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This is why Every Company's Partner Strategy Is Broken From Day One
For Akshay Rao and Tom Henderson, it comes down to one thing: turning partner strategy into real field execution.
In this ...episode of Hunters and Unicorns, Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne sit down with the co-founders of a stealth startup and two of the most experienced leaders in partner and channel alliances, with experience at companies including Wiz, Zscaler, AppDynamics, and Skytap.
They break down why companies struggle to capture their Partner Total Addressable Market (PTAM), why strategy often gets disconnected from execution, and how organizations can use partnerships to accelerate growth rather than simply generate sourced revenue.
The conversation explores what a gold-standard partner strategy looks like, how to measure the true value of partner relationships, why focused partner ecosystems outperform “everything to everyone” approaches, and how field teams can turn individual deals into long-term partner momentum.
In this episode:
• The missing link between PTAM and field execution
• Why partner strategy cannot live only on a PowerPoint deck
• How to calculate the real value of a partner relationship
• Why focused partner strategies outperform broad ecosystems
• How deals can become “currency” for building partner momentum
• The difference between sourcing revenue and accelerating TAM
• How companies can unlock growth they couldn't achieve alone
About Akshay Rao & Tom Henderson
Akshay Rao and Tom Henderson are veteran partner and channel executives who have worked together for more than 11 years across companies including Wiz, Zscaler, AppDynamics, and Skytap. They are now co-founders of a stealth startup focused on rethinking how companies build and execute transformational revenue through the channel ecosystem.
Subscribe to Hunters and Unicorns for conversations with the leaders building, scaling, and transforming high-growth technology companies.
About Our Sponsor:
Big thanks to Aurasell for sponsoring this episode.
Aurasell is an AI-native GTM platform that replaces the 15+ disconnected tools your sales team is juggling — prospecting, deal management, forecasting, and coaching all in one place.
Available as a layer on your existing Salesforce or HubSpot, or as a standalone AI-native CRM.
https://www.aurasell.ai/
#HuntersAndUnicorns #PartnerStrategy #ChannelSales #B2BSales #RevenueGrowth #GoToMarket #SalesLeadership #Partnerships #SaaS #techleadership
Timestamps:
0:00 — Trailer
1:23 — Welcome & Introductions
3:06 — What Does Gold Standard Look Like?
5:20 — TAM & the Missing Link to Field Execution
8:18 — Opportunity Cost Across Company Sizes
9:28 — Strategy vs Execution — Where It Falls Apart
10:30 — How to Practically Identify Your Partner TAM
16:01 — Executive Sponsorship — The First Gate
20:40 — What Being Easy to Work With Actually Means
25:00 — Why Aren't More Reps Doing This?
31:50 — Multi-Party Attribution — The Real Problem
37:51 — How the Cisco Model Changed Partnering
42:27 — Can You Build Channel-First From Day One?
51:59 — Doomed at Every Size — The Core Frustration
1:00:12 — Why Would Anyone Work in Channel
1:02:20 — Why Tom Turned Down Jobs to Found Mobilize
1:05:30 — What Is Mobilize & How Does It Work
1:11:30 — Who Is Mobilize Built For & What's the Outcome
1:13:25 — ClosingShow More
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