In this episode, Avanish and Tyler discuss:The opportunity involved in bringing together disparate partner initiatives within an organization (4:35)Leveraging a partner ecosystem at Salesforce to create transformative offerings and expand internationally (6:30)The importance of building an ecosystem to manage data in the face of AI (9:05)Prioritizing customer success and partner growth to drive company value (12:40)Changing the paradigm around bringing applications to data (14:50)The inherent value of the consumption model in a partner ecosystem (18:30)Enabling partners to start delivering value as quickly as possible (19:55)Finding support from the top down, and curating the right talent for the ecosystem journey (22:30)The importance of simplification (27:10)Guest: Tyler PrinceAs the SVP of Worldwide Alliances & Channels, Tyler Prince is responsible for growing the Snowflake global community of Consulting Partners, System Integrators, ISVs, Resellers and Technology Partners. He brings a deep breadth of experience to his role with more than 30 years of delivering transformational capabilities to partners and customers across many industries. Prior to joining Snowflake, Prince served as EVP, Global Alliances at Salesforce and as Partner & Global Oracle Practice Leader at PwC. Prior to PwC, Prince held various management positions at Oracle, PeopleSoft, IBM and Andersen Consulting. He resides in Chicago, IL where he remains active in the local community as a board member of the American Cancer Society and 1871, a non-profit digital startup incubator.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guest, Tyler PrinceFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

In this episode, Avanish and Warren talk about:Developing extensions based on user and partner feedback (4:15)Thinking of ISVs as customers in their own right (9:10)The importance of internal alignment, and transparency both internally and externally (11:55)Getting buy-in from the board all the way down for ongoing investment in platform (14:20)When to prioritize adoption vs. monetization on your platform (19:50)Guest: Warren ChenWarren is Head of Ecosystem Partnerships and Developer Success at Canva, with over a decade of experience in App Platform Ecosystems at Salesforce, Atlassian, and Canva.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guest, Warren ChenFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

In this episode, Avanish and Aaron talk about:Aaron’s personal journey to the coveted Chief Ecosystem Officer title (2:00)How Aaron defines charting the platform journey as an ecosystem leader (4:45)Tackling build/buy/partner with a sophisticated view, enabling you to take a completely different approach to how you execute partnerships and ecosystems (7:49)The power of harnessing your datasets to drive enhanced outcomes (9:50)The recent shift to the importance of profitability and what that means for partnership teams (11:11)Tying your ecosystem strategy to your corporate strategy effectively (19:20)Understanding the difference between vanity metrics and true business operator metrics (24:18)Guest: Aaron McGarryAaron McGarry, AMG, is a Go-To-Market operator with 17 years of leadership experience at industry giants such as VMware, Salesforce, and Qualtrics. He has a proven track record of building and scaling high-performing teams, driving strategic growth, and delivering operational excellence.AMG is an empathetic leader and coach, with a deep passion for growing, mentoring, and developing talent, ensuring that his teams reach their fullest potential. Renowned for his Build - Buy - Partner approach and keen expertise in GTM strategy, he has architected and scaled premier Ecosystem and Sales Organizations. He played a pivotal role during Salesforce’s meteoric rise from $6B to $26B in revenue, experiencing hyper-growth firsthand. His track record also includes notable milestones such as Rackspace's IPO, SoftLayer's acquisition by IBM, and Qualtrics' acquisition by SilverLake.Recognized for championing strategic growth and for his operational acumen, AMG serves as a trusted advisor to CEOs and boards of directors across early, mid, and late stage companies. He is a sought-after speaker on topics encompassing GTM strategy, leadership, and team development.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guest, Aaron McGarryFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

