Strategic Partnerships @ StreamYard | Captain @ The Partner Ship 🚢

Franz Schrepf is the Head of Strategic Partnerships at OpusClip, the #1 AI video editing tool used by 10M+ creators and businesses around the world. 

Before Opus he was the #16 employee at Hopin and StreamYard, a virtual events and live streaming company which Sifted called "Europe's fastest growing startup of all time." 
 
His new book, "The Book on Partnerships: How Startups Work With Partners To Sell More, Add Features, And Get Acquired.", is a foundational guide full of stories and insights from 50+ industry experts that explain the power of partnerships in the most basic terms.  

Franz is also a frequent contributor and speaker on the topic of partnerships on podcasts, blogs, events, and conferences as well as the host of one of the most popular partnership podcasts, The Partner Ship 🚢.

Originally from Germany, Franz lives with his wife and daughter in San Francisco, where he organizes monthly partnerships meetups together with the Partnerships Leaders community.

Franz-Josef Schrepf (FJS)

"When is the audiobook coming out?"

Today I can finally say: it's here.

This was easily the most asked question since The Book on Partnerships launched.

I wrote it, recorded it, and edited the audiobook myself.

Which is surprisingly hard if you have 2 year old at home!

Every chapter, every story, every framework. 

In my voice, the way I'd tell it to you in person. 

It also comes with a companion PDF with all the graphics, sources, resources, and terminology so you get the full experience.

Available now on Audible, Spotify, and Apple Books.

If you've been waiting for this one, thank you.

I hope you enjoy it.

#partnerships #TheBookOnPartnerships #Ecosystems

Franz-Josef Schrepf

Revenue & Partnerships @ OpusClip | Author of ‘The Book on Partnerships’ | Captain @ The Partner Ship 🚢 | Pavilion’s Top 50 Partnership Execs to Watch in 2025

Jay Singh is the co-founder and CEO of Casper Studios, a bootstrapped AI product studio that, among many other things, built the Stranger Things × Netflix voice AI activation (400K+ calls). 

In this episode, we dig into:

- How he uses Claude Code + Cursor + MCP to automate BD from LinkedIn connections to qualified pipeline
- The "singles and doubles" framework: modular AI builds that cut hedge fund Q&A prep by 80%
- Why he chose deterministic AI over generative for a Netflix brand activation and what that tells us about AI's real edge
- The role of System Integrators in today's ever-changing AI landscape.

Whether you're a founder wondering how to actually use Claude Code beyond coding, or a partnerships leader thinking about AI-powered BD, this conversation will change how you think about building an AI-native business.

#partnerships #AI #systemsintegrator

Franz-Josef Schrepf and 56 other attendees

The AI Systems Integrator Handbook w/ Jay Singh @ Casper

"Sorry, my AI sent the wrong pricing" is about to become the most common sales objection handler in 2026.

Here's the thing: People care a lot less about you than you think.

Coffee stain on your shirt? Nobody notices. 

They're too busy worrying about their own stuff.

Social media is the same:

👉 3-second attention spans.
👉 Swipe, swipe, swipe..
👉 Zero appreciation for cool transitions.

Bottom line: Stop sweating the small stuff. 

Now, go make something!

For every $1 Salesforce makes, their ecosystem makes $7 

For every $1 an AI company makes, the ecosystem will earn $20. Or $100.

I've dug deep into the data, my own experience, and an important clue Anthropic's CEO left in a recent podcast. 

We are entering the golden age of implementation.

The SaaSpocalypse is in full swing. An eye-watering $1 trillion was wiped off of SaaS stocks in the first week of February 2026. HubSpot's stock is do

Open article: The Age of the Systems Integrator by Franz-Josef Schrepf • 4 min read

Scott Pollack spent 20 years building partnerships at giants like American Express and WeWork. Then he noticed something: the partnerships professionals he worked with had no profession, no training, no certifications, no community. So he built one.                                                                                          

Scott is the CEO and co-founder of Firneo, the leading learning community for partnerships professionals, and heads member programs at Pavilion. In this episode, we dig into:

- How 20 years in partnerships led him to build the community infrastructure the profession was missing
- Why the average partner manager has 30 portals, 30 Slack groups, and 30 newsletters, and nobody looks at any of them
- What separates a community people actually show up to from one that gets ignored
- What changes when you stop managing a partner program and start managing a community
- Why community might be the only distribution strategy that cuts through the noise

Whether you're an ecosystem leader sitting on 500 active partners or a partnerships professional wondering what comes next, this conversation will change how you think about your partner program.

