For Entrepreneurs: How to Make a Strategic Partnership into a Successful Long-Term Relationship.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Entrepreneurs considering a strategic partnership with a larger company to help grow their company may benefit by approaching this special relationship like a potential marriage: before committing, spend plenty of time getting to know your potential partner, learn everything you can about their goals and values to be sure you're in synch and communicate clearly about your expectations.

This month, Kauffman eVenturing[TM] (www.eVenturing.org), a Web site for growth-oriented entrepreneurs operated by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, features a collection of articles that explores various aspects of selecting, evaluating and working productively with prospective partners, with particular emphasis on the needs of technology-based businesses.

"Strategic partnerships represent a tremendous opportunity for entrepreneurs who know how to manage those relationships," observed Donovan Moxey, Ph.D., an experienced entrepreneur and technologist, and a Kauffman entrepreneur editorial advisor. "Successful partnering with a much larger company takes preparation, finesse and a formal agreement that specifies exactly what each party will get out of the association."

The articles, which are authored by entrepreneurs and legal experts, focus on fully understanding how to leverage growth opportunities while avoiding common areas of dispute that can arise from strategic partnerships. They cover product/technology development, distribution/reseller arrangements and co-marketing programs.

Following are some highlights:

* "Strategic Partners: The Ones On Speed Dial" by Paula L. Jagemann, founder of eCommerce Industries, Inc. (ECI2) and a successful serial entrepreneur, recounts her earlier experience in forming a strategic partnership with United Stationers that helped catapult her startup, Online Office Supplies.com - the first online office products superstore - into a major force. The partnership provided the right mix of inventory and distribution capability for her company, helping it achieve rapid revenue growth and earn rave reviews for customer service.

* "Befriending an Elephant: Partnering with Global Giants" by Paul Magelli, co-founder and CEO of Apertio and a 20-year veteran of the telecom and software industries, advises small firms looking to partner with a much larger global company to overcome the inequality in size/strength by finding a unique niche they can fill and then proving their value, both quantitatively and qualitatively.

* "Five Strategies for Partnering with Larger Companies" by Scot Wingo, president and CEO of ChannelAdvisor, which counsels retailers and manufacturers on how to sell online via channels like eBay, Google and Yahoo!, gives practical guidance on how to make a relationship with a larger partner work: (1) get to know everything you can about your partner's business and its lingo; (2) put your own customers first; (3) designate a gatekeeper to monitor burdensome requests; (4) use your size/agility to stay one step ahead; and (5) establish relationships with customers your partner wants to win.

* "Joint Product Development: Who Owns What?" by John M. Fuscoe, an attorney with Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, counsels entrepreneurs who are working with consultants or strategic partners to clearly allocate who owns Intellectual Property (IP) rights in a formal, written agreement to protect their firm against future claims.

* "Getting Revenues from a Big Partner" by Harald Horgen, president and founder of The York Group, an international business development organization that helps technology companies expand into new markets, advises entrepreneurs to create a marketing plan and make it part of their formal partnership agreement, detailing exactly how their product will be sold and how the larger company will make it easy for their salespeople to be successful.

* "Managing and Measuring the Value of Your Partnerships" by Harald Horgen, explains the importance of establishing clear guidelines on measuring performance at different phases of a partnership relationship: before a contract is signed (to establish realistic sales targets); a reality check after the first year to see what adjustments need to be made; and every year thereafter to analyze exactly where sales are coming from and whether any new, untapped opportunities have emerged.

* "Evaluating and Selecting a Strategic Partner" by Donna Peek, global alliance manager for SAS Institute, Inc., recommends an eight-step process to identify effective partners who can fill the gap between what your customers need and what you can provide, improve your competitive position and brand awareness. She reminds entrepreneurs to identify the value proposition from their potential partner's perspective as well as their own and then conduct intense due diligence, negotiate aggressively and develop a detailed plan.

* "Anticipating Early Termination of a Strategic Partnership" by Daniel Porper, an attorney with Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, reminds entrepreneurs to determine upfront what each party's legal rights will be with respect to such issues as who will own the IP, whether there'll be termination fees and if the parties will be subject to non-compete rules in the event their alliance needs to be terminated early.

* "Top Ten Questions About Biotech Alliances" by Bill Wofford, attorney and partner with Hutchison Law Group, addresses specific legal questions biotech companies typically face when partnering to bring their products to market, including issues related to term sheets, co-promotion rights, royalties and IP protection.

* Tools and Templates include a sample partnership distribution agreement, a worksheet to help uncover the motivations, capabilities and needs of your prospective partner to facilitate successful recruitment, and a PowerPoint that provides an understanding the vast array of different kinds of IP and how to protect your company's investment in it.

The Kauffman eVenturing site is dedicated to serving the needs of growth-oriented entrepreneurs. Every month, a new collection of articles on key themes of interest to entrepreneurs - such as finance and accounting, people and human resources, sales and marketing, products and services, operations and the entrepreneur (e.g., strategy, culture, leadership) - is featured on the site. Collections contain original articles and a carefully reviewed aggregation of the 'best of the best' existing Web material on the topic at hand.

To read the full collection on Strategic Partnerships, please visit the Kauffman eVenturing site at www.eVenturing.org.

About the Kauffman Foundation:

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City is a private, nonpartisan foundation that works with partners to advance entrepreneurship in America and improve the education of children and youth. The Kauffman Foundation was established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman. Information about the Kauffman Foundation is available at www.kauffman.org.

Note to editors: the "2" in "(ECI2)" in the first bullet point should be superscript.