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Published by Sebastian Hoelzl and Will Schnabel
For B2B tech executives trying to drive efficient growth, the traditional GTM playbook is broken. Ecosystem Alpha is designed for leaders looking to transform partnerships into their ultimate competitive advantage. Hosted by Will Schnabel and Sebastian Hoelzl, our 40-minute interviews feature C-Suite leaders winning in the ecosystem era. We skip the fluff to uncover exact strategies that drive efficient sales, improve NRR, slash CAC, and accelerate Agentic AI adoption. New episodes drop every Tuesday to help you connect strategy in the boardroom to execution in the CRM.
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Most AI projects start with the tool. That is exactly why so many of them return almost nothing. Riaz Kanani flips the question, and the answer changes what your team does on Monday morning. What you will learn Why starting with the growth blocker beats starting with the tool, and what that does to your return How to escape the sameness trap so your content stops sounding like everyone else's Where corporate IP leaks when teams work through base models, and what MCP servers change What it actually took to find a 42 percent saving on one operational process Why an IKEA chatbot ended in a new billion dollar revenue line instead of 6,500 job cuts About the guest Riaz Kanani is Consultant and Founder at Connected Paths, an AI implementation consultancy based in London. He spent nearly nine years as CEO and Founder of Radiate B2B, the intent data and advertising platform, after building behavioural email and marketing automation at Silverpop and Lyris. His view carries weight because he ships the thing most people only discuss. He builds MCP servers, runs client transformation work, and reports the numbers on both sides of the ledger. That mix of operator scar tissue and current build experience is rare among people talking about agentic AI. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and guest background 08:16 Building two sided ecosystems from video advertising to ABM 10:05 Escaping the AI sameness trap 19:13 How AI thinks, and why you have to challenge it 23:27 Protecting corporate IP and expert knowledge 29:00 MCP connectors and the move to an AI operating layer 46:10 The revenue receipt, 42 percent saved and the IKEA turnaround 56:34 Rapid fire and pay it forward Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
Every enterprise has spent heavily on AI and analytics, yet most executives still pick up the phone to get a straight answer. Rishi Bhatnagar built and sold a sixteen year systems integration business before founding Quaeris to close that gap, and he argues the friction between digital data and human decision makers is costing companies billions every day. This conversation unpacks why adoption stalls long after the technology already works. What you'll learn: - How to spot when a partner conflict is actually protecting your customer relationship instead of harming it. - Why only 5 percent of enterprise AI initiatives reach full adoption despite 85 percent getting started, and what closes that gap. - How token based agent architectures quietly inflate AI costs, and what a learn once agent design does to your bill instead. - Why meeting users inside tools they already use, such as Microsoft Teams or WhatsApp, drives higher AI adoption than building a new destination. - What separates an empathetic partner from a partner who protects only their own margin. Bhatnagar is the founder of Quaeris, an AI driven data search and BI platform that helps executive teams get direct answers from their business data. He spent sixteen years as CEO of Syntelli Solutions, an analytics systems integrator he grew to seventy five people through early partnerships with Tableau and Spotfire, before founding Quaeris in 2020. His perspective carries weight because he has sat on both sides of the partnership table. He has sold analytics services as an integrator, built products designed for integrators to resell, and now designs agent architecture around token cost and enterprise governance rather than the growth metrics that benefit the AI labs the most. Chapters : Introduction and guest background From Ernst and Young to Tableau: the first partner bet Horse and jockey: managing channel conflict without losing the customer The last mile problem: why speed of data is not speed of decisions Building Quaeris: headless BI and meeting users where they already are Why most enterprise AI pilots never reach full adoption Token costs and the case for agents that learn once Rapid fire and closing thoughts Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
