Head of Partnerships

Overview

You're building Matia's partnership motion from zero. Your job is to identify, negotiate, and activate partnerships with cloud providers (AWS, GCP, Azure), data ecosystem players (Snowflake, Databricks), system integrators, and consulting firms. You'll define what "partnership" means for Matia (co-selling, referrals, technology integrations, marketplace listings), build the program infrastructure, and drive revenue through the partner channel.

Role Snapshot

Company Context

Stage: Early-stage startup (41 employees, hiring aggressively)

Size: 41 employees

Growth: First partnerships hire—signals readiness to build channel motion

Market Position: Unified data platform competing against multi-tool stacks—needs ecosystem partners to drive adoption

GTM Reality

Pipeline Sources (you're building):

• Cloud marketplace deals (AWS, GCP, Azure Marketplace listings)
• Co-sell with cloud provider sales teams
• Referrals from data consultancies and SIs
• Technology partner integrations driving adoption (Snowflake, Databricks, dbt)

SDR/AE Structure: You'll work with AEs to close partner-sourced deals, but you're not selling directly—you're enabling the channel

SE Support: You might need SE support for technical integrations and joint customer demos

Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors: Fivetran, Airbyte, Monte Carlo, Astronomer (all have established partner ecosystems)

How They Differentiate: Unified platform story—partners want one vendor relationship instead of managing 4-5 integrations

Common Objections (from partners): "You're too small," "we already work with Fivetran," "what's the incentive for us?"

Win Themes: Consolidation value prop, co-marketing opportunities, favorable margin splits, faster deal cycles

What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

Partner Development (40%) | Deal Enablement (30%) | Program Building (20%) | Internal Alignment (10%)

Key Activities

• Identifying and prioritizing partners: Mapping the data ecosystem—which cloud providers, ISVs, SIs, and consultancies make sense? Where do Matia's buyers already have relationships?
• Negotiating partnership agreements: Drafting MoUs, co-sell agreements, referral fee structures, marketplace terms. Lots of legal and procurement back-and-forth.
• Building the partner program: Creating enablement materials (one-pagers, slide decks, demo videos), setting up a partner portal, defining lead registration and deal attribution.
• Activating partnerships: Training partner sales teams on Matia's value prop, running joint webinars, co-selling on specific deals, getting listed in cloud marketplaces.
• Co-selling with AEs: Jumping on calls with AWS/GCP/Azure reps, SI consultants, or partner AEs to close deals together.
• Tracking and reporting: Building dashboards to measure partner-influenced pipeline, revenue, and ROI on partnerships.

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

• Slow ramp: Partnerships take 6-12 months to generate meaningful revenue. You're building relationships, contracts, and enablement before you see deals.
• Startup credibility gap: Big partners (AWS, Snowflake, Databricks) prioritize established vendors. You'll need to fight for attention and prove Matia is worth their time.
• Alignment challenges: Partnerships only work if sales, product, and marketing are aligned. You'll spend a lot of time getting internal buy-in and coordinating cross-functionally.
• Deal attribution battles: When a partner refers a deal, who gets credit? You'll navigate commission splits, CRM attribution, and quota relief debates.
• Limited resources: You're probably the only partnerships person for a while. No SDRs, no ops support—you're doing everything yourself.
• Partner politics: Large partner orgs are bureaucratic. Getting a co-sell motion approved can take months of navigating internal stakeholders.

What Success Looks Like

• Signing 3-5 strategic partnerships (e.g., AWS, Snowflake, 1-2 SIs) in year 1
• Getting Matia listed on AWS/GCP/Azure Marketplace
• Driving $500K-$2M in partner-influenced ARR in year 1
• Building a scalable partner program (enablement, deal registration, reporting)
• 20-30% of closed deals have partner involvement by end of year 1

Who You're Working With

Partner Types:

• Cloud Providers: AWS, GCP, Azure—co-selling with their reps, getting Marketplace listings
• Data Platform ISVs: Snowflake, Databricks, dbt—technology integrations and joint GTM
• System Integrators: Slalom, Thoughtworks, smaller boutique data consultancies—referrals and implementation partnerships
• Resellers/Distributors: If selling into certain geographies or verticals

What They Care About:

• Revenue share: What's in it for them? Referral fees, margin splits, co-sell incentives
• Deal velocity: Can Matia close deals fast enough to make partnership worth their time?
• Customer overlap: Do Matia's target customers match their ICP?
• Enablement burden: How much work is it to train their teams on Matia?

Requirements

• 5-8+ years in partnerships, channel sales, or business development (preferably in B2B SaaS or data infrastructure)
• Proven track record building partnership programs from 0→1
• Existing relationships with cloud providers, data ecosystem players, or SIs
• Strong negotiation and deal structuring skills
• Comfortable with ambiguity—you're defining the strategy, not executing a playbook
• Cross-functional leadership: you'll need to align sales, product, marketing, and legal
• Scrappy and hands-on: you'll be doing everything yourself initially