In this episode, Avanish and Adrienne talk about:Changes in the productivity space that have impacted Workspace’s platform strategy (9:55)Balancing product and ecosystem developments while you scale (16:10)Taking a principle-based approach to building a platform (19:00)The necessity of a multifaceted strategy in creating a successful platform (20:30)Innovation and “first-of-a-kind” thinking in partnerships (22:50)Building a partnership strategy based on product and business goals (24:40)Creating missions at the business and team level to achieve your goals (27:40)Guest: Adrienne McCallisterAdrienne McCallister is the Vice President of Global Partnerships for Workspace and Messaging, where she oversees Workspace’s productivity suite partnerships, as well as all Comms/Messaging partnerships, covering Google's consumer communications products Messages by Google(RCS), Meet, Dialer and Business Messaging.Adrienne’s previous roles at Google include partnership lead for Android’s U.S. carrier partners, Google’s VR/AR/Lens efforts, helping to launch Chromecast, Google Home and leading its global distribution partnerships, as well as leading strategic content partnerships for Google TV. Prior to joining Google in 2011, Adrienne held senior business development roles at Associated Content (a Yahoo! company), Clearleap (an IBM company) and AOL. Adrienne holds an M.B.A. from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, and has a bachelor’s degree in finance from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guest, Adrienne McCallisterFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

Avanish and Jim discuss:Investing in an ecosystem in a tough market (8:04)Committing to working with partners over growing professional services (11:26)Finding a way to demonstrate returns and get the C-Suite on board with building an ecosystem (12:40)How to avoid having an “identity crisis” by setting an intention for how you will grow your platform (17:15)Understanding how a partner delivers services to integrate in a complementary way (19:50)The advantages and challenges of a managed service provider motion (21:30)Selling a solution rather than an outcome (26:34)The importance of authentic communication (29:00)Guest: Jim NairnSince arriving in the Spring of 2021, Jim Nairn has served as WalkMe’s Senior Vice President of Alliances and Channels Ecosystems. Prior to joining WalkMe, from 2015 through 2021, Jim held the role of Vice President of Partner Sales for ServiceNow. Jim’s pedigree comes from a 20+ year career in Direct and Indirect Selling in the Telecommunications, Infrastructure and Software space, before moving into SaaS (with ServiceNow), in 2015. Jim has spent those 2+ decades working with a vast array of partners, traveling the globe and helping grow some of the biggest tech companies in the world. He continues to serve as an advisor for pre-ipo startups, consults a vast network of C-Suite executives and mentors several former colleagues, employees and associates, worldwide. Today, Jim lives just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife Kati… and 2 daughters, Emma and Amelia.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Jim NairnFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

Avanish, JW, and Andrew discuss: The ideation of VIIZR out of Ford’s Greenfield Labs (1:30)The critical alignment of technology and go-to-market strategy when picking what platform to build VIIZR’s core product and capabilities on (4:00) Small vs. scalable businesses and how VIIZR supports its customers (7:30) Their view on the most important components of platform building for customers (8:12) How VIIZR tackles knowing where to build and where to partner (10:30) What happens when high tech meets high touch (16:30)Ford’s path to investing in VIIZR and the genesis of the company's name (20:24) The power of the democratization of technology over recent history (24:00)The biggest obstacles VIIZR has faced and how the team has navigated hurdles (26:23)And much more! Guests: JW Hoh & Andrew AlbertJian Wei Hoh is originally from Melbourne, Australia and has spent the past two decades globally focused on technology and business growth across startups and enterprises. He is currently the CEO of VIIZR Inc, a field services platform for trade professionals. Prior to VIIZR, Jian Wei served 5 years at Ford Motor Company, most recently as General Manager and Head of Business Design at Ford Greenfield Labs. Previously, Jian Wei was an executive overseeing the growth of rideshare in Scandinavia, social media in China, and omnichannel marketing and digital transformation across Oceania. As a practitioner of Human-Centered design, Jian Wei currently teaches business design thinking to startups, students and executives across various institutions in the United States.Andrew Albert has over 20 years of CRM, Platform, and Enterprise SaaS experience in engineering, consulting, and platform enablement. Prior to being CTO of VIIZR, Andrew spent 16 years at Salesforce, most recently as the SVP of AppExchange advising and mentoring ISVs on how to architect great applications on the Salesforce platform. Previously, Andrew joined Salesforce as a technical consultant helping ensure Salesforce's early enterprise customers were successful. Prior to Salesforce, spent a few years at Siebel as a Software Engineer and another few years as a Siebel consultant.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, JW Hoh and Andrew AlbertFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

