The Nathan Barry Show

Episode 113: How To Partner With Anyone In 2026 (Proven Framework)
Date: January 29, 2026

Episode Overview

Nathan Barry sits down with Julia Taylor, CEO of Geek Pack, to unpack her "Embedded Partnership Framework"—a proven, replicable method for forging impactful B2B partnerships as a creator and entrepreneur. Julia draws from her diverse experience, including time in the intelligence community and building a six-figure company teaching digital skills to women worldwide. The discussion covers how to scale mission-driven businesses, create flywheels of growth, leverage partnerships into significant revenue streams, and instill confidence and technical ability in your community. The episode is packed with practical frameworks, behind-the-scenes revenue numbers, memorable stories, and actionable takeaways on team-building, marketing, and leadership.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Julia’s Journey: From Intelligence to Tech Education (01:16–04:32)

• Julia’s background includes working with a US intelligence agency in Afghanistan—a role that was never intended to lead her to entrepreneurship.
• After moving to the UK for personal reasons and restarting her career, she realized the benefits of coding and eventually built her own web agency.
• Her nomadic lifestyle and embrace of remote work inspired others, leading to the founding of Geek Pack, which aims to empower women with tech and business skills.

“I literally taught myself how to code, how to build websites… and other people saw that I had this freedom and flexibility to move around and travel.”
— Julia Taylor (03:10)

Geek Pack’s Mission & Impact (04:32–05:16, 05:22–06:14)

• Geek Pack's mission: Help women become confident and self-sufficient through digital and tech skills.
• Ambitious goal: Reach 1 million women by 2030.
• To date, about 115,000–116,000 women have been reached—a number larger than most US sports stadiums.

“We've got a big vision to reach a million women by 2030.”
— Julia Taylor (04:37)

The Confidence Flywheel: Tech Skills as a Catalyst (06:14–08:55)

• Both Nathan and Julia discuss "confidence transfer"—the way learning tangible skills (like web development or even home improvement) radically boosts self-belief.
• Julia shares participant stories, especially the impact of small wins (e.g., learning browser "Inspect Tools") as transformative moments.

“It's that small 'Wow, if I can do this, what else can I do?' and that is what gets me so excited.”
— Julia Taylor (08:34)

Business Snapshot: Revenue, Team, Audience (09:19–11:12)

• 2024 Revenue: $867k (with negative margins)
• 2025 Projected Revenue: $600k (“lowest since 2019”, but with positive margins)
• Team: 4 full-time + several contractors
• Audience:
  • Newsletter: 25,000 subscribers
  • Social media: ~180,000 total
  • App users: 1,000+ (brand new)
• Geek Pack is shifting from consumer-centric revenue to partnerships (B2B), which now drive 70% of revenue.

The Embedded Partnership Framework (12:36–21:44)

Julia’s 5-Step Framework for Successful B2B Partnerships:

1. Alignment (12:36)

   • Partner values and mission must align; "one-off influencer posts or logo placements" are not considered.
   • Example: Partnership with Verizon—deep alignment around serving rural and military-connected women business owners.

2. Win-Win-Win (14:10)

   • The partnership must benefit Geek Pack, the partner, and the community.
   • Example: Make.com sponsored an AI agent workshop—free accounts for users, new signups for Make, real skill development for women.

“We want to make sure there’s a win for us, for the partner, and absolutely a win for my community…”
— Julia Taylor (14:10)

3. Custom Integration (15:30)
   • Partners are embedded throughout Geek Pack’s courses, app, events, and content—not just one-off spots.
   • Example: Relay banking is integrated into curriculum at the exact step when members legitimize business, creating relevant, trusted recommendations.

“We want every partner to have hundreds of meaningful touch points across the term of the contract.”
— Julia Taylor (16:36)

4. Co-Creation & Delivery (18:16)
   • Partners collaborate on creating and delivering value—like live, memorable workshops or educational cohorts, sometimes free for the community.
   • Creativity in execution is key.

“This is where I get to have a lot of fun being creative and delivering something that is really fun and valuable and memorable to my community.”
— Julia Taylor (18:16)

5. Measurement & Momentum (20:41)
   • Impact reports combine qualitative and quantitative data—surveys, testimonials, ROI and ROE (Return on Engagement).
   • These reports drive partnership renewals by equipping the partner’s internal advocates with hard evidence of value.

“We do surveys, we screenshot testimonials...here's the ROI, but here's also the ROE—return on engagement.”
— Julia Taylor (21:00)

Operationalizing & Scaling Partnerships (24:00–29:16)

• Maintaining Momentum:
  • Proactive monitoring of partner shifts (e.g., new priorities in the news) and responding with tailored audience surveys keeps relationships strong.
• Delivering Value for Partners:
  • Making the partner’s internal job easier by providing ready-to-share impact reports increases likelihood of renewal.
• Events as Growth Leverage:
  • Moving to in-person events (in addition to virtual) gives partners new, familiar ways to participate and allows for richer integrations.

