Podcast Summary: Always Be Testing, Episode #104

"Rewriting the B2B Playbook: Bryn Jones on Scaling Through Partnerships"

Host: Tye DeGrange
Guest: Bryn Jones (Co-founder & CEO, PartnerStack)
Release Date: October 14, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features a candid and practical discussion with Bryn Jones about how PartnerStack is helping to redefine B2B SaaS growth through partnerships and channel marketing. Bryn shares lessons learned from his journey as a founder, the evolving landscape of partner marketing especially with the rise of AI and LLMs, building a culture of experimentation, and why partnerships are morphing from being a “bolt-on” to an essential part of go-to-market strategy. The conversation is packed with stories, actionable advice, and personal insights for anyone working in B2B growth, partnership, or channel roles.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Pancake” Culture at PartnerStack

[00:21-02:10]

• PartnerStack employees call themselves "pancakes," symbolizing how everyone stacks together for a unified purpose.
  • Quote:
    "Every employee that joins PartnerStack is a pancake and we stack up together and become this stack of pancakes." – Bryn Jones [00:51]
• The tradition started as a playful team joke but evolved into a core element of company culture, promoting a less serious, more fun environment.
• Bryn admits he resisted the nickname at first but now embraces its positive impact on team spirit.

2. Rewriting the B2B Partner Marketing Playbook

[02:15-04:51]

• When Bryn and his team launched PartnerStack in 2015 (as YC alums), the idea of prioritizing partnerships in B2B SaaS was dismissed by most investors.
• Over 10 years, the market’s attitude shifted, especially post-pandemic and in the age of AI.
  • Quote:
    "Partnerships isn't just the channel, it's not just this indirect sales motion. It's core and critical to every go-to-market leader or at least the ones who are most successful." – Bryn Jones [04:27]
• The shift from “growth at all costs” to “sustainable, efficient growth” has fueled broader adoption of partnerships as a revenue engine.

3. Building Through Customer Feedback & Listening

[05:37-07:24]

• Bryn credits PartnerStack’s product-market fit to obsessive listening: the early team called every new partner and partner manager for the first year.
• This “stay close to the customer” approach continues, with product, sales, and success teams deeply engaging users.
  • Quote:
    "The best way for us to build the best version of our product was to stay super close to our customers." – Bryn Jones [06:15]
• The insight: programs succeed when they speak the language of revenue, not just partnerships.

4. Challenges & Surprises in Channel Program Adoption

[08:07-10:52]

• Two main surprises from customer conversations:
  1. Many partnerships teams drive significant growth but struggle to get internal credit and resources due to misaligned communication (“talking the wrong language”).
  2. Partnerships were seen as “art, not science,” leading some leaders to focus on relationship-building at the expense of near-term revenue, resulting in a high churn rate for partnership heads.
  • Quote:
    "Return shouldn’t be measured on number of partnership touch points or pieces of engagement. Return needs to be pipelining, influence, pipeline." – Bryn Jones [09:35]
• Successful programs tightly tie their efforts to top-line metrics and “put points on the board” early, no matter how small.

5. The Importance of Testing and Optimization

[11:36-12:31]

• “Don’t over-optimize before launching”—get your program into the world, then iterate.
• Top partnerships leaders often have marketing backgrounds, bringing a “test and double-down” mindset.
  • Quote:
    "Anybody working in channel and partnerships would benefit from embracing that marketing mindset. If you're willing to test, willing to experiment, really the sky's the limit." – Bryn Jones [12:23]

6. The Future of SaaS Partnerships: The LLM & AI Influence

[13:22-17:23]

• Buying processes for B2B software have changed—decisions are made before buyers hit websites, with LLMs (AI-driven models) now acting as first touchpoints.
  • Quote:
    "If your users and your partner and ecosystem is talking about your product in a specific way...the LLMs are training off of the user generated content. You will rank differently." – Bryn Jones [14:50]
• B2B brands not investing in partnerships risk being invisible in AI-driven search and recommendation environments—potentially losing up to 40-50% of market cap if they lag.
• Partner marketing is moving from a “nice-to-have bolt-on” to an essential, integrated function tightly aligned with revenue, marketing, and the CRO office.

7. Wealth Creation and the Power of Pro-Partner Ecosystems

[19:05-21:38]

• PartnerStack’s mission extends to creating extraordinary value for partners—helping agency, reseller, content, and influencer partners achieve “generational wealth.”
• Standardizing partner experiences (e.g., central logins, long-term payouts, robust enablement) drives loyalty and performance:
  • Quote:
    "We have partners telling many of our customers: ‘we won’t work with you if you’re not on PartnerStack because it is that trusted layer for us.’" – Bryn Jones [22:25]

8. Tech Trends: Automation, AI, and How B2B SaaS Brands Win

[24:30-27:14]

• Nearly all partnership platforms will automate more, but the differentiator will be automating the right things, like partner recruitment and matching partners to the right funnel stage.
  • Quote:
    "We can’t automate the relationship. We can help with much of the sourcing…and point out with data versus just like the guess stuff that happens." – Bryn Jones [25:35]
• The fundamental shift: paid marketing models will move from search engines to LLMs, making partnerships the “glue” for integrated, AI-era go-to-market.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “If you have the best product and no one knows about it…you’ll never realize that full opportunity and the mission and the vision of your business.” – Bryn Jones [17:55]
• “Not letting perfect be the enemy of good.” – Tye DeGrange [12:50]
• "It's not just one plus one equals two, it really does equal five, ten, whatever you want to...put behind it." – Bryn Jones [20:14]

Lightning Round: Bryn’s Favorites and Fun Facts

[27:14-33:05]

• Can't-live-without software: Calendar apps (“scheduling around my two-year-old daughter”), Gamma (for presentations), Attention.com (sales/revops call analytics) [27:40-28:54]
• Best recent consumer purchase: High-end meat thermometer (“the absolute best consumer thing that I've purchased in the last 18 months”) [29:50]
• Favorite dish to cook: Ribs—associates it with friends and family gatherings [30:22]
• Hidden hobby: Gardening, reviving a sedum garden at home—found focus and fulfillment in watching slow progress, parallels with building a company [30:58-32:28]
• Connect with Bryn: On LinkedIn ("Bryn-Jones") or by emailing bryn@partnerstack.com [33:19]

Key Takeaways

• Partnership programs in B2B SaaS must speak the language of revenue, not just relationships, to secure resources and scale.
• The future of B2B acquisition will be shaped by AI and LLMs, where user and partner-generated content will drive visibility and growth.
• Automation should focus on amplifying human strengths—relationships, recruitment, and matching—rather than trying to fully remove people from the process.
• Experiments, quick iterations, and optimizing for “good enough” rather than perfection accelerate progress in a fast-moving market.
• Building a mutually rewarding, pro-partner ecosystem is both the ethical and high-return path forward for platforms.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:21] Pancake culture at PartnerStack
• [04:27] Partnerships move from channel to core strategy
• [06:15] Customer listening as a product strategy
• [09:35] Tying partnerships to revenue metrics
• [12:23] Why experimentation and a marketing mindset work in partnerships
• [14:50] AI/LLMs are changing partnership's role in go-to-market
• [20:14] PartnerStack as the “trusted layer” for partners
• [25:35] Differentiation through smart automation
• [27:40] Bryn’s “can’t live without” software/tools
• [29:50] Meat thermometer: best recent buy
• [30:58] Gardening as a parallel to company-building
• [33:19] How to connect with Bryn

This lively, insight-filled conversation is essential listening for SaaS growth, partnership, and marketing professionals looking to understand and capitalize on the rapidly changing landscape of B2B sales and partnerships.