Blue Triangle spent three months testing whether automated outbound still works. Thousands of calls produced one answer and zero sales conversations. Lance Buchholz explains what he does instead, and how he funds a long term partner strategy while carrying a quarterly number. What you will learn ▹ Why thousands of automated calls produced one answered phone and no pipeline ▹ How to run near term, mid term and long term revenue at the same time ▹ Why partner sourced revenue and partner counts mislead a board ▹ The single ecosystem number that predicts churn before the renewal ▹ What to do when a buyer takes your demo and builds the product with AI Lance Buchholz is Chief Revenue Officer at Blue Triangle, where he owns the full number and answers to the board for it. He has spent roughly 25 years in partnerships, from a billion dollar business with thousands of signed partners to small companies with no partner motion at all, and he has been through a couple of exits on the partner side. Buchholz moved from partner leadership into the CRO seat, so he now approves the discounts he once had to argue for. That is what makes his view useful. When he defends partner investment, he defends it against his own quota and his own board conversations, not from the sidelines. Chapters Introduction and guest background Bear's Paw and the reason it exists The automated outbound experiment and what it returned Near term, mid term and long term revenue in one plan What AI changed about buyer conversations The warning signs that a customer is about to leave The revenue receipt: an OEM partnership that opened a new market Rapid fire: overrated metrics, attach rate and book picks Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
Most partnership leaders spend their careers optimising for incremental referral volume. Gautham Pandiyan has spent his building the kind of ecosystem bets that show up in a balance sheet. This conversation is about the ones that transform a business and how to know which partnerships deserve that level of conviction. What you will learn: ▹ Why partners amplify product-market fit rather than find it, and what that means for how you pick your strategic bets. ▹ How to build a fail-fast framework that lets you evaluate a major partnership in five months rather than eighteen, and pivot without destroying the relationship. ▹ What a clear value exchange looks like in practice, and why expectation misalignment kills more strategic partnerships than bad fit does. ▹ How Gautham's team scaled to $150 million of revenue through AWS Marketplace at Qualtrics, and the cross-functional effort required to get there. ▹ How to build the perception umbrella inside your business so executives and stakeholders see partnership momentum, not just end-of-year results. Gautham Pandiyan is Global Head of Cloud, SI & Affiliate Partnerships at Pendo, where he leads the company's Hyperscaler, GSI, and consulting partner motions. He previously spent four years at Qualtrics scaling the AWS partnership to nine-figure Marketplace revenue, and has held senior alliance roles across multiple high-growth SaaS businesses. Chapter overview: Introduction and guest background How to choose the right strategic partners: product-market fit and natural pull The difference between push and pull in channel-first versus overlay models Evaluating failures and knowing when to pivot Hyperscalers in practice: the Qualtrics and AWS story Expectation setting, the perception umbrella, and managing internal stakeholders Rapid-fire round and recommended voices Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
Growth at all costs is over. Boards no longer ask how many people you hired. They ask how efficiently you can grow, and that question is reshaping how revenue leaders scale across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. What you will learn: ▹ Why treating EMEA as one market inflates customer acquisition cost, and what to do instead ▹ How to trade a share of AE headcount for partner headcount without losing quota on the street ▹ The give to get motion that keeps local partners active long after referral business dries up ▹ How to match global SIs, regional integrators, and boutique consultancies to the right customer segment ▹ A real example where going partner first lifted conversion by up to 50 percent in six months Guest bio: David King Harris is VP Sales EMEA at Optro. He has led European, EMEA, and global teams through both the growth at all costs era and the efficiency mandate that followed, with earlier roles across martech leaders and IBM. He speaks in commercial terms because he carries the revenue number himself. Chapters: Introduction and guest background Why EMEA is a collection of markets, not one Local partners and the last mile of trust Matching partner types to your ideal customer Where partnerships should sit