Outreach & Sales: From Stage KPI to Team-Based Execution (29:16–36:40)

• KPI: Sharing the Vision
  • Julia sets a leading metric of “publicly stating the mission 10 times per week” (on stage, podcasts, online)—directly leading to key partnerships like Verizon.
• Team Building:
  • All current employees were first Geek Pack students—mission-aligned and onboarded with the right ethos.
  • Julia focuses on hiring for personality and values (skills can be taught internally).

“Every single team member that I’ve had and current as well, all students first...I’m a big believer in hiring for personality because skills can be taught.”
— Julia Taylor (35:57)

Common Questions & Mistakes for Implementing Partnerships (29:16–38:13)

• Biggest Implementation Question:
  • “Where do I even start? How do I find the decision-maker?”
  • Julia’s advice: Speaking on stage and publicly stating your mission attracts potential partners.
• Biggest Mistake:
  • Relying on shallow partnerships (a logo in a newsletter, one sponsored post).
  • Her framework’s impact comes from deep, multi-touch integration and trust-based recommendations.

The Double Flywheel: B2B Drives B2C Drives B2B (39:21–42:27)

• The growth of the consumer audience strengthens B2B appeal; partnerships bring revenue to support further community building and creative work, independent of unpredictable B2C sales.

Bottlenecks & Solutions: Founder Leverage, Hiring, and Audience Growth (42:43–57:13)

• Primary Bottlenecks:
  • Julia’s own time and role as founder/leader; needs to focus on uniquely high-leverage tasks (mission communication, delivery, recruiting).
  • Team capacity, especially for scaling events—solution: develop a “bench” of future hires from the community and network.
  • Audience growth: Marketing manager needs concrete KPIs (newsletter and Instagram growth most important).
• Leverage through Delegation and Systems:
  • Founder should operate at the “tip of the pyramid,” doing only what only she can do while others handle prep, tech, and logistics.

“Doing the highest leverage things possible that only I can do... because I love getting in the weeds and doing the busywork, because it’s comfortable.”
— Julia Taylor (45:33)

• Tactics for Audience Growth:
  • Tech stack includes Sparkloop (paying per engaged newsletter lead, sourced from other creators).
  • Systems for batching content, letting the team develop and propose social posts for Julia to execute.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Confidence and Skills

  • “Not just the skill transfer, but the confidence transfer... and then how that goes to everywhere else.”
    — Nathan Barry (06:45)

• Framework Summary

  • “Alignment. Win-win-win. Custom integration. Co-creation and delivery. Measurement and momentum.”
    — Julia Taylor (09:19, 12:36, 14:10, 15:30, 20:41)

• On Mission-Driven Sales

  • “[My KPI is] how many times a week do I publicly say what our vision as a company is?... My goal is 10.”
    — Julia Taylor (31:09)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:16 — Julia’s background: CIA to coding to entrepreneurship
• 04:32 — Overview of Geek Pack’s business and mission
• 06:14 — The confidence flywheel and skill-building stories
• 09:19 — Business and audience statistics
• 12:36 — Embedded Partnership Framework—detailed breakdown
• 21:44 — Impact reporting and leveraging momentum for renewals
• 29:16 — Outreach, stating your mission, sales process, and team building
• 35:57 — Hiring from within your community
• 39:21 — Mapping the B2B/B2C double flywheel
• 42:43 — Bottlenecks: founder leverage, team, and audience growth
• 53:43 — Sparkloop and scaling newsletter growth tactics
• 55:36 — Assigning audience growth KPIs to marketing manager
• 57:16 — Closing thoughts and how to learn more from Julia

Takeaways for Listeners

• Deep, multi-point, trust-based partnerships far outdrive transactional “influencer” deals for both revenue and community impact.
• Build a system—align on values, ensure all parties win, integrate meaningfully, co-create value, measure and amplify impact.
• Hire from those who already buy into your mission.
• Use leading indicators you can control, like stating your vision publicly, to drive growth.
• Audience and partner flywheels can feed each other, compounding growth and resilience.
• Focus deeply on foundational skills, mission, and leverage—then scale with systems, reports, and a mission-driven team.

Where to Connect

• Geek Pack: geekback.com
• Contact Julia: julia@geekback.com

If you’re a creator or entrepreneur aiming to grow your business through transformative partnerships, this episode is a masterclass in systems, leadership, and thinking bigger—while staying aligned and mission-driven.