Transcript
Engineering 245The Lean Launch Pad
Session 7: ChannelsSteve Blank,
Ann Miura-Ko, Jon Feiber
http://e245.stanford.edu
Why have partners?
Faster time to market
Broader product offering
More efficient use of capital
Unique customer knowledge or expertise
Access to new markets
4
üüüü
ü
What defines a “Partner?”
Shared economics
Mutual success / failure
Co-development/invention
Common customer
5
Whole Product Partners and Allies
7
Us
Us
Us
Us
?
?
?
?
US
Assemble for a one-time project
Recruit for a repeatable whole product
Include to minimize sales friction
Eliminate to retain margin
Only engage partners when they can supply a part of the whole product that you either cannot or do not want to provide
Only engage partners when they can supply a part of the whole product that you either cannot or do not want to provide
© TCG Advisors LLC
Two different types of partner ecosystems
8
High volumeTransaction orientedOutgrowth of value chainsOrganize around a concentratorFocus: efficiency, speed, and
market scalability
High complexityRelationship orientedOutgrowth of project teamsOrganize around an orchestratorFocus: expertise, innovation, and
market development
CoordinatedCollaborative
Cisco, Boeing, Android, Goldman Sachs
Facebook, Google,Nike, Charles SchwabGroupon
© TCG Advisors LLC
Managing partners is difficult and has risks
Impendence mismatch – “ants mating with elephants”
Longest element of partners schedule becomes your longest item
No clear ownership of customer
Products lack vision – shared product design
Different underlying objectives in relationship
Churn in partners strategy or personnel
IP issues
Difficult to unwind or end
12
Who makes the “best” partners?
(all of the same entities that we have been talking about in this class!)
Customers: Get them invested in your success beyond separating them from money
Suppliers: Unique products for you, financing terms, time to market
The Channel: Do they really win when you do? Are you accelerating their growth? Can they help you define the best product?
Rethink these relationships – get as many other people and organizations invested in your success and you in theirs!
13
Strategies for Successful partnering
Start slowly –
gain expertise and ability to evaluate partners
Be a good partner (very few companies are!)
Focus on ownership –
who owns success in your organization?
Be flexible – when you get to “contract enforcement”
it is the beginning of the end
Constantly re-evaluate –
declare failure and move on before it is too late
14
top related