Avanish and Jason discuss: Thirdera’s founding story from a company with no resources in early 2021 to a company of just under a thousand resources across 12 countries today. (2:30) ServiceNow’s  pivot to digital transformation across the enterprise and the  $6.2-6.8 trillion market opportunity it creates (7:15) The platforms that will be positioned to win in this evolving environment (10:52)The rise of the data model (12:30) Jason’s advice for those who want to be “extraordinarily future-ready” (16:26)The critical role experience will play in the future (20:00) And much more! Guest: Jason WojahnJason Wojahn has more than 25 years of business, technology, and investment experience across start-ups, private and public companies. He is currently the co-founder and CEO of Thirdera, a global services consultancy specializing in ServiceNow digital transformation, workflow automation, cloud advisory, and adoption. Thirdera brings together the power of the ServiceNow platform and its limitless potential across the world of work. Our architects, developers, consultants, designers, and project managers help our customers transform, get more from ServiceNow, and unlock hidden potential in their businesses and technology.  Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Jason WojahnFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

Avanish and Erica have a robust discussion around: Erica’s 23-year journey at Deloitte 1:00Why  it’s not about the role you have, but about what you do with the role and opportunities you’re given (7:40) Erica’s advice for growth companies thinking about building partnerships with organizations such as Deloitte or Accenture (10:25) Unpacking what “partner empathy” looks like in practice (12:45) How it is different to go to market with what we now call an ecosystem rather than what used to be more traditional partner programs (15:50) The biggest roadblocks Erica has encountered and show she steered around them (23:30)How organizations looking to enact change and has some of a similar history of direct sales and direct delivery can embark on this journey and start changing mindsets. (28:48)Why storytelling is the ultimate superpower (30:34)Guest: Erica Volini Erica Volini is the Senior Vice President responsible for Global Partnerships at ServiceNow. In that role, she has the privilege of managing the over 2,000 partners that are part of the ServiceNow global ecosystem. Before joining ServiceNow in 2021, she spent over two decades at Deloitte Consulting leading the Human Capital business and as the Chief Commercial Officer for Deloitte’s overall relationship with ServiceNow. She has written and talked extensively around the Future of Work and is a recognized expert in that space. She got her BS ILR from Cornell University and while she’s a true-blue New Yorker, she currently resides in Scottsdale, AZ with her husband and son with a new baby on the way in just a few short weeks.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Erica VoliniFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

In this episode of The Platform Journey, Stephen and Avanish discuss: The shift from linear sales motions to ecosystem sales motions (3:35)Integrating a financial model perspective and business model perspective (7:30)Reframing how we think about revenue allocation and the financial impact of partners on a business (9:45) Recognizing both the buy and sell side of contracts and sales execution (15:50)The importance of owning your management systems and partner motions (20:25)The opportunities (and challenges) facing new platform and ecosystem companies (25:15)Guest: Stephen HurrellStephen leads the expertise in the Office of Revenue and guides leaders in the applications and technology for buying and selling products and services to maximize revenue. The topics of coverage include partner management, digital commerce, price and revenue management, sales enablement, revenue performance management and subscription management. Stephen's uniquely diverse technology experience spans over 30 years, including leadership roles, heading up product strategy across a range of data-driven applications in sales enablement, financial reporting and planning, and billing and monetization platforms. Stephen was General Manager at InsideSales.com where he managed the C9 Analytics business, VP of Product and AI strategy at RecVue and held roles at Oracle, Exigen and Aviso. Stephen earned his BS in Economics from the London School of Economics.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Stephen HurrellFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