in the organization The efficiency pivot after COVID The revenue receipt: partner first results Rapid fire and close Rebuild your EMEA go to market around efficiency. What you will learn: ▹ Why the partner team's job is not to bring a list of integration requests to product, and what to do instead to validate real end-user value before anyone writes a line of code ▹ How to choose between a large, hard-to-work-with partner and a smaller, easier partner, and why internal relationships and prioritisation willingness often matter more than market reach ▹ What it means in practice when a product manager asks your partner team a hard question, and why the correct answer is sometimes no ▹ How to build the working relationship between engineering, product, and the partner's technical team so integrations move fast without becoming liabilities ▹ The most common mistake product teams make when building toward a partnership, and how to avoid building something customers will never use About the guest: Agata Bugaj is Chief Product Officer at ButterflyMX, a property access technology platform serving multifamily, commercial, and student housing. She brings over fifteen years of experience leading product, UX, and engineering teams across B2B SaaS and enterprise eCommerce. Prior to ButterflyMX, she served as SVP of Product at FullStory, where she scaled the product function from Director through to SVP level. Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
Most B2B SaaS companies treat integrations as a favour the product team does for the partner team. That framing is killing revenue. When product and partnerships operate in silos, the integrations that get built are the wrong ones. The ones that do get built often go unused. And the network moat that should be compounding never forms. Agata Bugaj, Chief Product Officer at ButterflyMX and former SVP of Product at FullStory, joins Sebastian Hoelzl and Will Schnabel to break down how product leaders and partner teams can work together in a way that actually moves the commercial needle. What you will learn: ▹ Why the partner team's job is not to bring a list of integration requests to product, and what to do instead to validate real end-user value before anyone writes a line of code ▹ How to choose between a large, hard-to-work-with partner and a smaller, easier partner, and why internal relationships and prioritisation willingness often matter more than market reach ▹ What it means in practice when a product manager asks your partner team a hard question, and why the correct answer is sometimes no ▹ How to build the working relationship between engineering, product, and the partner's technical team so integrations move fast without becoming liabilities ▹ The most common mistake product teams make when building toward a partnership, and how to avoid building something customers will never use About the guest: Agata Bugaj is Chief Product Officer at ButterflyMX, a property access technology platform serving multifamily, commercial, and student housing. She brings over fifteen years of experience leading product, UX, and engineering teams across B2B SaaS and enterprise eCommerce. Prior to ButterflyMX, she served as SVP of Product at FullStory, where she scaled the product function from Director through to SVP level. Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
Most e-commerce SaaS companies enter new international markets the same way: hire SDRs, spend on localised ads, and wait. It is an expensive bet that rarely pays. JD Klausner has spent his career proving there is a faster, cheaper, more defensible path — one that runs through the partner ecosystem. What you'll learn: Why the brute-force international expansion playbook is mathematically broken in 2026, and what a partner-first market entry looks like at the execution level — not the strategy deck level. How to separate your GTM partners from your product partners before entering a new market, and why confusing the two is the most common reason international launches stall. The three-step entry sequence Klausner used at Loop Returns to open the UK market — partner-first to fill product gaps, pipeline validation before hiring local AEs, and localisation only once revenue is real. How to kill "commission breath" on your sales floor: the operating model for getting your top AEs to treat local partners as revenue accelerators rather than margin threats. What "partner density" actually measures, why it is the single ecosystem metric worth reporting to your board, and how it predicts revenue velocity in a new geography before you have closed a deal. JD Klausner is VP of Global Partnerships at Commerce (BigCommerce). He previously served as SVP and General Manager, International at Loop Returns, where he led the company's expansion into European markets, and before that as VP of Partnerships at Yotpo. He has spent the better part of a decade building partner ecosystems and channel operating models across e-commerce, martech, and global logistics infrastructure. Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program. Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
