AI is changing how startups build a Business Development function—part 2
Photo of a colourful unicorn statue: author's own
In my last post I described how SaaS startups used to approach the challenge of building a Business Development (alliances/partnerships) team, and how the rise of AI is driving deep change in three underlying factors:
Revenue velocity is shortening the window for action, which might force riskier decisions.
The change in how and when software integrations are created upends the Tech Alliances Playbook.
The nascent nature of many enterprise AI technologies will reshuffle the deck on GTM partnerships.
At this point it is probably useful to complement the analysis by looking at two things founders could do to deal with this reality.
The who: finding the right talent
In a time of accelerating change and rising uncertainty, the cost of mistakes in hiring can be higher, especially when it comes to managers and leaders. Decisions that increase future options are far better than those that add constraints.
As my friend startup coach Noa Urbach said in this post, hiring commercial leaders too soon is a common error. I would add that a false start on a strategic role with a long horizon is even more costly in the age of AI.
The return of the generalist
Ideally you'd hire someone who's done this before. But without access to a time machine, who has a decade of BD experience in AI? :)
AI startups should beware bias towards savvy, specialist execs, or people who managed large BD operations in Cloud/SaaS—they should instead look for scrappy, driven, hands-on generalists with minimum ego and maximum Seed/A experience, people who will focus on proving out MVPs and handing them over to specialists that join later.
Love the one you’re with
Generalist unicorns that actually have the grit, humility, and drive to do the job are hard to find, but another place we can find them is in-house, by taking a bet on the people already in the organisation—and ideally paired with an external, experienced mentor.
Try before you buy
If you can’t or won’t hire that generalist, or if you don’t have the internal talent to cultivate and mentor—luckily for you, there is a wealth of fractional options out there. Many of us have the experience you may need, but probably seem a bit too senior/not looking to go back to full time. You could get someone in quickly (yes, someone like me...) to build the infrastructure, prove out the partnership MVPs, and hire & train the incoming team when the time is right—definitely an options-increasing strategy.
The how: sharpening your Cloud Provider play
Go where the game is being played
Working closely with at least one of the three leading public clouds has been a strategic necessity for about a decade. I've suggested in the previous article how Tech Alliances and GTM Alliances may be shifting—but exploring those partners segments within the cloud ecosystems could be an interesting way to de-risk.
By the way, the major cloud providers are by nature generalists... another supporting point to hire generalists to navigate these ecosystems successfully.
Leverage the AI arms race
In the cloud arena, many are focused on Microsoft's vision in buying a stake in OpenAI (not to mention its support of copilot); others explain how well-equipped Google Cloud is to engineer its way ahead with Gemini and other solutions; and not a thought for poor little Amazon Web Services (AWS) ;)
But I recall the early days of Kubernetes: the technology didn't come from AWS, the company was slow to introduce its own managed service alongside homegrown ECS, and it was never (I believe) a top CNCF power. What they did have was the market share to make it work for them in the long run, and they sure did.
Just in case history doesn’t rhyme, AWS will still be thinking hard about their current competitive position. AI startups that can make the AWS offering look innovative and competitive can go beyond just a co-sell/Marketplace play and form some interesting relationships in Seattle.
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It’s an exciting (if historically unpredictable) time to be a founder. I would love to hear your thoughts whether they support or contradict my ramblings. As always, happy to get in touch and be your thinking (and doing) partner.