In Part Three, Avanish and Allan discuss: The evolution of monetization models (3:00) Understanding the three buckets of  tech partner monetization (6:45) How Procore’s model resulted in much higher levels of adoption and engagement, and a much higher orientation around how to make the magic happen (10:50)How to turn ISVs from  flavor-adders to the meal, into the whole meal (16:34)Allan’s favorite monetization model: the reciprocity or reciprocal model (20:37) Bringing it all back  to sourced revenue attribution (28:14) The importance of finding lagging and leading indications (30:33)Guest: Allan Adler, Managing Partner, Digital Bridge PartnersAllan Adler is a world-class advisor, consultant, and change agent.  As Managing Partner at Digital Bridge Partners, he helps individuals, managers, and executives understand and leverage partnership best practices in business and society.  He is the creator of the GoToEcosystem Framework and has worked with a wide range of organizations to unlock their full ecosystem potential.  Allan is Chair of the Ecosystem Counsel at PartnerHacker and an Executive Member of Partnership Leaders.  Previously, Allan founded and ran MSI Consulting Group; a 100-person sales and marketing strategy firm focused on the tech industry and worked as a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group.  He received his MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business, where he was honored as a Baker Scholar. Allan is a CPA and serves on several for-profit and not-for-profit boards.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Allan AdlerFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark 

In Part Two, Avanish and Allan discuss: Understanding taxation, reciprocal, and mutuality models (3:30) The role of NRR and ARR (7:27)The “stickiness” justification when monetizing tech partnerships (9:30) Understanding universal success models (12:00) Hyperscalers (14:01) Why your go-to-market or the go-to-eco motion has to be multi-threaded(20:50) Why Allan likes to look at the journey of go-to-eco very similarly to the journey of making a product(24:30) Understanding that is incumbent on partner leaders to recognize that partner operations is not a “nice to have.”(30:29)Guest: Allan Adler, Managing Partner, Digital Bridge PartnersAllan Adler is a world-class advisor, consultant, and change agent.  As Managing Partner at Digital Bridge Partners, he helps individuals, managers, and executives understand and leverage partnership best practices in business and society.  He is the creator of the GoToEcosystem Framework and has worked with a wide range of organizations to unlock their full ecosystem potential.  Allan is Chair of the Ecosystem Counsel at PartnerHacker and an Executive Member of Partnership Leaders.  Previously, Allan founded and ran MSI Consulting Group; a 100-person sales and marketing strategy firm focused on the tech industry and worked as a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group.  He received his MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business, where he was honored as a Baker Scholar. Allan is a CPA and serves on several for-profit and not-for-profit boards.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Allan AdlerFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

Avanish and Allan unpack a wide range of topics to kick off this series, including:Why tech partnerships harness so much power (3:42) The role tech partnerships play between channel and alliances (5:43) The commercial envelope concept and what it means for technology partners (8:02) Distinguishing between the strategy and the platform business model (10:34) Going to market directly vs. going to market through an ecosystem (12:00) Where does the customer fit in? (15:40) Why is digital transformation happening, and what does it mean for customers? (20:26) The important CEO to CPO conversation that needs to be had (24:13) And much more!Guest: Allan Adler, Managing Partner, Digital Bridge PartnersAllan Adler is a world-class advisor, consultant, and change agent.  As Managing Partner at Digital Bridge Partners, he helps individuals, managers, and executives understand and leverage partnership best practices in business and society.  He is the creator of the GoToEcosystem Framework and has worked with a wide range of organizations to unlock their full ecosystem potential.  Allan is Chair of the Ecosystem Counsel at PartnerHacker and an Executive Member of Partnership Leaders.  Previously, Allan founded and ran MSI Consulting Group; a 100-person sales and marketing strategy firm focused on the tech industry and worked as a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group.  He received his MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business, where he was honored as a Baker Scholar. Allan is a CPA and serves on several for-profit and not-for-profit boards.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Allan AdlerFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

