Ecosystem Pros...We Need To Talk

Ecosystem/Nearbound/Partner professionals, we have to talk because we have a problem...a big one. According to Jay McBain , there are over 15k of us here on LinkedIn and over one million total reference one of those terms in our job description.

There are more and more of us all the time, but despite the growth of this discipline, what we're doing needs to be fixed.

According to 麦肯锡 , around 90% of companies executing an ecosystem strategy aren't generating "significant" revenue, and about half fail to deliver any value in their early stages; is this real?

These numbers are from late 2021, but if you could talk to most of those professionals and the vast majority of their CEOs, you'd find those numbers haven't changed much, and, if anything, they may be even worse.

I feel you. I know your frustration, I know how painful it is to have answers to some really big problems, and to feel like you're screaming those answers into the abyss...

So, are we really failing this badly?

Yes and no. Perception is reality, and it's painfully clear that the CEOs, executives, and senior leaders polled for this research aren't seeing the value, and no matter how much we may protest, their perception is the only thing that matters.

Folks, we have a massive perception problem, and it's getting worse.

I can hear the protests from my peers, "But wait! How can that be? I mean, what about the fact that...

...ecosystem development has been a darling topic of analysts, GSIs, global management consultants, thought leaders, etc., due to its enormous potential and the massive increase in customer demand for product connectivity...

...tech giants like Microsoft, Dell, HubSpot, and dozens of other major players have moved to ecosystem-first strategies because they understand the innovation advantages, cost savings, and process efficiencies that can be gained by doing so...

...an entire partner technology ecosystem, now consisting of hundreds of companies and generating $5.3b in revenue (as of 2022), has rapidly blossomed, clearly indicating a problem in the market that investors, entrepreneurs, and progressive product orgs are seeing and trying to address...

...what about that!"

I say, "That's great, but.."

Validation from "experts," analysts, peers, and colleagues is great, but meaningless unless the right people care, and right now, they don't. Not because they don't want to, but because they don't know how to...it's up to us to fix that.

We hold one of the keys..., but it's only useful if we can get others to walk through the door with us.

The bad news is that ecosystem development can be challenging. It's not so because it's inherently more complex than other go-to-market strategies but because it flies in the face of traditional strategies and directly challenges deeply held beliefs that roll to the top and flow back to the base. So even when it's working incredibly well, it can be difficult to see something you don't believe in in the first place.

More bad news: ecosystem pros: we're a big part of the problem. Yeah, that one's gonna sting a little, and I'll go into it more in my next post, but we're not going to fix a problem exponentially bigger than us, but that will require our unique talents and abilities to have any chance at a lasting solution.

Now the good news: we, and when I say "we," I mean WE...the investors, CEO, ecosystem pros, sales, product, customer, etc, leaders...all of us...can solve this problem. The solution is easier than we think, and in the coming weeks, I'll lay it all out here, but for now...

To my fellow ecosystem pros, I feel you. I know your frustration, how painful it is to have answers to some huge problems and to feel like you're screaming those answers into the abyss where nobody's listening and nobody cares...I've been there more times than I care to remember; I've been beaten down and broken by this experience, too. I feel every ounce of the pain...and I don't want it anymore.

So when I say that we need to be honest with each other, hold the mirrors up to ourselves, and realize that some common threads amongst us need to be brought to light and understood, I do so standing alongside you, holding up my own mirror, and being the first to admit that I've been part of the problem...it's time to be part of the solution.

My ecosystem compatriots, we have to get this right. We have the tools, strategies, and unique abilities to be a core part of ushering in a new era of prosperity, passion, purpose, and unicorn creation. We hold one of the keys (Product-Led Growth leaders...start fishing around in your pockets for one of the others), but it's only useful if we can get others to walk through the door with us.

To the investors and CEOs, it's clear that what we're doing now isn't working and that it's time for a paradigm shift. Ecosystem Empowered Growth (EEG) must be fundamental to the solution. It's up to us to give you the tools to see the value of ecosystems and truly understand the magnitude of the ecosystem's ability to lead your companies and portfolios back to where we all want them to be...in a field full of unicorns.

It's time for some unicorn habitat restoration.

TLDR GenAI Summary:

The Challenge of Ecosystem Development

• Around 90% of companies executing an ecosystem strategy aren't generating significant revenue, and half fail to deliver value in their early stages.
• Ecosystem development challenges traditional go-to-market strategies and faces resistance from top management.
• Ecosystem professionals are acknowledged as part of the problem and as key to the solution.
• Investors and CEOs need to recognize the potential of Ecosystem Empowered Growth (EEG) as a fundamental part of the solution.
• A paradigm shift is needed to fully understand the magnitude of ecosystems' ability to lead companies back to success.