Ecosystem Growth Strategies for SaaS Startups

Discussion with Peter Fogelsanger

With twenty years navigating direct sales, digital agency work, and partner-led strategies, Peter Fogelsanger has helped SaaS companies grow from founder-led deals to scalable, partner-driven ecosystems. Today, he works with early-stage teams to embed ecosystem-led growth (ELG) as a strategic advantage from day one. In this article, Fogelsanger unpacks the mindset shifts, enablement programs, and strategic investments required to transition from product-first to partner-first models, and explains why ELG must be woven into a company’s cultural DNA to succeed.

Shifting From Direct Sales to Partner Led Selling

For product-first companies accustomed to direct sales, transitioning to a partner-first culture demands more than process change; it requires a fundamental rewiring of behavior. Fogelsanger points to the entrenched ideal of the lone-wolf salesperson: autonomous, competitive, and rewarded for controlling the deal. But this archetype no longer thrives in complex B2B environments. "You have to earn trust with the prospect by solving their problem, not just selling your point solution. This often means working as a pack", he says, signaling a shift toward collective intelligence and trust-building.

Ecosystem-led selling redefines success: it’s about orchestrating expertise, not controlling the pitch. By aligning teams and complementing insights, deals close faster, and with more trust. In fact, according to Crossbeam, partner-led sales cycles are 46% faster, close 53% more often, and generate 48% larger ACVs. These data points reinforce the long-game benefit of a collaborative, trust-first approach over lone-wolf selling.

"These partner lead results can only be accomplished through collaborating and communicating", Fogelsanger says. "And that works best with a give-to-get mindset”. This turns co-selling into a trust rhythm, where every interaction strengthens alignment.

Importantly, ELG introduces a smarter path to strategic engagement. By tapping into relationship triangulation and co-sell dynamics, companies unlock faster access to decision-makers and more credible solution narratives. It turns sales from a solo sprint into a coordinated relay, and that’s where competitive edge is increasingly found.

Building Joint Value Propositions With Partners

Fogelsanger warns against the trap of pushing features over outcomes. A partner doesn’t care how elegant your architecture is, they care how it drives business for them. "They might already have relationships, workflows, or even revenue tied to your competitor", he says. Winning that trust means understanding how your offer can fit into, not disrupt, what already works for your partner.

A consultative mindset uncovers joint growth. When leaders understand a partner’s business deeply, collaboration reveals untapped value, driving joint growth and long-term alignment. Translating value means speaking your partner’s language, helping them displace a vendor, gain efficiency, or win new customers.

Strong value propositions begin with humility: What does the partner need to win? Can your product boost margin, simplify delivery, or unlock AI-driven growth? ELG leaders frame their product not as the centerpiece, but as an enabler of partner outcomes. This reframing builds the foundation for trust, reciprocity, and momentum that makes collaboration not just possible, but profitable.

Measuring the Impact of Ecosystem Led Strategies

Most companies stop at pipelines and leads. But Fogelsanger challenges that view: a thriving ecosystem impacts almost every SaaS KPI. Lower CAC, higher win rates, stronger NPS, and even accelerated product innovation can all stem from well-integrated partnerships. Ecosystem alignment creates multiplier effects across KPIs, even in areas like influence and expansion that are harder to measure.

Fogelsanger urges leaders to resist short-term thinking. “It takes 18 to 24 months for ecosystems to deliver real velocity”, he notes. Yet many give up after one bad quarter. Instead of lagging indicators, he recommends tracking momentum: deal velocity, partner engagement, and co-delivery efficiency.

Reducing Risk With the First Partner Deal

The risk triangle illustrates the inherent friction when a vendor, partner, and customer are all unfamiliar with one another. In these cases, hesitation and stalled momentum often arise from a lack of mutual trust. To mitigate this, companies can leverage existing relationships where trust is already established. Rather than forging entirely new connections, they can engage partners who specialize in onboarding innovation through familiar channels.

The key to breaking the risk triangle is to start with customers who already trust the partner, even if they’ve never worked with the ISV. This dramatically reduces perceived risk for everyone involved and accelerates co-sell readiness without frontloading expensive enablement.

