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Track 06Full course

The partnership deck

The narrow case for why a large company should integrate, distribute, or co-sell with you now.

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Step-by-step curriculum with modules, quizzes, teardowns, and a scored audit.

Reader
A BD lead, platform manager, or corp dev director at a company with 10x to 1000x your distribution, evaluating one relationship among dozens on their desk.
Context
Read after an intro or conference meeting, usually before a call where the partner decides whether to route you to legal, product, or a dead end.
Read budget
3 to 5 min, skimmed on a phone before the call
Length
8 to 10 slides
Success
Partner replies with a specific next step: a named team to loop in, a pilot scope, or a data request, instead of 'let's stay in touch'.

The jobs, in order

The slide-by-slide argument structure. Skip a job and the reader feels the hole.

  1. 01State the one relationship being proposed in a single sentence
  2. 02Show the partner's business problem this solves, in their language
  3. 03Prove relevant traction or users that overlap with their base
  4. 04Show the mutual math: what they get in revenue, retention, or product completeness
  5. 05Name the specific integration point or team on their side
  6. 06Show technical readiness: API, SDK, or existing integrations with comparable partners
  7. 07Address why now: a market shift, a competitor move, or a mutual customer pushing for it
  8. 08Show the ask concretely: pilot scope, timeline, resourcing needed from them
  9. 09Preempt risk questions: security, exclusivity, support burden, brand risk
  10. 10Close with a named next step and owner on both sides
Keep · earns the next meeting
  • One-sentence framing of the specific relationship, not a company overview
  • Traction numbers that matter to the partner's KPIs, not vanity metrics
  • A named team or division on the partner's org chart
  • Mutual math slide showing value flow in both directions
  • Concrete, scoped ask with a timeline
  • Risk preempt slide covering security, support, and exclusivity
Cut · triggers a pass
  • Full company origin story or founder bios
  • Market size TAM slides aimed at investors, not partners
  • Generic 'why partner with startups' philosophy slides
  • Full product roadmap beyond what's relevant to the integration
  • Fundraising history or cap table
  • Long feature lists with no tie to the partner's business
Starter · first slide template

Adapt this sentence to get past the blank page. Replace every bracket with a concrete noun, number, or role.

[Partner] + [Company]: [one integration] that gives your [named team] [specific revenue/retention/completeness gain].
Weak vs. strong · the opening line
Weak

"We'd love to explore a strategic partnership between our companies to drive mutual value."

Strong

"Slack + Nimbus: a native /pay command that gives your Business+ tier a payroll surface. 41% of our users are on Slack today; expected ARPU lift $8/seat/yr."

Names the specific integration, the partner's own team/tier, and the mutual math in the partner's units. Reads like their internal 1-pager, not your pitch.

Where attention concentrates

Mutual math and named integration point carry most of the weight; company background is nearly zero.

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Sources

Next step
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