Cristina Cordova (ex Head of Platform & Partnerships at Notion)

As you work from category 1 to 3, you usually have more leverage in 3 than 1. In general, however, most start-ups are negotiate from a low-leverage position

The skill sets necessary to break into business development role is communication, persuasion, collaboration

Often, it is helpful to organize you BD/partnerships team to each type of partnership

Start-ups should avoid long-term contracts and bake in tiers that drive price down as your business scales

When considering as a role a BD/partnerships leader, consider whether the function is likely to be key to the stabilized business model (could there be a Chief Business Officer, at some point)

A lot of partnerships novices don't appreciate how important it is to know which partner owns the end customer relationship

During a negotiation, it is important to have clarity on a short list of things you want and a short list of things you will not accepts. It is also important to be transparent about the decision making process and stakeholders

Before crafting an agreement, it is helpful to draft a high-level term sheet of key deal points to drive agreement quickly

For product partnerships, focus on building features that make your value prop truly unique

Types of partnerships: 1) foundational - without these partnerships, you business could not operate; 2) product partnerships - less critical partnership that offer additional features and value pros to end customers without building from scratch; 3) platform - a partnership that adds users to your ecosystem