Ron Piovesan is back on Groundwork, this time to share why Okta is going deep with fewer partners instead of going wide. In this episode, Ron unpacks the strategic shift from managing a broad ecosystem to focusing on a small number of high-impact partnerships. He shares how his team aligns long-term product roadmaps and go-to-market strategies with just six partners, while still supporting a vibrant integration ecosystem.

Our favorite takeaways:

- Focusing on fewer, high-impact partners enables deeper collaboration and better returns

- Empathy is essential for navigating internal alignment and sustaining long-term partnerships

- Scalable ecosystems require delightful, self-serve partner experiences

- Developer relations and partnerships are converging, and companies need to adapt

- Data-driven signals from sales and product can reveal the next strategic partner

Timestamps:

03:01 - Why Okta Is Prioritizing Fewer Partners

06:28 - The Business Case for Going Deep

10:03 - The Risk of Missing the Next Big Partner

12:17 - Managing a Massive Integration Ecosystem

14:43 - What Makes a “Delightful” Partner Experience

17:05 - Developer Relations vs. Partnerships

19:06 - How Small Companies Can Get on Okta’s Radar

25:10 - Using Data to Identify Emerging Partners

27:53 - Ron’s Ideal Internal AI Tool

30:49 - Why Customers Are the Best Advocates

33:01 - Avoiding the Novelty Trap

35:02 - How Empathy Drives Internal Alignment

#Partnerships #EcosystemStrategy #TechPartnerships #DeveloperRelations #SaaSGrowth #B2BMarketing #PartnerPrograms #IntegrationStrategy #GoToMarket #ChannelPartners #StrategicAlliances

Partnership Leaders is a premier industry association for partnership, channel, and business development professionals. As a leading community, it connects over 2,000+ members worldwide, facilitating virtual and in-person events, sharing insights, and promoting personal and professional development.

In this episode, Roman Lobas, Head of Partnerships at Fuelfinance, joins Tai Rattigan to explore the dynamics of venture partnerships. Roman breaks down how to build trust with VCs, align incentives, and craft a value proposition that gets remembered. Drawing from his experience at Deel, Roman shares actionable strategies for scaling partnerships and fostering long-term relationships with investors. Our favorite takeaways: - Building trust with venture capitalists - Aligning incentives with VC goals - Simplifying your value proposition for clarity and impact - Leveraging success stories to strengthen relationships - Creating partnerships with non-investor VCs Timestamps: 2:30 Lessons from Katalista Ventures 5:34 How corporate innovation teams connect with startups 9:32 Aligning your product with VC portfolio needs 15:59 Turning investors into advocates 19:12 Simplifying your pitch for VCs 25:41 Building trust and long-term relationships 33:23 Partnering with non-investor VCs 38:34 Insights from Roman’s new role at Fuelfinance Partnership Leaders is a premier industry association for partnership, channel, and business development professionals. As a leading community, it connects over 1,850+ members worldwide, facilitating virtual events, sharing insights, and promoting personal and professional development. #VenturePartnerships #PartnershipStrategy #BuildingTrust #VCInsights #ScalingStartups #StartupEcosystem #CorporateInnovation #PartnershipLeaders #VentureCapital #BusinessGrowth Find us on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/partnershipleaders/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/groundwork/id1743254291 Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/groundwork-by-pl

In this episode, Andrey Lipattsev, from Google's Chrome Privacy Partnerships team, shares his journey from trust and safety roles to leading product partnerships at Google. He discusses the Privacy Sandbox initiative, which aims to update outdated technologies and enhance user privacy. Here are some of our favorite takeaways: - Overview of the Privacy Sandbox initiative - Importance of ecosystem connectivity and communication - Role of developer relations in partnerships - Strategies for building internal advocacy - Collaboration with developer relations teams Timestamps: 10:02 Chrome Privacy Sandbox 17:20 Partnering with Google 24:01 Open Web and Ecosystem Responsibility 31:25 Empowering Developer Advocates 39:17 Role of Developer Relations Partnership Leaders is a premier industry association for partnership, channel, and business development professionals. As a leading community, it connects over 1,850+ members worldwide, facilitating virtual events, sharing insights, and promoting personal and professional development. #ProductPartnerships #PrivacySandbox #Ecosystem #DeveloperRelations #Google #Innovation #TechLeadership Find us on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/partnershipleaders/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/groundwork/id1743254291 Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/groundwork-by-pl