How to build partnerships in communities with Lauren Hoffman, Head of Partnerships in On Deck

🎬 E38. I cannot think of a better person to learn building partnerships in communities from than Lauren Hoffman who led partnerships in On Deck for two years.

Lauren joined as the 12th employee in the company and grew partnerships into a nearly $1 million startup perk library in addition to 50+ hands-on partners like Mercury and Bubble. At that time On Deck scaled ~ 10X into a vibrant startup community of 10K fellows.

We went pretty deep - from partnership principles of On Deck to their tech stack (vs Partner Insight) to partnership examples to how to measure partnerships and when to scale them up/down.

I think this conversation showcases a true spirit of OnDeck - intellectual honesty, attention to tactical details and hand-on approach


📍 In this episode:
0:00 - Preview & intro
1:40 – Partnerships from first principles
3:00 – Three principles of partnerships in On Deck
5:20 – How partnerships started in On Deck
7:30 – Type of partnerships in the startup community
15:00 – Partnership stack in On Deck
18:00 – Best partnerships case studies
23:00 – Do you need an senior sponsor for a partnership to be successful
27:00 – Evaluating partnerships: when to scale up and down
30:30 – How to engage partners and help them perform?
40:00 – Advice if you’re starting in partnership

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[PartnerInsight]

📍 In this episode:
0:00 - Episode preview
1:40 – Partnerships from first principles
3:00 – Three principles of partnerships in On Deck
5:20 – How partnerships started in On Deck
7:30 – Type of partnerships in the startup community
15:00 – Partnership stack in On Deck
18:00 – Best partnerships case studies
23:00 – Do you need an senior sponsor for a partnership to be successful
27:00 – Evaluating partnerships: when to scale up and down
30:30 – How to engage partners and help them perform?
40:00 – Advice if you’re starting in partnership