10 Partnership Commandments by Lauren Berson-Sugarman

A step-by-step booklet for you

“The most important thing is that you develop your own principles and you ideally write them down, especially if you are working with other people.” - Ray Dalio, investor

There is no textbook - no manual - for how to build partnerships.

That is why it is such a treasure to find well-written “principles” or “commandments” developed on the frontlines by dealmakers. Today I’m re-publishing a crisp and concise collection of 10 partnership commandments that Lauren Berson-Sugarman posted to Twitter. When I first came across her list a couple years ago it helped solidify my decision to collect insights like hers into a partnerships newsletter.

Lauren knows partnerships. Before becoming a founder, she closed deals at companies big, small and in between - Citigroup, Meebo, Google, a16z, WW (formerly Weight Watchers). 

Today, Lauren is the CEO of Conceive - a start-up on a mission to help people get pregnant and support them through the bumps along the way.  I recommend Lauren’s very informative weekly summary of fertility and reproductive healthcare updates in this post-Roe era.

I hope reading Lauren’s 10 partnership commandments prompts you to reflect on your own principles for building partnerships. If you haven’t written yours down, you should. And once you do, send them my way if you’re open to sharing with TfT readers.

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

be thoughtful about partnerships. they take a lot of time and send a message to your customers and the ecosystem about who you are/ want to be. here are my 10 [partnership] commandments:

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

Rule number uno. be selective. build a strategic pipeline that supports company-wide goals. focus on those targets and don’t get distracted by the sexy inbound (if you’re lucky enough to have this problem)

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

2/ give thought to whether buying or building are preferred to a partnership. there can be some cases in which you need to own this IP

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

3/ clearly identify your objectives for each partner - retention, acquisition, brand buzz*? *let's talk about this one later. I have concerns on this being a solo goal

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

4/ carefully understand your partner's motivation and objectives. are 3 and 4 inline? Any partnership that only benefits you will not last. *otherwise known as a clear value exchange*

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

4a/ never forget you can always expand the pie. be creative with how to support your partners and vice versa. when you’ve checked all the other boxes, you can usually nail this one even w $ or resource limitations

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

5/ agree on KPIs - in advance. Measure, Measure, Measure! don’t agree on things you can’t measure (you’d be surprised how often this happens)

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

5a/ if you’re a startup, don’t fall for the 10% trap. this is what happens when you assume you can get 10% of a large co’s members to buy your product without clear path to this vision becoming a reality

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

6/ ensure you *share the same values* - brand and company values can be different. vet them both.

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

7/ prioritization. does this fit into a strategic priority? so important, especially in a larger org. are resources rallied around making this happen at your company? at the partners'? If one of these answers is no, cease + desist

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

8/ figure out who the decisionmaker is and who your day-to-day point of contact is. establish relationships with all of the above, and more. nurture these relationships. they should be long-term and if done right, transfer to the next company you work at

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

9/ establish solid feedback loops and check in regularly with your partner and internally. *internal* so important. tons of stakeholders at play - e.g. marketing, PR, product, eng, legal

Lauren Berson Sugarman @LaurenBerson

a lot to unpack here. what questions do you have? what am I missing? what else are you curious about?

#1 and #2 resonate most with me. Less is (generally) more when it comes to partnerships. Or, as Lauren says, be selective. She also emphasizes exploring alternatives to partnering. It’s critical to align internally at the outset on whether to build, buy or partner. After all, you will need your cross-functional partners fully bought-in for a successful partnership.

I also appreciate Lauren’s highlighting shared values between organizations. Trust is essential in building partnerships. And shared values are foundational to trust.

For a laugh