Richard Ezekiel has created partnerships with Fortune 500 companies and helped scale market-defining startups in Silicon Valley. He joins Kyle to share hard-won lessons on building strategic partnerships that deliver real business impact—not just press.

They cover how to assess if partnerships are the right growth lever, why most programs fail, and what it takes to build a durable, high-impact strategy. Richard breaks down his “Partnership T” framework and offers practical guidance for CROs and GTM leaders scaling post-product-market fit.

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Buy Richard’s book, “Coelevate: How to Unlock Business Growth and Consumer Value with Strategic Partnerships.”

Key chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction to Revenue Leadership and Partnerships

(02:43) - Defining Partnerships and Their Importance

(05:49) - Core Components of Successful Partnerships

(08:42) - Assessing the Right Time for Partnerships

(11:31) - Building a Strategic Partnership Plan

(14:51) - The Role of Partnerships in Business Growth

(17:41) - Identifying Potential Partners

(20:32) - The Spark of Partnership Ideas

(23:57) - Navigating the Complexity of Partnerships

(26:53) - Methodical Approaches to Finding Partnership Opportunities

(29:43) - Evaluating Partnership Types and Strategies

(41:18) - GTM 2025: Elevating Go-to-Market Strategies

(42:42) - Common Failure Modes in Partnerships

(44:55) - Operational Rigor: The Key to Partnership Success

(51:02) - Defining Strategic Partnerships

(52:59) - Assessing Ideal Partner Profiles

(59:49) - Testing Partnership Viability

(01:04:38) - Knowing When to Walk Away from Partnerships

(01:12:22) - The Future of Partnership Management

(01:13:17) - Reflections on Successful Partnerships

E40: Partnership Lessons from COELEVATE with Author Richard Ezekiel

The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton