The 'Five C's' of Cloud Success Revealed

Unlock Cloud Go-to-Market

"I believe partnerships, like friendships, grow over time. While we have many connections, true best friends are rare and take effort to develop, just like in business relationships." - Michael Musselman, Vice President for Partnerships at Astronomer

In this episode of Unlock Cloud Go-To-Market, hosts Erin Figer and Patrick Riley are joined by Michael Musselman, Vice President for Partnerships at Astronomer, to explore the critical role of understanding goals and aligning strategies in successful business collaborations.

Michael shares insights on the transition of partnerships from COO to CRO roles, emphasizing the need to balance values and immediate revenue generation. They discuss the Cloud flywheel, the importance of giving back to the community, and the entrepreneurial spirit required in Cloud alliances. Michael also highlights the five "C's" in decision-making, which are essential in accelerating cloud GTM experiences.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. How partnerships are like friendships and that building successful partnerships, particularly with Cloud providers like AWS, is similar to cultivating deep personal friendships
2. The impact of having an entrepreneurial mindset when working in roles related to Cloud alliances or business development
3. The importance of companies to clearly understand their "why" when building partnerships with Cloud providers

Resources:

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/musselmanm/

Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmriley/

Connect with Erin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinfiger/

Learn more about Tackle: https://tackle.io

Timestamps:

(05:02) Transitioning from sales to partnerships

(10:57) How Effective business development is like an octopus

(15:20) Networking, revenue, and partnership strategies in business

(22:27) Understanding and optimizing cloud capabilities.

(30:46) Driving consumption and connecting technology to value drivers

(34:58) Is cloud partnership right for everyone?

(42:47) Connecting with cloud alliance leaders as an entrepreneur