Most SaaS vendors assume their software sells itself. Ivan Stegic has spent nearly two decades proving otherwise. As CEO of TEN7, a Drupal agency whose mission is to Make Things That Matter, he has built a business on a different premise: that trust — not technology — is the real currency in any ecosystem. In a world where the % of spend on B2B software and tech services continues to increase, the agency that own the client relationship owns the deal. What you'll learn in this episode: Why the agency's role in a SaaS partner ecosystem is not to sell software but to act as an unbiased trusted advisor — and why that position is commercially more powerful than any reseller arrangement. How open source technology, specifically Drupal, creates a structural cost and flexibility advantage that proprietary all-in-one suites (Adobe, Sitecore) cannot match — and how to make that case to a non-technical CEO. The mechanics of a co-sell win: how TEN7 and Pantheon jointly replatformed a health system client, transferring trust from agency to hosting partner and closing a deal neither could have won alone. Why Ivan is sceptical of agentic AI at scale, and why he believes open source will dominate the digital experience market by 2030 — including what that means for how agencies and SaaS companies should be hiring right now. How a values-driven partner selection process — built on shared mission and ethics, not commercial incentives alone — produces stronger, more resilient client relationships and higher NRR. Ivan Stegic is the Founder and CEO of TEN7, a Minneapolis-based Drupal agency with a mission to Make Things That Matter. A physicist and psychologist by training, Ivan has led TEN7 since 2007, building a fully distributed team that designs, builds, and cares for Drupal-powered digital experiences for mission-driven organisations across healthcare, education, and nonprofits. He is also a Strategic Board Advisor at Augmentum Global and a longstanding contributor to the Drupal community. Chapter overview: 00:00 – Introduction & Ivan's background 04:30 – Why SaaS vendors need service partners to unlock enterprise 10:15 – The agency as trusted advisor: unbiased evaluation in a noisy market 17:00 – Open source economics: TCO, flexibility, and owning the code 24:30 – Values-driven partner selection and the ethics of co-selling 31:00 – The TEN7 × Pantheon co-sell: a health system replatform 37:45 – AI scepticism, agentic risk, and what open source dominance looks like by 2030 42:00 – Rapid fire: hiring, predictions, and who to interview next If the operating model underneath your partner programme was never designed to succeed, start with a conversation. Visit ecosystemalpha.com to book your investment audit. Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
In this episode, Sebastian and Will are joined by Rebecca Potts , a leader in strategic industry partner sales at Google Cloud , to demystify the complex world of hyperscaler partnerships. Rebecca explains why simply being "listed" in a marketplace is no longer enough and provides a roadmap for partners to stand out in a crowded ecosystem. The conversation dives deep into the "hyperscaler multiplier," revealing how successful partners align their solutions with the specific business problems customers are trying to solve. Rebecca also shares critical insights on "burning down" committed cloud spend and why technical POCs are being replaced by rapid, AI-driven business outcomes. Key Takeaways: Solve, Don't Just List: Why specificity in solving industry-specific business problems is the key to standing out to field sellers. The "Burn Down" Strategy: How to connect partner solutions to a customer's committed Google Cloud spend to accelerate deals. AI-First Mentality: Shifting from technical POCs to demonstrating 90-day business outcomes using forward-deployed engineers (FDEs). Relationship Building: The "dating to marriage" analogy of building long-term, trust-based partnerships in a hyperscale world. Chapters What Business Problem Are You Solving? The Key to Standing Out Understanding Cloud "Commits" and the Backlog Strategy The Role of System Integrators in Owning the Process Flipping the Script: The Shift to AI-First Mentality What is an FDE? Moving from Slides to Real Results Rapid Delivery: The 90-Day Outcome Cycle Common Pitfalls: Why Great Stories Sometimes Fail to Launch Partner Success Stories: Tiger Analytics & Tech Systems From Dating to Marriage: Building Trust in Partnerships The Impact: Why Partner-Led Deals are 56% Larger Rapid Fire Round & Rebecca’s Career Lessons Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
