a seat at the table, given the shifts in the market. The key for leaders is to focus on being effective operators” - Asher Mathew
"To succeed as a partnerships leader, regardless of your title, you must understand your product, customer success, sales, and what matters to finance. You need to grasp it all—essentially acting as a mini-CEO." - Rich Gardner
"It's complex to map out these dynamics. Crossbeam has attempted to visualize the cloud, but when you consider hyperscalers and their marketplaces, they're now incorporating business software, not just IT and dev tools. This creates layers of ecosystems within ecosystems. Even hyperscalers are part of others' ecosystems, so no one is just a platform anymore—everyone is both a participant and a platform." - Kelly Sarabyn
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