In this episode, Avanish Sahai and Chris Grusz use the marketplace journey of Amazon Web Services as a springboard to discuss a variety of platform-related topics:The driver of a successful flywheel (2:17)Developing products and fostering selection to match customer demand (5:28)Balancing feature development between both buyers and sellers to maximize value for both (7:45)The advantages offered by a marketplace when co-selling with ISVs (14:56)The Amazon leadership mindset, and facilitating feedback from customers (20:54)Maintaining a long view and finding ways to attract new types of customers (25:32)Offering simplification: the key to successful marketplaces (30:00)Guest: Chris Grusz, General Manager, WW ISV Alliances & Marketplace, Amazon Web ServicesChris Grusz is the General Manager, ISV Alliances & Marketplace.  In this role he leads the ISV Partner Development and Marketplace organizations globally. With AWS since 2015, his team is responsible for the adoption of AWS Marketplace - with double digit YoY growth equating to billions in sales on an annual basis, more than 2,000 ISVs and 12,000 software product listings in AWS Marketplace.  Chris’ team works with all ISVs to adopt various partner programs and co-sell initiatives.   In addition, his team also works with customers across Commercial and Public Sector on a global basis, helping them utilize AWS Marketplace to change how they find, buy, deploy, and manage application portfolios running on AWS. Prior to joining AWS, Chris held various leadership roles including Director of Sales, Managing Director and Business Unit Executive for IBM in Sales & Distribution as well as IBM Software Group. Chris holds a BA in Business Administration and an MBA in Technology Management from the University of Washington where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Chris GruszFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

Marcus and Avanish talk about the following and more:ServiceNow’s history as a platform company from the very beginning (3:05)The cooperation and cohesion of ServiceNow’s internal products and what partners can build (6:49)The importance of committing to an ecosystem as well as a platform—and what companies really want (12:45)The challenge of long-term investment into a platform and ecosystem strategy (24:52)Why you should be cautious of building a platform just because you can (29:00)Guest: Marcus Torres, GM and VP of App Engine Business at ServiceNowMarcus is a people, product and business leader with over 20 years of proven experience building and scaling products within organizations of all sizes across consumer and enterprise markets. Extensive experience in market segments of SaaS, cloud computing, platform, mobile, developer experience, digital marketing, location-based services, and supply chain management.Marcus is General Manager of ServiceNow’s market leading low code business, App Engine. App Engine is one of the fastest growing businesses at ServiceNow. He previously led ServiceNow’s Integration Hub business while driving product strategy for the ServiceNow Platform. Responsibilities include GTM, product management, product strategy, strategic partnerships, M&A, executive engagement and business operations with additional dotted line responsibility across engineering, product marketing and sales.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Marcus TorresFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

In this episode, you can hear Laura and Avanish discuss:Expanding single channels and products to create more value (7:00)The importance of internal alignment on products and partners (10:48)Using modeling to optimize partnerships and platform strategy (13:35)Key measures of success when growing partnership ecosystems (16:47)The benefit of defining clear metrics of success (21:12)Laura’s advice: Start where you know you can have an impact, but don’t be afraid to disrupt (28:57)Guest: Laura Padilla, VP, GLobal Partners, AirtableLaura Padilla is currently the VP of Global Partners and Services at Airtable where she is building the partner and services delivery strategy. She brings over 20 years of leadership experience in leading/building complex business units and new revenue streams to scale small, private companies to +$1B post-IPO revenue including Zoom, Nutanix, Box and Riverbed. Leadership experience across marketing, alliances/business development and partner/channel sales roles in the SaaS, Enterprise Software and Hardware industries. She most recently was at Zoom where she led the global partner and platform sales business unit that was composed of over 300 team members and over $500M in revenue. This included indirect sales with and through VAR’s, service providers/carriers, OEM's, referral partners, ISV’s and SI’s, as well as influenced revenue with technology partners such as Slack, Dropbox, Box, Okta, Five9, Twilio and others. She is known as a function builder where her strength is in scaling new organizations to drive incremental revenue and customer value. Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guest, Laura PadillaFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

