July 9, 2025
July 9, 2025
Partnership Economics: Trading Margin for Velocity
(1/4) How to nail partnerships from Day 1 with Natasha Ratanshi-Stein, Founder and CEO of Surfboard where partnerships drove 55% of revenue early on and contributed to them getting acquired by Dialpad
pascal's notes
“Partnership deals that came through closed much faster than inbound and outbound because the partner had typically done a lot of work while selling their software.”
Natasha Ratanshi-Stein, Founder and CEO Surfboard, a rare example of a company that was able to nail partnerships from Day 1 and exited successfully to Dialpad after raising a $5M seed round.
Successful partnerships often require a rev share agreement. Which can be expensive. Especially early on when every dollar counts.
Yet, if done right, the math can work in your favor.
I had chatted to Natasha Ratanshi-Stein, Founder and CEO of Surfboard, about this.
For Surfboard, partner-sourced deals closed significantly faster than any other channel.
Why?
When Surfboard entered the conversations, partners had already built trust, validated budget, and identified pain - turning cold pitches into warm conversations.
Which creates an interesting economic question: Is a 20% revenue share worth 3x faster sales cycles?
When they are long otherwise, the answer is often yes.
Even if you have to do what Natasha did to get partners to bet on an unproven startup:
They accepted 20% lifetime revenue to the partner that partner AEs got quota relief for AND internal AEs received full quota credit for partner deals.
Expensive but it worked. Partner AEs sold Surfboard’s solution because of the incentive and quota relief. Internal AEs competed for partner leads knowing these would hit numbers faster. Both sales teams actively pushed opportunities forward.
While a 20% rev share is high, 10% is standard. Yet for the right partner that consistently sends high quality deals that convert fast, the higher fee pays for itself.
Other partnership value multipliers include co-marketing, including speaking slots at events, webinars, social posts, and much more.
What doesn’t work is passive marketplace listings.
Why?
Most - if not all - leads will come in without context or warmth and are often not an ICP. Thus, paying for logo placement is for the most part a waste of $.
In summary:
High revenue shares work for actively selling partners with high quality deal flow
Double compensation aligns teams if velocity justifies cost
Marketplace listings rarely justify cost without deeper engagement
Co-marketing provides highest ROI through brand leverage
Enjoyed reading this?
Then check out my conversation on the focal podcast with Natasha Ratanshi-Stein, Founder and CEO of Surfboard, a rare example of a company that was able to nail partnerships from Day 1 and exited successfully to Dialpad after raising a $5M seed round.
Youtube | Apple Podcast | Spotify
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