How to choose a strategic partner as a scale-up founder? Seven criteria
By Wouter Glaser · Published
Key takeaways
- Start with the question, not with the offer: is it about you, about the leadership team, about a specialism or about money?
- Criterion 1: first-hand experience with building, scaling and letting go weighs more heavily than a method.
- Criterion 4: ask how the partner earns. Whoever is paid per hour, per report or per deal advises accordingly.
- Criterion 7: agree the end in advance. A good partner makes themselves redundant.
- In the first conversation, ask for an example of a client the partner sent away.
First the question, then the type of partner
Most founders look for a strategic partner at the moment they have become the bottleneck themselves. Then it is tempting to choose from whatever presents itself: the coach an acquaintance recommends, the agency that sends a nice proposal, the former entrepreneur who is happy to take a look. Turn it around. First establish where the question lies.
- Does the question lie in you as a person, in your leadership or your choices? Then you are looking for a business coach or mentor.
- Does the question lie in the leadership team and the organisation of the company: rhythm, roles, culture, numbers? Then you are looking for someone who works with the leadership team and stays involved, a co-founder as a service or a growth program.
- Is it a specialist question, such as a new market, an IT project or a legal structure? Then you are looking for a consultancy or an interim specialist with a clearly defined assignment.
- Do you want oversight and a sounding board at a distance? Then you are looking for a non-executive director or an advisory board.
- Are you looking for capital? Then you are looking for an investor, and that is not a partner but a shareholder.
Often the answer is a combination. But the order matters: a coach does not solve a lack of rhythm, and a consultancy does not solve a founder who does everything themselves.
Seven criteria for the choice
- Have they done it themselves? A method is valuable, but a partner who has built, scaled and let go of a company themselves recognises the moments when the method does not work. Ask about their own mistakes, not just the successes.
- Do they work with the leadership team or only with you? If the problem lies in the company, the partner needs to sit at the table with your leadership team. Otherwise everything comes back through you, and that was exactly the problem.
- Do they stay until it works? A report is not a result. Ask what happens after the analysis: who puts it in place, how long does the partner stay involved and what is left when they are gone.
- How do they earn from you? Whoever is paid per hour benefits from more hours. Whoever is paid per report, from more reports. Whoever gets a percentage of a deal, from the deal. A fixed amount for an agreed period is the fairest. And always ask: who earns from the route that is being recommended to me?
- Do they dare to say no? A partner who approves of everything is an expensive mirror. Ask for an example of a client the partner sent away, or advice the client did not want to hear.
- Do they make it measurable? A baseline measurement at the start, a few hard numbers and an anonymous survey among the team. Without that, after a year you do not know whether it worked or whether it was chance.
- Has the end been agreed? The best partner makes themselves redundant. Agree in advance when it is finished and how the way of working keeps working once the partner is gone.
The comparison in one table
| Type | Works with | Delivers | Earns | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business coach | you | conversations and reflection | per session | personal questions and leadership |
| Consultancy | the assignment | analysis and advice | per project or per hour | a clearly defined specialist question |
| Interim manager | one role | temporary cover | per day | a gap in the leadership team |
| Non-executive director or advisory board | the management, at a distance | oversight and sounding board | fixed fee | companies with a mature leadership team |
| Co-founder as a service | you and the leadership team | rhythm, roles, culture and numbers, stays until it works | fixed amount per period | scale-ups where the founder is the bottleneck |
The questions for the first conversation
Take these with you. Which company did you build yourself and what went wrong there? Do you sit with my leadership team or only with me? What is left when you are gone? How do you earn from me, and from what not? Which client did you send away? How do we measure after a year whether it worked? When is it finished? If the answers are short and concrete, you probably have the right person in front of you. If they talk around the questions, you know that too.
Where Go Delphi fits and where it does not
Go Delphi works as a co-founder as a service and in growth programs with founders and their leadership team, for companies where the potential is there and the brake sits at the table. Not for those looking for capital, not for a clearly defined specialist question and not for those who only want a personal sounding board; in those cases I would rather refer you elsewhere. The difference with coaching is on the page about business coaching in Amsterdam, the way of working on the page about co-founder as a service.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about choosing a strategic partner
What is a strategic partner for a scale-up?
Someone from outside who works structurally with the founder and the leadership team on the direction and the organisation of the company: strategy, rhythm, roles, culture and numbers. Unlike an advisor, a strategic partner stays involved in the execution; unlike an investor, they do not bring in capital.What is the difference between a business coach and a co-founder as a service?
A business coach works on you as a person, in conversations. A co-founder as a service works with you on the company: sits in on the leadership team, helps put rhythm, roles and numbers in place and stays until it runs. The first changes the founder, the second changes the company.When do you need a strategic partner?
At the moment you notice that you know what needs to happen but cannot get it done, that the company comes to a standstill when you are away, or that the leadership team is not aligned while the market is there. Usually in the phase in which the founder can no longer do everything alone.What does a strategic partner cost?
That depends on the type: a coach charges per session, a consultancy per project, an interim per day, a co-founder as a service usually a fixed amount per month for an agreed period. More important than the amount is the model: choose a fee that does not reward more hours or a particular outcome.How do you recognise a bad strategic partner?
By three things: the answer is already fixed before the question has been asked, the partner works only with you while the problem lies in the leadership team, and no end has been agreed.