In this episode, Avanish and Peter discuss: The power of maintaining a customer-centric approach (4:24)Looking down, not up, to determine how to really fix the source of a problem within your platform (5:39)How to think about delivering true value to the developers on your platform (10:17)Not setting out on the platform journey before you’re ready (16:19)Choosing the right marketing motion for your platform (22:15)Guest: Peter Reinhardt, CEO of Charm IndustrialPeter Reinhardt is CEO & Co-founder at Charm Industrial, where they are developing novel carbon removal & renewable industrial syngas technology. Prior to Charm, Peter was CEO and co-founder at Segment, a SaaS customer data platform that grew to 600 people before it was acquired by Twilio in 2020 for $3.2B. He previously studied aerospace engineering at MIT.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Peter ReinhardtFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark 

In the Season 2 premiere of The Platform Journey, Avanish and Kevin discuss: Driving value to your underlying platform through partnerships (3:35) Reevaluating the way we categorize partners; building network effects to solve customer problems (6:17) Embracing “coopetition” and the importance of transparency when building a platform (9:16) Understanding and communicating the core and context layers of your ecosystem (12:42) Kevin’s key advice for an ISV setting out on the platform journey (15:15)Guest: Kevin Ichhpurani, Corporate VP at Google CloudKevin Ichhpurani is Corporate Vice President, Global Ecosystem and Business Development at Google Cloud. Kevin brings nearly 25 years of experience in the technology industry leading global strategy, platform ecosystem transformation, venture capital and mergers and acquisitions. Most recently, Kevin served as Executive Vice President and Corporate Officer of GE. Prior to GE Digital Kevin was a Senior Partner, Global Markets at Ernst and Young and before Ernst and Young Kevin served at SAP as Executive Vice President, Head of Business Development and Global Ecosystem. Kevin holds an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Kevin IchhpuraniFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

Highlights of Avanish, Damien, and Nick's discussion include:Xero’s growth story from one person’s headache to a global platform supporting over 3 million customersThe genesis of Xero’s impressive platform strategyHow the company has created a playground for developers to solve for Xero’s customers in new and innovative waysUnderstanding the role the tension between things that the company could do and things that the ecosystem could do plays in overall platform strategyPracticing transparency both internally and with your partner ecosystemDefining your ecosystem platform principles to strike balance between first-party and third-party propositionsAnd much more!Guests: Nick Houldsworth & Damien TamplingDamien Tampling, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer, XeroDamien leads Xero’s global strategy, corporate development and partnership teams. Prior to joining Xero, Damien spent nearly 20 years at Deloitte in a number of senior strategy, M&A and other executive roles and was a founding partner of Deloitte’s global online and mobile technology practice, Deloitte Digital. He holds a Bachelor of Business from RMIT University, Melbourne and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.Nick Houldsworth, Executive GM Ecosystem, XeroXero is a global small business platform, with over 1000 connected apps in its ecosystem. In 2021 Nick oversaw the launch of the new Xero App Store, and has held board and advisory roles for a number of startups. He is passionate about building a network of innovation through Xero’s ecosystem community to support small businesses worldwide. He is based in Auckland, New Zealand.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guests, Nick Houldsworth and Damien TamplingFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about TidemarkYou can find the full transcript here. 

