Behind the Handshake: Kelly Sarabyn
I believe that cross-pollination breeds the most interesting fruits. That’s one reason why I wanted to interview Kelly Sarabyn.
Kelly brings a wealth of outside experience to the world of technology partnerships.
Today, Kelly leads Technology Partner Programs at HubSpot and is also the co-host of a partnership podcast called Unlearn about new growth strategies. But as you’ll read below, Kelly’s perspective on partnerships has been shaped by her experiences outside of tech - in the legal and marketing realms.
Kelly is an avid reader and learner across genres and her ability to synthesize has helped make her a leading voice in technology partnerships.
I hope you enjoy this conversation with Kelly Sarabyn as much as I did …
How do you describe what you do to someone sitting next to you on a flight?
I work at a tech company forming partnerships with other tech companies so that we can win new customers together and customers can more easily use both of our products together.
How did you find your way into partnerships?
I have an unusual background. I think that’s one of the cool things about Partnerships: people come from all different journeys. For me, the throughline across my career has been reading, researching, creating ideas and strategic thinking.
Early on I worked in legal research, focused on constitutional law. And after taking some time away from work for my kids, I landed at a branding agency where I helped companies with their storytelling, their core brand message. That was my first exposure to startups and it was really exciting work. I wanted to go work at a startup so I transitioned to leading marketing at an early stage company called Pandium. And one of the key personas we sold to was partnerships teams that were building technology integrations. I interviewed customers from companies like Twilio and Square and HubSpot. One of those interviewed was with Scott Brinker at HubSpot and he later offered me a job. That is how I joined HubSpot and eventually took over our technology partnerships as a Director of Partnerships.
What trait do you look for when you’re hiring that isn’t usually on the resume?
I look for someone who is able to continually learn and actually derives pleasure from continually learning. Partnerships are incredibly complex and the market is changing faster than ever so people who are always learning are particularly well-suited to be able to successfully navigate the challenges inherent in partnerships and the broader uncertainty in the market.
What advice would you offer to someone earlier in their career that you wish someone had given you?
I’m an introvert and one thing I didn’t fully appreciate early on was how important networking is to career growth. Networking is helpful not only for landing a job. Networking is also key to understanding different roles and different career trajectories.
Can you tell me about a partnership that you’re proud of and a lesson that you carry with you from that deal?
One internal partnership I built was with our solutions partner marketing team. We collaborated together to build a partner-to-partner program called the Partner Growth Accelerator where we match a technology partner with a services partner. These partners are placed into cohorts and go through a six week training with speakers and we arm them with best practices. And then they get access to HubSpot marketing development funds (MDF). I worked hand-in-hand with Christi Williams to get this program off the ground and even though we technically report up to different functions, we were able to collaborate together to make sure that this program was a win for both our teams, for our partners and for HubSpot.
What is one thing about negotiations that you find to be true, but is often overlooked?
If you over-index on winning the negotiations that is right in front of you, you can be doing damage to the long-term relationship. I see some platforms negotiate aggressively for near-term wins but, in doing so, leave a negative impression with their partners and that has huge ramifications down the road when it is time for the next negotiation together.
What is an unpopular or contrarian view that you hold?
I think the long-tail of partners are seriously under-invested. Many companies I see focus on their top partners, they nurture and invest in those partners and then it creates a feedback loop where those partners continue to drive more and more impact. I am a big believer that, with proper systems and the right marketing strategy, long tail partners can drive a ton of value.
What is something you read or listen to that makes you smarter?
UnSiloed with Greg LeBlanc - the host is a friend of mine and he interviews people who write books across all different non-fiction genres, from biology to gender studies to politics. But it is very accessible and does not get bogged down in jargon.
Is there a book outside of business, the business genre that has been helpful to you in your career?
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates - this is one of my favorite books. It is about people who feel they’re special, they move to suburbia and they have kids and they chafe under that. It is a book that makes you think about your values in your life and your career. We spend so many hours at work and, for me, the book made me reflect on what leaves me fulfilled in my life and in my work.
What is a question that I didn’t ask you that I should have. And what is your answer?
You did not ask what I like most about working in partnerships!
I just love how challenging partnerships are. Partnerships cross every area of the business internally, but they also require orchestration of a number of different internal and external stakeholders. You have to time that orchestration properly - if you get partners excited about working together without getting buy-in from your sales leaders, for example, then the partnership is going to fail.
