Life in a Pressure Cooker: Startup & Partnerships with Stefan Ross

Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital

In this episode, Stefan Ross, Head of Partnerships at Pigment, shares his journey from sales to partnerships and his experiences in the UK startup ecosystem. He discusses the importance of strategic thinking and curiosity in partnerships, the centralized nature of the UK startup scene, and the misconceptions about partnerships. Stefan emphasizes the need for structural alignment within companies and how to effectively manage and communicate with multiple partners. He also touches on the hiring process for partnership managers, the significance of mentorship, and his favorite tools and resources. Stefan offers valuable insights into building successful partnerships and the internal culture needed to support them, and much more!

Timestamps

The partnership journey (00:00:19)

Entering the world of partnerships (00:01:13)

UK startup ecosystem (00:11:35)

Common misconceptions about partnerships (00:16:44)

Internal culture for being partner-ready (00:18:32)

Understanding the Importance of Executive Buy-in (00:18:49)

Transitioning to Multi-Product Platforms (00:21:04)

Managing Multiple Product Sales Teams (00:23:49)

Scoring and Evaluating Partnerships (00:25:52)

Types of Alliances in Business Ecosystems (00:27:00)

Choosing the Right Alliances and Metrics for Success (00:29:25)

Aligning Incentives for Partner Success (00:32:00)

Communicating Metrics to the C-suite (00:34:35)

Tools and CRM for Partnerships (00:36:16)

The value of structural alignment (00:37:09)

Hiring process for partnership managers (00:38:25)

Qualities of a great partnership manager (00:41:29)

Learning from mistakes in partnerships (00:46:36)

Stefan’s Links

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefan-ross-83641074

Pigment - https://www.pigment.com/

My Links

Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes

YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal

🎓 5-day email course: www.enterprisesalesexpertise.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit partnergrow.substack.com