Who are you, and what’s the name of your business?‍

I’m Romain, the co-founder of Bond Agency (bond-agency.io), a consultancy specializing in partner-led growth for B2B SaaS companies. We help businesses build, scale, and optimize their partnership programs to drive sustainable revenue growth. I’m based in Spain but work with global SaaS brands looking to maximize the impact of their partner ecosystem.

‍What services or expertise do you offer?

‍Bond Agency focuses on SPREAD, our framework for partner success:

Partner Strategy – Aligning partnerships with business goals.‍

Partner Program – Structuring and scaling partner ecosystems.‍

Partner Referral – Driving revenue through co-marketing and referral programs.‍

Partner Acquisition – Recruiting high-value partners.‍

Partner Experience – Ensuring engagement, retention, and activation.

‍Partner Data – Leveraging insights to optimize performance.

We combine strategy, execution, and technology to help SaaS companies get real, measurable results from their partnerships.‍

What brought you into the world of partnerships and partner-led growth?‍

I’ve always been drawn to how businesses grow beyond direct sales and marketing. I started noticing how the best SaaS companies weren’t just selling—they were being recommended, integrated, and distributed through partnerships. That led me to dive deep into partner ecosystems, where I saw an opportunity to help SaaS brands move beyond traditional outbound efforts and into Nearbound strategies—leveraging existing relationships to win customers.‍

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned working with SaaS partnerships?

Partnerships fail when treated as a channel instead of a strategic motion. Too many companies expect partners to bring leads on day one without investing in enablement, incentives, and alignment. The biggest wins come when partnerships are deeply integrated across marketing, sales, and product—not just siloed under a single department.‍

How do you see the role of partnerships evolving in SaaS?‍

SaaS buying behavior is changing. Customers trust peer recommendations, communities, and integrations more than direct sales pitches. That’s why partnerships are moving from a “nice-to-have” to a core growth strategy. The most successful SaaS companies today are partner-first—aligning their growth with agencies, consultants, tech integrations, and influencers who already have trust with their ideal customers.‍

Can you share an example of a partnership strategy that worked exceptionally well?‍

One of the best strategies I’ve seen is affiliate meeting links instead of generic referral sign-ups. Instead of just sending traffic to a landing page, partners get a personalized meeting link that lets them book a direct call with a sales rep. This shifts referrals from passive sign-ups to active, high-intent leads, making conversion rates skyrocket—especially for high-ticket SaaS products.‍

What’s the most common mistake SaaS companies make with partnerships?

Overcomplicating or underestimating their partner program. Some SaaS companies launch massive, complex programs before validating demand, while others neglect partners entirely by offering low commissions and zero support. The best approach is to start simple, build strong early relationships, and scale based on data—not assumptions.‍

How do you measure success in partner-led growth?‍

It’s a mix of leading and lagging indicators:‍

Leading metrics: Partner activation rates, deal influence, co-marketing engagement.‍

Lagging metrics: Revenue sourced from partners, retention of partner-sourced customers, average deal size.

For SaaS, it’s not just about “how many partners” you have—it’s about how many partners are actually driving impact.

What’s one SaaS partnership trend that excites you right now?‍

The rise of micro-partners and creator-led growth. Traditional SaaS partnerships were built around big resellers and integrations, but now we’re seeing niche creators, consultants, and micro-agencies driving massive influence. SaaS companies that build structured ambassador programs and thought-leader partnerships are seeing major wins.‍

What’s the best partnership you’ve ever witnessed (business or non-business)?‍

Stripe and Shopify. They built an ecosystem where growth was mutual—Shopify merchants needed payments, and Stripe became the default provider. Instead of a simple reseller agreement, they created seamless integration, co-branding, and long-term alignment. That’s what the best partnerships look like—where both sides win in a way that keeps compounding over time.