In this episode of Ecosystem Alpha, hosts Sebastian and Will sit down with Richard Evans, a veteran SaaS leader and current Managing Partner at Hatchd Marketing Group, to deconstruct the "Better Together" Paradox. Richard shares insights from his diverse career as a CRO and Head of Marketing, explaining why the traditional approach to joint value propositions often fails to resonate in the modern sales cycle. We dive deep into the mechanics of the "Franken-deck," exploring how the shift from "inside-out" product-centric pitches to "outside-in" ecosystem stories can cut through the noise of AI-generated content. Richard also shares revenue receipts from his career, including how to verticalize a general product through strategic partnerships—and explains why overcoming the 9% trust barrier in vendor messaging requires a radical refocus on peer validation and credibility. Chapters The Franken-deck Dilemma : Deconstructing why the traditional partner logo slide at the end of a sales deck acts as a distraction rather than a value-add. Outside-In Positioning : Shifting from "me-centric" product pitches to using account signals to lead with a customer’s existing tech stack. The 9% Trust Barrier : Analyzing shocking G2 data on vendor credibility and the power of peer communities in influencing enterprise buying. Verticalizing the Generalist : A case study on outperforming competitors by wrapping general products in vertical-specific ecosystem stories. The PMM Intersection : Navigating the friction between product marketing and partner marketing to build cohesive upstream messaging. Marketing Fundamentals : Richard’s "must-read" classics for grounding marketing strategy and his predictions for the future of Agentic AI. Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
In an era where "growth at all costs" is no longer the gold standard, how can sales leaders drive durable, sustainable revenue ? This week on Ecosystem Alpha , hosts Sebastian and Will sit down with veteran sales leader Todd McCormick to discuss the evolution of the "Lone Wolf" CRO into a collaborative, ecosystem-focused strategist. Todd breaks down the "CAC crisis" and explains why borrowing trust from partners is the most efficient way to scale in today’s trust-deficient market. Key topics discussed in this episode: The Efficiency Shift: Moving from vanity pipeline metrics to high-quality, partner-influenced leads that actually convert. Proving Partner Value: How to talk to your CFO about reallocating budget toward partnerships to drive down Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC). The Modern BDR: Why the traditional cold-calling model is broken and how an AI-first, partner-aware outreach strategy is winning the new logo game. Real-World Results: Todd shares how he doubled win rates and reduced sales cycles by nearly three months through strategic ecosystem alignment. Chapters: Intro: Welcome to Ecosystem Alpha Growth at All Costs vs. The Efficiency Frontier Breaking Down CAC: Proving Partner Value to the CFO Getting Sales Buy-In: Solving the Compensation Conflict Borrowing Trust: Why Buyers Don't Trust SaaS Sellers ABM and Strategic Account Planning in the Enterprise The Evolution of the SDR: AI-First and Partner-Aware Reallocating Marketing Budgets for Better Outcomes The Ecosystem Flywheel: Achieving Durable Growth Real-World Results: Doubling Win Rates with Partners Rapid Fire: Overrated Metrics and Building Partner Trust Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
In this episode of Ecosystem Alpha , hosts Sebastian and Will sit down with Dhwani Dalal , Revenue Operations Leader at Brio.Co, to dissect the "RevOps Blueprint" for the modern software era. As the traditional linear sales funnel gives way to more complex, interconnected buyer journeys, the role of Revenue Operations has transformed from a back-office "fix-it" function into a strategic architect of the go-to-market (GTM) engine. Dhwani shares her wealth of experience from leadership roles at Yotpo , DocuSign , and Squarespace to explain how RevOps acts as the "glue" that binds marketing, sales, and partnerships together. We explore the concept of the "Trust Tax" —the friction caused by fragmented data—and how building an AI-native infrastructure can lead to better win rates, faster sales velocity, and superior capital efficiency. Key takeaways include: The Evolution of RevOps : Shifting from managing spreadsheets to designing the future of GTM strategy. Solving the "Trust Tax" : Why a single source of truth is mandatory for account executive (AE) adoption. Ecosystem-Led Growth : How to embed partner signals directly into the buyer journey to drive higher win rates. Modern Metrics : Moving away from "useless" MQLs toward Blended CAC and ecosystem-specific velocity. The AI-Native Tech Stack : Leveraging orchestration layers like Glean AI to automate field labor and drive data integrity. Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