For example, when a trusted service provider introduces your product to a client they know well, that credibility helps reduce the perceived risk and fosters smoother collaboration. As Fogelsanger puts it, “Because that’s their specialty, kicking off a new product workstream comes far more naturally to them than trying to manage the other sides of the triangle”. This kind of warm introduction becomes a catalyst for accelerated adoption and trust alignment.

This approach also complements agile enablement. Instead of front-loading partner training, companies can wait until a concrete opportunity arises. This saves time and resources while keeping partner engagement high. By leveraging these established relationships, organizations create a strategic entry point into broader ecosystem motions, turning risk into momentum.

Designing Partner Enablement That Drives Revenue

Enablement isn’t onboarding. It’s a continuous, adaptive process that must evolve with both market conditions and partner maturity. Fogelsanger encourages leaders to think beyond one-size-fits-all certifications. "Humans tend to chase shiny objects. If your training isn’t engaging, they’ll move on to the next thing". Effective enablement demands a tailored, role-specific approach. Gamification helps, but only if it’s role-specific, outcome-driven, and aligned to clear incentives.

Fogelsanger also recommends embedding enablement into partner tiering frameworks, creating a direct correlation between active learning and tangible opportunity. This ensures that your partner ecosystem doesn’t just complete training modules, it evolves into a network of highly capable and engaged advocates who are invested in your success. As he puts it: "The more you align their enablement and incentives to your ecosystem motion, the more they start to think and act like an extension of your team".

Embedding AI and ELG Into Every Business Function

Embedding ecosystem-led growth into an organization means rethinking how value is created and delivered across functions. Customer success, product, and marketing teams must operate with shared objectives, embedding partner considerations into planning, execution, and measurement. Each department must intentionally consider the role of partners in its processes and outcomes, weaving ecosystem thinking into everyday operations rather than relegating it to a separate GTM function.

This integrated approach becomes even more transformative when coupled with AI. Fogelsanger envisions AI-powered PRM tools that go beyond tracking, surfacing new opportunities, recommending joint motions, and optimizing collaboration in real time.

“Tools need to move from reporting to recommending”, Fogelsanger says, turning ELG into a predictive engine that improves through real-time data. The next wave of PRM tools must shift from tracking to driving behavior, with AI-powered enablement, joint planning, and predictive GTM motions.

Why Ecosystem Led Growth Drives Business Success

"Ecosystem-led growth functions as a company-wide operating model, not a standalone go-to-market strategy", Fogelsanger concludes. Success with ELG requires more than surface-level collaboration. It hinges on deep alignment across departments, strong executive sponsorship, and a deliberate commitment to long-term thinking over short-term wins.

Just as you wouldn't install your own HVAC or tires, customers in today’s SaaS world seek trusted implementers and specialists, not just vendors. Ecosystem-led companies mirror this model by embedding partnerships at every customer touchpoint, from marketing to delivery to support. Those that succeed will treat ELG not as a sales channel, but as a company-wide operating system.

As tech markets grow more competitive and complex, partnership must be elevated from a tactical channel to a strategic growth driver. Companies that embrace ecosystem-led thinking are better equipped to move with agility, tap into new markets, and deliver unified customer experiences.

Ecosystem-led growth requires cultural change rooted in shared goals, aligned incentives, and coordinated value delivery. Humility and trust become key leadership traits. When every function, from marketing to customer success, is engaged in co-creating value with partners, the entire business accelerates. “The goal isn’t to just add partners”, Fogelsanger says. Aligning teams and partners around customer success transforms collaboration into a lasting competitive edge.

Key Takeaways for Scaling With Ecosystem Strategy

Fogelsanger summarizes his experience and philosophy in one core idea: Ecosystem-led growth is a holistic business strategy that spans far beyond sales

• Leadership drives ELG: Executives must treat partnerships as strategic assets and embed them into company culture through consistent priorities and processes.
• Align operations: Rethink policies, incentives, and compensation to enable cross-functional collaboration, not siloed execution.
• Think long-term: ELG may require short-term tradeoffs, but it amplifies impact across every KPI over time.
• Post-sale matters: Success, support, and services are critical to ecosystem momentum and should be tightly linked to ELG.
• Play the long game: ELG takes time, but with the right structure and mindset, it becomes a multiplier for growth, value, and differentiation.

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