Article · 12 min read

A Framework for Finding a Design Partner

Seema Amble and Jennifer Li (a16z) · Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Free Intermediate

Design partners are how B2B founders validate with depth, and this gives you a practical way to pick the right ones. The urgency, capability, and representativeness test helps you avoid partners who love you but never buy, or who move too slowly to teach you anything. It also makes the point that good design partners should convert into your first paying customers.

  • Score potential partners on urgency, capability, and how representative they are
  • The best design partners become your first real customers
  • A few deeply engaged partners beat many shallow ones
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It answers 2 questions

  1. How is validating a B2B idea different from validating a consumer app?
  2. How do I set a roadmap when half my revenue comes from one big customer who keeps asking for custom features?

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