In this episode of Ecosystem Alpha, hosts Sebastian and Will sit down with Darren Kennedy, a seasoned services leader from ServiceTrade, to discuss why the modern Chief Customer Officer (CCO) must act as an ecosystem architect. Darren shares insights from his career at Salesforce and Pardot, explaining the critical shift from "growth at all costs" to a focus on efficiency and customer lifetime value. We dive deep into the mechanics of the "un-churnable account," exploring how technical integrations and partner co-delivery serve as the primary levers for Net Revenue Retention (NRR). Darren also shares "revenue receipts" from his current role—including a staggering 29.4-point NRR increase linked to integrations—and explains how borrowing trust through "unreasonable hospitality" can repair client relationships and solve complex implementation hurdles. Chapters Formal Introduction: Darren Kennedy and the DNA of a services leader Beyond NPS: Moving past lagging indicators to track real-time adoption and workflows The 29.4% NRR Hook: The statistical correlation between integrations and stickiness Partnership "Give to Get": Building the infrastructure to support a delivery ecosystem Borrowing Trust: Navigating co-delivery and the "whose client is it?" mindset The Operational Shift: Moving CSMs from "brute force" to partner-led solutions The "Why" Factor: Using change management to align teams with ecosystem motions Vertical SaaS Nuances: Why "word matters" and how relationships differ in blue-collar industries Revenue Receipts: Saving a high-risk account through a partner-led "save" Rapid Fire: Unreasonable hospitality and the most useless CSM metrics Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
In this episode of Ecosystem Alpha , hosts Sebastian and Will sit down with Jon Mead , the founder of PartnerBridge , to discuss why a staggering 80% of partnerships fail and how to move away from the "logo soup" approach. Jon shares his journey from sales engineering to founding a solution that uses data signals and AI to predict partner success. We dive deep into the mechanics of Partner Fit , exploring why pricing alignment and company maturity are often overlooked. Jon also shares "scars" from his past, including a failed pitch to Deloitte, and explains how flipping the partnership funnel to an invite-only model can drastically lower your CAC and augment your outcomes. Chapters Introduction to Ecosystem Alpha and guest Jon Mead Formal Introduction: Jon Mead and the PartnerBridge origin story Why Partnerships Fail: Moving past "logo soup" and reactive motions Partner Fit: Navigating pricing alignment, ICP, and company maturity The AI Shift: Using data signals to map influencers and watering holes Cost Analysis: The "hard numbers" behind onboarding and strategic drain Time-to-Value: Driving efficiency through quick wins and risk reduction The "Easy Button": Using sales kits to embed partners into GTM motions Flipping the Funnel: Why an exclusive, invite-only approach wins Revenue Receipts: Learning from a failed GSI pitch at Deloitte Rapid Fire: Overrated partner criteria and multiverse sci-fi Closing Thoughts and guest recommendations Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
In this episode of Ecosystem Alpha , hosts Sebastian and Will are joined by Bryan Brown, co-founder of Go-To-Market Partners, to explore the fundamental breakdown of the traditional go-to-market (GTM) engine. Bryan discusses the death of the "Franken-GTM" and explains why CEOs must shift from being passive observers to active owners of GTM strategy to drive alignment across sales, marketing, product, and customer success. Learn about the "Silo Tax," how disconnected handoffs hurt the customer journey, and why a partner-led motion is often the most efficient path to lowering CAC and achieving sustainable growth. Bryan also shares the critical diagnostic questions every leadership team must answer to ensure they are truly aligned. Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction to Ecosystem Alpha and guest Bryan Brown Formal Introduction : Bryan Brown and the GTM Operating System Why GTM is Broken : Moving past the "Franken-stack" and old funnel approaches The CEO’s Mandate : Why the CEO must own GTM ownership, even if they don't run it The "Silo Tax" : How departmental silos create a high tax on business efficiency The Partner-Led Motion : Driving capital efficiency and lower cost of acquisition Defining Partnerships : Navigating Channel, Ecosystem, Reseller, and Referral models Revenue Receipts : GTM success stories from Apollo, Snowflake, and Monday.com The Alignment Check : 8 critical questions every executive team must be able to answer Rapid Fire : Hiring SDRs vs. Partners and the most useless board metrics Personal Insights : Leading with a "heart at peace" and the impact of the Anatomy of Peace Closing Thoughts and next guest recommendation Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