Franz-Josef Schrepf and 11 other attendees

Manage Your Ecosystem Like A Community w/ Scott Pollack (Wework, Firneo)

Helping SaaS build trusted content with third-party expertise • Co-Founder @ AudienceLed • GTM & Partnerships Operator • Your buyer trusts 👉 People, brands, and places they already transact with. Activate them.

I help SaaS revenue teams integrate third party expertise (the people, brands, and places) that influence their buyer to surround them (instead of spam them)  👉 where buyers already transact and spend their dwindling attention credits 👇

Buyers don’t believe brands as much as they believe the people, companies, & places they already work with and listen to.

That’s why your sales and marketing team need a network of trusted people in your ecosystem.

When you activate that network, you get:
👉Warmer doors opening faster
👉Higher win rates
👉Deals that close sooner
👉Bigger deal sizes

Proof I’ve lived this:
✅Built enablement programs that boosted partner retention by 70%
✅Created a partner motion that matched sales revenue with 1/3 of the headcount
✅Outperformed a full SDR + AE team using ecosystem plays
✅Scaled a business to $1M in less than 12 months → acquired

(And yes - I’m in the room developing relationships with the influential people your buyers already listen to.)

Activate an ecosystem-oriented modern go-to-market system that focuses on QUALITY and CONVERSION by:
1) Following me here for weekly systems sharing
2) Or DM me if you want me to show you how to:
- Map who your buyers already trust
- Layer partners into your GTM to build pipeline with less spend (without building any new systems)

Oh, I'm also writing a book on rewiring your mindset, which incorporates psychological, sociological, and philosophical concepts. Go-to-market with your market at www.audienceled.com

Will Taylor

I don't have an MBA, but since co-founding AudienceLed (my first business) in Feb 2025, we grew to $65k MRR.

Feb last year we closed a good month's start at ~$27k MRR. About 2.3x growth (in MRR).

MRR is nice, then we learned cashflow wasn't 100% (about 60% to start).

Since then, we've improved cashflow to ~80% and are aiming for 100% (thanks to Lauren Makielski).

Now we sit at $65k MRR ($780k annualized) contractually.

I reflected this weekend on what that means. Most businesses don't even make money in their first 6 months, even from seasoned business folk.

Since Feb of last year I have also:
- sold my home
- gotten engaged
- saw my brother get married
- went to Italy for another wedding
- went to Nicaragua for another one
- went to 2 conferences (out of pocket)
- planned a wedding (we'll my fiancé did most of it)
- had an offer accepted on a new home (firming conditions this week! 🤞)
- hired 3 people that were supposed to stay on and become partners but... life happens

... and of course interviewed hundreds of third party experts on behalf of our clients.

I am learning at scale. My brain is flooded with information across GTM and business at large.

AudienceLed is a conduit of knowledge share with, for, and through the ecosystem, funneled into our clients.

... and we have yet to even do our own marketing...

I am FIRED UP.

My grandma, who beat breast cancer twice, reminds me:
- buying/selling a home
- planning a wedding
- running a business
- having kids

... are all the top stresses of life.

Well grandma, I decided to take on 3/4 of those at once 😂

And I am grateful for the pain and effort this requires. 

Focusing on humanizing business and operationalizing relationships is worth it...

... every god damn hour of the day.

And I would not be here without the help of my network. Way too many to thank and show appreciation to... even if you've played a small part so far:

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! 🙏

And a big thank you to our clients, our partners, and of course our legendary team that gets deep into the trenches to deliver and manage the chaos... Rob, Lauren, Sam, Amy, Lydia, Dani, and anyone else who has been with us for the ride.

Happy Monday everyone. Much love.

If I can do it, so can you.

Get after it.

My entire career has been in go-to-market tech. Common Room has completely leveled up our craft. That's why I'm excited to share...

... that I get the honour to share that excellence - with and through people just like you - out to the market.

On Thursday Feb 26 @ 4PM ET we will have our first instalment of the new industry event "GTM Heroes Live" where you'll learn:

Real plays
From real customers
And real practitioners
With real experiences
And the real outcomes

AI is not coming for your job. But it will give you leverage.

I first came across Common Room during my time at Reveal (acquired by Crossbeam) and immediately thought about how data can be properly contextualized.

"This is exactly what partnerships needs to impact revenue..." I thought.

Then I dove in. Got an account. Created content with them. Became an advocate for them. And now we work together at AudienceLed.

Sales leaders and practitioners who are stressed to build pipeline do not need another data tool. They don't need more lines of commoditized information to weed through. They don't need another custom CRM field.