In this week’s episode, Kathy Tsitovich discusses LegalZoom’s transformation into a platform, with all of the challenges and successes that have occurred along the way.  See key topics from her discussion with Avanish below: The early days of platforms and the LegalZoom customer channel (01:42)Identifying stakeholders in order to guide platform strategy (05:51)Curating valuable, lasting partnerships (09:45)Defining and measuring platform success (14:35)The importance of executive support, organizational alignment, and the long view (17:14)Kathy’s lessons major lessons learned and final thoughts (23:58)Guest: Kathy TsitovichKathy Tsitovich is the Chief Corporate Development & Partnerships Officer at LegalZoom – the industry leader in online small business formations and a leading online platform for legal, compliance and tax solutions.  Within this role, Kathy is responsible for driving company growth through inorganic efforts, a robust integrated partner ecosystem created for LegalZoom’s newly formed small businesses and opening new channels for new user growth via strategic partners. Prior to joining LegalZoom in 2020, Kathy spent more than 20 years at Intuit, where she held multiple leadership roles, including Vice President of Business Development & Partnerships for the consumer group, leading the Global Partnerships team focused on delivering small business partner solutions and integrations via the Intuit Developer Platform. She was also a key member of Intuit’s Corporate Strategy & Development. Kathy holds a patent for algorithms and models for creditworthiness based on financial management data and is a 2014 winner of the Scott Cook Innovation Award for her contributions to QuickBooks Capital.Kathy graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.S. in Business Administration and Finance and is currently the Executive Sponsor of the LegalZoom Women’s Network. Kathy lives in Chicago with her husband, two kids and dog, Bear.  When she’s not catching up on email or writing a “to do” list, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading and playing golf as much as possible during the super short Chicago summer!Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guest,  Kathy TsitovichFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about TidemarkYou can find the full transcript here. 

Tom and Avanish kick off the session focusing on what it means to build a platform, and a partner ecosystem around that platform. Then, they dig into where Tom is on the platform journey. He’s been building OneStream for some time and it has grown amazingly well, with a marketplace of over 50 solutions and over 200 partners. They cover… Driving towards constant improvement and platform dependency (7:23)What the true definition of “platform” is and the necessary mindset to achieve platform status (9:27)Recognizing the right patterns early on in the platform journey (15:25)Separating platform thinking from traditional product thinking (17:00)The biggest roadblocks for platform building (19:10)The evolution of cloud ecosystems over the last several years (28:09)Guest: Tom SheaTom is an original founder of OneStream Software™, an original architect of OneStream, and serves as CEO of the company.  He is passionate when it comes to delivering value, success, and support. Tom’s vision is to change the entire CPM ecosystem with a solution that combines power and flexibility with ease of use, deployment, and maintenance. Prior to OneStream, Tom was an original founder of UpStream Software in January of 2000 where he invented and architected UpStream TB and later UpStream WebLink. These products pioneered a new space called Financial Data Quality and achieved a better way to manage data quality for Hyperion products by providing a packaged product (UpStream/FDM) every company could use. Tom is a graduate of Oakland University, where he earned his BS in Accounting and Finance as well as an MBA in Systems Analysis and Design.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guest, Tom SheaFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about TidemarkYou can find the full transcript here. 

In this episode, Arshad Matin details Avetta’s impressive platform journey and the critical components to developing a successful SaaS platform that provides value to everyone that touches it. See key topics in his discussion with Avanish below:Understanding Avetta, a two-sided network for supply chain risk management (0:57)Enriching a platform with data and APIs (2:45)The tipping point of ecosystem and network growth (7:50)Providing multiple pillars of value and capitalizing on industry trends (11:10)Creating a “platform mindset”: the win-win-win scenario (17:08)How to approach a platform strategy: key questions to ask (23:42)The importance of humility and empathy while building a platform ecosystem (26:25)Guest: Arshad MatinAs Avetta’s CEO, Arshad is focused on enhancing safety, sustainability, and regulatory compliance outcomes for organizations throughout the world. Prior to joining Avetta, Arshad served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a board member of Paradigm, a leading global developer of software and analytics solutions to the global oil and gas industry. Arshad also held senior leadership positions at Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC), Seismic Micro Technology, and was a Partner at McKinsey & Company.  Arshad also serves as a board member and trustee for ASGN Incorporated (NYSE: ASGN), and several non-profit organizations including the Houston Endowment, Texas Children’s Hospital, and Asia Society Texas Center. Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guest, Arshad MatinFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about TidemarkYou can find the full transcript here. 

