On the road, Asher Mathew, Partnership Leaders

In this episode, Rick Currier and Asher Mathew discuss the tech industry in the Bay Area, Asher’s move from Pakistan to San Jose, and the value of partnership leadership. Asher highlights building a tech professional community and the evolving role of Chief Partner Officers. The episode also covers partner-led growth and collaboration with companies like HubSpot and Salesforce.

Building a thriving community of partnership leaders: a conversation with Asher Mathew

In a recent episode of on the road, Rick Currier sat down with Asher Mathew, co-founder of partnership leaders, to discuss the growing importance of partnerships in today’s business landscape. Asher’s insights offer a fresh perspective on how building meaningful business relationships can drive growth, and how a community-driven approach is key to elevating the role of partnership professionals.

Asher mathew is a seasoned expert in the world of partnerships, having launched partnership leaders in 2019 alongside his co-founder chris, after recognizing a gap in resources for technology partnership professionals. What started as a small email group of 11 people has grown into a thriving network of over 2,000 professionals across 60 countries. “we didn’t intend to start a company,” asher shared, “it was really just about connecting people and learning from each other. But the demand was there.”

The power of partnerships in business growth

The increasing reliance on partnerships as a lever for growth has propelled the role of partnership professionals to new heights. “partnerships help with reach and relevance,” asher explained, referencing a conversation with a peer from vista private equity. He highlighted how companies that successfully leverage their partner networks can significantly accelerate their market impact. Asher’s organization, partnership leaders, is dedicated to helping professionals navigate this growing space and ensure they are equipped to elevate their roles and their teams.

Rick noted that the shift in business dynamics is clear, as more companies are using partners to deliver new messages to the market, rather than relying solely on internal sales and marketing teams.

“i’ve seen companies take brand-new messages to market through their partners,” rick said, “and it’s elevating the people on the partner side.”

How partnership leaders was born

Partnership leaders was created to fill a need for technology professionals who felt there was a lack of resources and community for their field. Asher and his co-founder quickly realized that others shared their concerns. What began as an informal group rapidly grew to a network of over 900 people in just a few months—thanks in part to the rise of slack during the covid-19 pandemic, which made virtual collaboration easier.

“as the community grew, we asked ourselves, ‘how can we build things that our members need?’” asher said. Over time, the group has evolved from a free community to a full-fledged organization that offers a variety of services, including events, content creation, and education. Today, partnership leaders hosts over 300 events annually, spanning multiple countries and cities worldwide, from munich and london to san francisco and new york.

Community-driven innovation

What sets partnership leaders apart from other organizations is its community-driven approach. “everything we’ve built, we’ve built with the partnership leaders in the community,” asher said. He explained that the network’s success is largely due to the fact that its members actively shape its offerings—from the topics covered in events to the features in its resources.

One of the most impactful elements of the community is its ability to create real value for members. With over 63% of members actively engaged at any given time, asher attributes this success to a shared ownership model. Members help develop new programs and provide input on important decisions. This involvement fosters a deep sense of belonging and helps ensure that everything the organization does is relevant and valuable.

Events: where connections happen

A significant part of the partnership leaders experience is the events they organize, including their flagship conference, catalyst. This conference has evolved from a simple meetup to a multi-day event with hundreds of attendees, from small startups to major corporations like aws and google.

“teams come to catalyst not just for meetups, but for strategic planning and to refine their roadmaps,”

asher said. The goal is for attendees to leave with practical takeaways they can implement immediately.

The content of these events is driven by the community, ensuring that each session addresses the real-world challenges and opportunities partnership professionals face. One of the key themes at catalyst is showcasing case studies that dive into how partner teams solve specific problems, what results they achieve, and what technology and tools they use to support their work.

Insights from the state of partnerships report

One of the standout initiatives of partnership leaders is its research, including the state of partnership leaders report, which was developed in collaboration with bcg and ey. This report consolidates key benchmarks and insights to help partnership teams understand what “great” looks like in their field. “we kept getting the question, ‘what does good look like?’ and this report provides those benchmarks,” asher said.

Additionally, the state of platforms report, created with hubspot, explores how leading companies are organizing their partnership teams and offers a detailed look at how the top application developers are navigating this space. These reports not only help professionals benchmark their own progress but also give them actionable insights to drive growth within their organizations.

Elevating partnership professionals

When asked about his advice for partnership professionals, asher’s message was clear: take ownership of your career. “there’s a big opportunity to elevate yourself by becoming a business person,” he said. For asher, this means learning to speak the language of business and understanding the financial impact of partnerships. “you have to be the ceo of your career.”

As partnership leaders continues to grow, asher’s vision for the community is centered on its members. By focusing on community-driven innovation and offering resources that empower professionals to take their careers to the next level, partnership leaders is poised to continue elevating the role of partnerships in business for years to come.

Asher Mathew is the Co-founder & CEO at Partnership Leadership

About Partnership Leadership :

Partnership Leaders is a private network built exclusively to elevate the role of partner teams in their companies. More than 1,500 of the world’s top partner professionals participate daily through community, events and resources. Learn more at www.partnershipleaders.com