They need a place to take action. 
They need prioritized, contextualized information at the ready.
They need PIPELINE gosh darn it!!!

👉 AI doesn't need new gatekeepers.

The promise from other vendors has been leverage for everyone... but then they've created a "specialist trap."

They force you to confuse complexity with leverage. But complexity is a barrier, especially when it is outside of the system of action. 

Leverage should REMOVE work... not add additional headcount.

Common Room has built GTM AI that gives leverage. Not replacement of people. It solves for stale data, research time, CRM management, and figuring out who to prioritize, what to say, and when to say it.

We are going to show you how.

Right from the people - just like you - in the field.

If this resonates with you and you want content that actually moves the needle, join us this Thursday, February 26 @ 4 PM ET to hear from Saad Khan, Jacki Leahy 🪄... with a special appearance from Heath Barnett 🤙, your peers, and YOU.

Everyone is welcome on stage!

Let's figure this out - together.

Here's the link. Bring your hot topics and questions: https://lnkd.in/gS3_W4tP

The bar is so incredibly low. Treat buyers like humans. Respond in a timely manner, empowered by AI. I am deep into the GTM AI scene with the clients we serve. I'm seeing some things:

I just got back from Common Room's SKO. Holy. Moly. This team is on fire. Some of the brightest minds operating here.

Common Room has exciting updates you'll continue to see from people you trust - their customers, their partners, themselves, and allies in the space.

Everyone can buy data from the 5x5 Coop. Everyone can white label another providers intent data. But not every solution is contextualizing it and making sense of it like Common Room is.

Another team - Spara - is taking AI sales and marketing conversion and doing it the right way. Contextualized information, real time, right when you are asking questions and need more information. The implications are massive... take your signals (from Common Room and/or Sequel.io) and leverage that in real time in systems like Spara.

Sequel.io (not a client) taking event data and passing it to other places (pay attention here!). 

The list goes on.

Your buyers want:
- Real time
- Right time
- Right message
- Right relevancy

Spam cannons will not deliver that.

Enterprise and mid-market companies need to deliver a better EXPERIENCE as any vibe-coded app can give the same spot functionality.

Vibe-coded companies look for easy buttons. That's why they spam you.

The sea of noise only continues to grow... to break out of it you need to get intentional.

You need to focus on humanizing the buyer. 

At AudienceLed we are out here, in the field, executing at scale and plugging into all of these systems. 

Blog content on websites as playbooks from experts.

Round-up reports of complimentary brands (AEO + SEO benefits...)

Stories with customers delivered to accounts based on look-alike data + the right signals.

Ads being relevant because of better targeting (shout out Vector 👻!) + more human content.

Humanizing the buyer's journey requires activating the ecosystem.

Keep watching. I post weekly. Follow along. More content soon 👀

We have now run over 1000 co-marketing programs. This is the biggest marketing unlock I've ever come across in my entire career:

After a recent recording session with Kathleen Booth for one of our clients, it dawned on me:

The opportunity to distribute value WITH others is the missing link for reaching buyers that are otherwise inaccessible.

"Others" = 
Complimentary brands
Formal Partners
Influencers
Customers
Agencies

Each with their own unique set of incentives. 

But guess what - most WANT to participate. You just need to make it easy.

You just need to take the first step (no one else is).

I knew this before... but the fact that Kathleen - not a formal 'partnerships' person - is one of the FEW I can name that's organically come to this conclusion herself... is what makes this dawn on me.

Most marketers are so stressed that they focus on what's in front of them.

Our ads.
Our website.
Our email list.
Our social media.

And with more expectation and stress than ever, every activity becomes a rush to produce impact on pipeline and more and more outcomes. 

Then double it. With less budget.

It leads to shorter term thinking (honestly, reasonably so)...

But it misses a whole wide world of opportunity while these blinders are forced on them.

Sharing.

Share your blog.
Share your email distro.
Share your social presence.
Share your event road show.

Not because of something feel-good and immaterial.
Because this has a tangible, increased impact on the metrics you hope to overachieve on.

Third-party validation on your narrative, problem-space, or even solution results in:
- More distribution (eyeballs + attention)
- More conversion (less biased content)
- Access to buyers otherwise unaware

Including third-parties in your marketing AMPLIFIES your marketing. It will not take up a precious spot in your newsletter, blog, or social channel.

Best yet... starting by GIVING opens the opportunity to receive. "The Law of Reciprocity" never went away. We just forgot about it.

As you plan your next marketing campaign... think:
"Who outside of our company could we include in this?"

