BUSINESS STRATEGY
Structure the Team and Operational Setup
Identify Key Vendors and Partners
Not everything should be built in-house. Identify external partners that support delivery: from tech tools to agencies. Clarify ownership, contracts, performance expectations, and risks of dependency.
Why it's Matters
No startup builds everything in-house. Strategic use of vendors and partners can accelerate progress, reduce costs, and fill expertise gaps but only if selected and managed deliberately. Unclear ownership, unvetted vendors, or scattered partnerships can create hidden risk and erode alignment.
What You Need to Do
List external providers critical to strategy execution
Clarify the role each vendor/partner plays in delivery
Assess fit, dependencies, risks, and scalability
Assign ownership for each relationship internally
How to Approach It
Identify the key categories where external support is needed:
Tech / dev agencies
Legal / compliance
GTM enablement (e.g. paid media, SEO, PR)
Tools / platforms (e.g. analytics, CRM, cloud infra)
Channel or integration partners
For each, define their strategic role:
Are they delivering a service? Owning an outcome? Scaling something you can’t?
Are they core to your differentiation or just enablers?
Evaluate based on performance and risk:
Reliability, cost, responsiveness
IP control, vendor lock-in, dependency level
Contract clarity and exit flexibility
Assign internal ownership:
Who manages the relationship?
Who’s accountable for performance?
How often is this reviewed?
Deliverables
Vendor/partner map
Role and value statement for each major vendor
Assigned owner per relationship
Contract checklist (risk, renewal, exit terms)
How to Tell if You Got It Right
You know which vendors drive outcomes vs. just deliverables
External support is aligned with your stage and strategy
No major partner relationship is unmanaged
You can explain (and justify) every major vendor cost
What to Watch Out For
Vendor sprawl: too many tools or partners with unclear value
Overdependence on a single agency or contractor
Shadow procurement: no visibility or consistency across departments
No process for vetting, onboarding, or reviewing external relationships