In this episode, Anu Bharadwaj shares her tricks of the trade as one of the most impressive product and platform minds we know. She draws on her time at Microsoft, where she launched several products for Microsoft Studio, as well as her current role leading operations for Atlassian, to provide some really fascinating insights. How Atlassian got its start (1:23)Anu’s unique  journey from Microsoft to her role as Atlassian COO (3:56)The three key things that led to the platformization of Atlassian (11:44)The impressive proliferation of the Atlassian Marketplace (17:13)The roadblocks and challenges Atlassian has faced with both platform and ecosystem shifts (25:01)Is your product right for platformization? What should you consider when making this determination? (30:11)Why no strategy is better than its execution (31:13)The human side of platform building (32:33)Guest: Anu Bharadwaj Anu Bharadwaj is the Chief Operating Officer at Atlassian. Anu leads transformative projects across product lines at Atlassian, including the enterprise business, cloud platform teams and operations.An accomplished executive with a track record of growing $1B+ businesses, building great teams and shipping blockbuster products, Anu joined Atlassian in 2014 as the Head of Product for Jira, and has held a variety of roles at the company during her tenure. Prior to joining Atlassian, Anu was at Microsoft, launching several products for Microsoft Visual Studio for over 10 years. Anu is passionate about making the world a better place through technology and effective philanthropy. She is a member of OutSystem’s board of directors and serves as the Director of Atlassian Foundation.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow. From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase. Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guest, Anu BharadwajFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about TidemarkYou can find the the full transcript here. 

In this episode, Mike Rosenbaum shares his experience and key learnings on what it really takes to build a powerful platform, drawing on his time leading product management and go-to-market strategy for core CRM products at Salesforce and as EVP of the Salesforce Platform team, to his current role leading Guidewire. The early innings of platform building at Salesforce (3:30)What you should be considering as you chart the platform course for your company (6:07)Getting crystal clear on what you mean by “platform” (8:28)What really made Salesforce unique (12:13)Mike’s cardinal rules for platform building (14:26)A realistic approach to failure (17:38)Always considering your customer’s perspective (23:18)What the highest level of platform looks like (27:40)Guest: Mike RosenbaumMike Rosenbaum is CEO of Guidewire Software, where he has overall responsibility for global strategy, organization, culture, and operations. He is passionate about building great teams and innovative products and platforms that deliver value for customers, partners, and shareholders. Prior to Guidewire, Mike led product management and go-to-market strategy for core CRM products at Salesforce and was also EVP of the Salesforce Platform team. He also served in the US Navy as a submarine officer. Mike’s unique leadership and cloud experience give him the capability to accelerate Guidewire’s role in the P&C industry.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow. From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase. Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.LinksFollow our guest, Mike RosenbaumFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about TidemarkYou can find the full transcript here. 

Having started out as a marketing applications company, HubSpot’s goal today is to be the number one platform for scaling companies.  In this episode, co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah shares some of the most important lessons he has learned on the journey since HubSpot’s founding in 2006.HubSpot’s journey to becoming a CRM platform (1:17)How to measure success as a platform (3:14)How to attract partners to the platform (5:52) and striking the balance between established partners and new native apps (8:01)Importance of being a joy to partner with (8:55) and culture of solving for the customer (11:51)It’s ok to have conflict and competition (14:32)Investing in the core vs opening up the platform (16:53)A couple platforms Dharmesh admires (25:45)Parting thoughts on monetization (28:36) Guest: Dharmesh ShahDharmesh Shah is co-founder and CTO of HubSpot. Prior to founding HubSpot in 2006, Dharmesh was founder and CEO of Pyramid Digital Solutions, which was acquired by SunGard Data Systems in 2005.  In addition to co-authoring “Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media and Blogs”, Dharmesh founded and writes for OnStartups.com -- a top-ranking startup blog and community with more than 700,000 members.  In 2013, Dharmesh published HubSpot’s Culture Code, which has garnered over five million views. Named an Inc. Founders 40 in 2016, he is an active member of the Boston-area entrepreneurial community, an angel investor in over 60 startups, and a frequent speaker on startups, inbound marketing, and company culture.Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guest, Dharmesh ShahFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about TidemarkYou can find the full transcript here.