In Partnership with Braze

The only customer engagement platform you need. Braze helps marketers produce their best, most engaging experiences to help build customer relationships.

Who reads this newsletter and who’s in our ecosystem?

Not All Partnerships Are Worth Pursuing

This week, we hosted Martin Scholz, founder of CEG Consult, who’s spent decades inside SaaS companies building partner programs that actually deliver.

Martin came to challenge assumptions. And he delivered.

His point? We spend too long chasing “maybes.” And it’s costing us.

What partnerships are, and what they’re not

It’s not about closing. It’s about building something together. Mutual benefit. Shared commitment. Long-term upside.

The four types of partnerships

Martin offered a framework that resonated across the room:

1. Referral – Fast, light, direct

2. Resell – Revenue-focused, but requires incentive alignment

3. Co-sell – Joint GTM and pipeline visibility

4. Tech/Integration – Complex, slower, often over-hyped

Start with what moves the needle, not what looks good on a slide.

What breaks most partnerships?

The excitement is easy.

Activation is where it falls apart.

Martin pushed for clarity upfront:

Who’s doing what?
By when?
What’s the first visible sign of progress?

The difference between partnership leaders and managers

This was one of his most important distinctions.
It’s not just about running calls and updating CRM.
It’s about designing a model that compounds value — and walking away if it doesn’t.

Where this lands

This session wasn’t a playbook. It was a filter.

Martin made it clear:

You don’t need more partners.
You need aligned ones.
Not just shared values but shared timelines, shared customers, and a shared reason to act now.

TL;DR – Martin Scholz’s Partnership Operating System:

✅ Qualify by budget, people, and urgency
✅ Define success before the handshake
✅ Start with high-impact motions (referrals, co-sell)
✅ Avoid “maybe” energy
✅ Don’t confuse activity with traction
✅ Filter faster. Say no sooner. Stay focused longer.

We build EVOLVE with the same lens.
Fewer handshakes. More overlap.
Partnerships that move not just look good.

—
Carlos Monteiro
Founder, EVOLVE Commerce Club

What’s next?

London is Calling.
We are hosting a curated private dinner in London
On September 24th.
We have a solid list of participants already confirmed and sponsorship packages available

In Partnership with

Airmeet stands out by designing for connection in a sea of platforms chasing leads. It’s used by companies like Walmart, Accenture, and the University of Toronto, yet it works just as well for emerging communities like ours. We’ve trusted and partnered with Airmeet to run 60+ expert sessions. It’s reliable, intuitive, and built for human interaction, not just metrics.

If you host events where relationships matter more than registrations, Airmeet is worth a closer look

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