Wall Street Values Networks Over Software: Discover how the Validation Multiplier and partnership-led ecosystems drive efficient growth, net negative churn, and superior SaaS valuations.In this episode of the Ecosystem Alpha Podcast, hosts Sebastian and Will sit down with Jamie Kiggen, a past CFO for multiple SaaS businesses and Wall Street investor. They dive deep into the Validation Multiplier to explore why Wall Street increasingly values business networks and ecosystems over traditional standalone software. Jamie shares his "insider's perspective" on the transition from growth-at-all-costs to a focus on efficient growth and unit economics. The conversation covers how ecosystems act as strategic capital providers, the impact of AI on business planability, and why specific metrics like expansion revenue and net negative churn are the true indicators of a healthy, scalable business. Whether you are a founder, investor, or SaaS leader, this episode provides a masterclass in driving long-term valuation through partnership-led growth. Chapters Introduction to Jamie Kiggen and the Validation Multiplier Scalability, Predictability, and the Shift to Efficient Growth Unit Economics: Cost to Acquire vs. Lifetime Value Predictability in SaaS and the Strategic Impact of AI Partnerships as Intellectual and Strategic Capital Evaluating Investments: Direct Sales vs. Partner Organizations The Critical Role of Product Management in Ecosystems The Investment Phase: Transitioning to Indirect Revenue Overrated Metrics: The Risks of Committed ARR (CARR) Why Net Negative Churn Commands a Premium Multiple Final Thoughts and Lessons from The Great Gatsby Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
Traditional lead gen is broken, and buyers are tuning out. In the current market, trust is the most valuable currency you have. Welcome to the very first episode of Ecosystem Alpha, the podcast where ecosystem strategy meets GTM execution. Today, hosts Sebastian and Will sit down with Forrest Donovan, Senior Director of Strategic Alliances at Full Story, to roast the old-school funnel playbook and discuss what actually works in 2026. Forrest shares how top teams are moving away from the volume-based "how" economy and stepping into the "who" economy by leveraging trusted partner networks. We break down how to use AI as a scalpel—not a sledgehammer—to build hyper-personalized co-selling material, why the industry is shifting from Software as a Service (SaaS) to Results as a Service (RaaS), and the anatomy behind a massive multi-million dollar partner-sourced deal. If your response rates are dropping and your sales team is frustrated, this episode is your blueprint for a new way forward. Welcome to Ecosystem Alpha: The GTM Trust Crisis Introducing Forrest Donovan from Full Story The GTM Roast: Why the Traditional Demand Gen Waterfall is Breaking Getting Above the Noise: Using AI & Ecosystems to Build Trust The Shift from SaaS to Results as a Service (RaaS) Anatomy of a Deal: Breaking Down a Multi-Million Dollar Co-Sell Win Rethinking KPIs: Why We Need a "Partner Impact Score" Outro & Nominating Our Next Guest: George at High Touch ⭐️ Leave a Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Ecosystem Alpha on Spotify and leave us a 5-star review! It helps us bring more incredible guests onto the show. Legal Disclaimer for Ecosystem Alpha: The Podcast 1. No Professional Advice: The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice (legal, financial, tax, or otherwise). 2. Views Expressed: The opinions expressed by guests on this program are their own. Ecosystem Alpha does not verify the accuracy of the information provided by guests, and their appearance does not constitute an endorsement of the guest or the entity they represent. 3. Professional Titles: Guest titles and business affiliations are provided as of the date of recording. Ecosystem Alpha makes no representation regarding the current status of a guest’s employment or their authority to bind any mentioned third-party entities. 4. Limitation of Liability: By listening to this podcast, you agree that Ecosystem Alpha and its hosts are not responsible for any decisions made or actions taken based on the information provided in this program.
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