partner-ecosystem-expansion

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from when this skill was listed. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
name: partner-ecosystem-expansion
description: Decide which partner categories to add next to a partner ecosystem and in what sequence  -  a staged partner-category expansion roadmap with readiness gates, capacity limits, and kill criteria. Covers B2B categories (tech/ISV, reseller/VAR, MSP, SI/GSI, agency, referral/affiliate, marketplace) and consumer-side equivalents (retail/wholesale, creator, licensing, co-branding). Use whenever the user mentions partner ecosystem expansion, partner category planning, a partner mix roadmap, or asks which partner type to launch next, even if they never say expansion. Category-level sequencing only. Do NOT use for ranking named candidate companies  -  use mbfinotti/partnerships-skills@alliance-prioritization instead.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: Maya-Beth Finotti
  version: "1.2.1"
---

# Partner Ecosystem Expansion

Plan which categories of partner to add next and in what order, as a staged roadmap with gates.

Be honest about the evidence before anything else:

- No peer-reviewed optimal partner-category sequence exists.
- Most published "frameworks" for this decision are borrowed strategy grids force-fit onto channels.
- Nearly every quoted benchmark comes from a vendor or consultant that profits when the number looks good.

What the evidence genuinely supports:

- **Adner's minimum viable ecosystem (MVE) + staged expansion + value blueprint** (_The Wide Lens_; _Winning the Right Game_) - the one framework designed for exactly this problem: prove the smallest partner configuration that evidences joint value, then add categories in a deliberate order, gated on evidence.
- **The alliance-portfolio-diversity inverted-U** (Jiang, Tao & Santoro 2010, _SMJ_; Lee et al. 2017 meta-analysis) - the field's only independent evidence: partner-type diversity helps firm performance up to a point, then coordination and governance costs dominate. It argues for restraint and sequencing; it prescribes no order.
- **Operational coverage/capacity math and stage-gate pilots** - unbranded, but the actual working method: gate every category on capacity, not enthusiasm.

McBain/Canalys' channel trifurcation supplies the category taxonomy (never a sequence), and Moore's whole product / bowling alley partially transfers. Name and reject the force-fits when a user brings one: Ansoff applied to channels, McKinsey three horizons, BCG growth-share, Iansiti & Levien for category selection. See [references/sequencing-frameworks.md](references/sequencing-frameworks.md).

This skill sequences categories, never named companies. Related decisions live in sibling skills:

- Ranking named candidates: `mbfinotti/partnerships-skills@alliance-prioritization`
- Mapping the current ecosystem: `mbfinotti/partnerships-skills@partner-ecosystem`
- Program structure (tiers, benefits, requirements): `mbfinotti/partnerships-skills@partner-channel-program`

## Interview

Ask before sequencing anything. One question per message; offer multiple-choice options; skip whatever the user already answered.

- B2B, B2C, or hybrid? What do you sell, to whom, at what price band, through which motion?
- Current ecosystem shape: which partner categories are live today, how many partners per category, and what share are actually active? (An ecosystem map from the mapping sibling is the ideal input.)
- Which existing category is proven - repeatable joint wins, not just signings? Any category still a half-built stub?
- Product readiness: API maturity and multi-tenancy, certification/training content, deal registration, margin structure, support model, contracting - which exist today, which are still on the roadmap?
- Internal capacity: partner managers and their current load, enablement content bandwidth, tooling, program budget?
- How does your buyer actually buy - self-serve, sales-led, through implementers, through retail or marketplaces?
- Goal of the expansion: coverage of a segment/geography/journey stage, a whole-product gap, new-logo pip