Then make it easy to do so.
----
You probably already follow her, but take note of what Kathleen Booth is doing and what's upcoming. 

Sequel.io is doing things the right way and has an incredible team on their side (and some upcoming exciting announcements 👀).

Content is your secret to inbound networking. It also increases your "luck surface area." Here's what I mean:

On a recent episode with Sam Yarborough and Jason Yarborough 🐻 on the Friends With Benefits Podcast I dug into my journey with content.

It has allowed me to meet people I would never have been able to meet.

It has gotten me new jobs and new roles.

It has allowed me to start a business.

It has gotten me direct $.

The more you are out there, the more people know you for something. 

And you don't need to be right all the time.

There are people that will be cheering you on in complete absolute silence all while they learn from you. Sometimes they never engage.

But they will still see the content... They will still learn...

Want to hear the full story? And learn how to do this yourself?...

Watch the episode:
https://lnkd.in/gwjPzTH4

Cold email reply rates? ~5%. Connect rates? Single digits. 70%+ of B2B buyers expect RELEVANT experiences before they engage...

The bar is low.
And yet… most teams are still blasting 'personalized' emails.

Or... even worse...
The system is hidden behind a gatekeeper (usually an expensive one).

Common Room's SKO taught me one important thing:
👉 Third-party data is a commodity and the market was sold a lie that it all needs to be 'engineered' together.

Their focus?

Creating the cockpit for revenue teams to actually execute. Not some siloed data centre that requires APIs or Zaps or a degree in data.

Make it make sense.
Make it easy.

Everyone has access to the same data.

Not everyone can:
- Resolve identity properly
- Contextualize that data
- Route and prioritize people intelligently
- Empower reps *in real time*
- And deliver a human experience at scale

I wrote this week about other solutions doing this well. Now, I'm hosting two top experts - in the field practitioners that the market trusts - on Common Room's new live series.

GTM Heroes Live 🦸‍♀️

A community-driven space to talk about what is actually working. 

From us. 
From the experts. 
From YOU.

First session:
Signals on signals on signals. What’s next?

I’ll be joined by Saad Khan and Jacki Leahy 🪄 to unpack:
- GTM AI done the right way
- Why data alone isn't enough
- And why gatekeeping cannot be the solution (your wallets depend on it)

Thurs. Feb 26 | 1pm PT / 4pm ET
https://lnkd.in/gS3_W4tP

If you care about building real GTM experiences that humanize buyers - not just engineered workflows treating them like a datapoint - join us.

"You're wrong, do this" will never work in an industry trained to click easy-buttons to build pipeline... especially when it no longer works.

Instead, we need to:
- Align with their incentives
- Integrate into their existing workflows + behaviours
- Still give them an easy button (perhaps even easier than before)

The first wave of partnerships failed.

Not because it was wrong. Not because it didn't work... but because it was being gate-kept with jargon and vendor-speak.

(I should know...)

I'm on a mission to change that - to create seamless integration of a buyer-first mentality into GTM motions. Through trust. Through the ecosystem.

Full convo with Olivier Roth and The Swarm 🔆 here: https://lnkd.in/gqD32yUF

Top GTM teams turn partner overlap + signals into ready-to-send emails. NOT showing up to a meeting saying "where are my leads?"...

Pipeline moves faster in the tools you already have.

In my recent piece with Crossbeam, I broke down what actually makes AI useful in B2B sales.

No 28 step workflow with a dissertation of a prompt.
It’s better context.

Here’s the simple system I advise teams to run:
➡️ Pull second-party partner overlap from Crossbeam
➡️ Layer in first-party CRM data + third-party signals like funding
➡️ Let automation move it into the CRM and sequencer
➡️ Use AI to explain why it matters and draft the opener

Not as a Slack alert alone.
Not as a random CRM field.
But inside the rep’s existing workflow.

Sellers need to stay in rhythm.

In this flow, the message references a real partner their prospect already trusts.

Static data → active workflow.

AI is only powerful when it connects dots sellers don’t have time to connect.
Otherwise it’s just an email assistant.

In the article, I also break down:
✅ The 6 biggest mistakes teams make when introducing partner data
✅ How to make signals explainable so managers trust them
✅ The minimal stack I recommend to operationalize this
✅ A simple checklist to pilot ecosystem-powered AI without overwhelming RevOps.

If AI isn’t improving win rates or cycle time, it’s probably missing ecosystem context ;)

Full article here: https://lnkd.in/gu4s8Qd9

Thanks for having me Andrea V. + Crossbeam!

taplio

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The Battle

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