Build ecosystem partnerships with the professional services firms that advise your target customers to create a referral network at scale
Instead of going directly to end customers, partner with the law firms, accountants, VCs, and advisors who already have trusted relationships with your target market. These professional services firms benefit from recommending quality tools to their clients, creating a mutually beneficial referral network that scales without proportional spend.
When to use
When your target customers already rely on professional advisors who influence tool selection, and when your product category benefits from trusted recommendations over cold discovery
Don't do this
Relying solely on direct-to-customer acquisition when professional intermediaries control the recommendation flow to your target market
1 Founder Who Did This
Mercury built partnerships with 500+ VC firms, law firms (Orrick), accountants (Kruze Consulting), and startup service providers (OnDeck). These partners recommended Mercury to portfolio companies and clients. Also built dedicated VC fund banking product, with 2,500+ VC funds banking with Mercury.