How Startups Secure Valuable Partnerships
Make sure that windfall isn’t a deathtrap
A partnership with an existing business can be a huge win for a startup. But just because a bigger, shinier company wants to be your new BFF, it doesn’t mean the revenue firehose is going to be aimed your way.
It’s almost a requirement these days for an up-and-coming startup to join forces with a slower, less-flexible, more networked company as part of an overarching sales strategy. Whether your startup offers a product or a service, high-tech or low-tech, hardware or software, gaining access to a bigger partner’s customer base, marketing reach, and industry expertise can advance your startup along its growth curve like rocket fuel.
Furthermore, the more strategic partnerships can create a new slate of future options for your startup — everything from access to new markets to investment to eventual acquisition.
But partnerships — and especially the pursuit of them — can suck up a ton of time, a bunch of resources, and an ample amount of lost revenue while your company ramps up for a book of business that may never materialize.
So here are some questions to ask yourself to help recognize when a partnership is real.
