Optimism Show

@timcox has some unique ways of establishing partnerships for @pooltogether 

Great listen to stretch your mind on approaching partnerships… and making them succeed

cc: @vittoriocappelli 

https://pods.media/the-optimism-show/the-smart-way-to-establish-partnerships?referrer=0x7BeC1f3285B83D273d640369282283B233e43786

Added some Partnerships Best Practices from the show notes in the thread below

Building /farcastle. Tryna help humans coordinate. TANSTAAFL! https://bootleggers.wtf/

Build Before You Pitch

Demonstrate value upfront rather than just talking about it:

- Create working prototypes or MVPs specific to potential partners
- Show up with something already built that solves their problem
- "Instead of creating long emails or slide decks, just build them something and say 'Hey, look what I built you'"

Find the Active Responders

Target the most responsive people in any organization:

- In group chats, identify who responds fastest and most frequently
- Direct message these responsive individuals to build momentum
- "I find the person that responds the fastest over the most... whoever frequently responds the fastest and then I start DMing that person"

Use Experimental Approaches

Embrace a culture of experimentation:

- Try unconventional partnership approaches without extensive legal review when possible
- Be willing to create quick experiments to test concepts
- Maintain a scrappy, builder mindset rather than a corporate approach

Leverage Technology and AI

Use modern tools to streamline partnership development:

- Employ AI tools to quickly build MVPs and solve specific problems
- Create data visualizations or dashboards to illustrate value
- Use no-code/low-code tools to implement ideas rapidly
- "I find myself basically weekly creating a new thing to solve an issue"

Identify Mutual Benefits

Create clear incentive structures:

- Understand what each partner needs from the relationship
- Define how each side benefits from the partnership
- Look for asymmetries that could be exploited for mutual gain
- Make benefits transparent to all parties

Create Unique Value Propositions

Stand out with unique offerings:

- Add gamification elements to standard products/services
- Create memorable and unique marketing approaches (like "silly songs" or meme content)
- Find ways to combine existing technologies in novel ways

Use On-Chain Actions and Incentives

Leverage blockchain features for partnership programs:

- Create token-based reward systems for partner communities
- Use on-chain actions to trigger partnership benefits
- Consider "prize power" where actions lead to chances to win
- "Whatever you want to reward, you just drop a token on them"

Build With Communities, Not Just Companies

Recognize the community aspect of partnerships:

- Identify and engage with active community members
- Create tools and resources that benefit entire ecosystems
- Allow communities to build upon your technology
- "If people are building with your thing... that's the way"

Focus on Relationship Building

Partnerships in Web3 are highly relational:

- Attend industry events to make in-person connections
- Leverage existing relationships to get introductions
- Identify and build relationships with responsive team members
- Look for the "person who's on it" in each organization