Your partner program is fake

Good morning, Riveters.

Partnerships are having a moment, and not the warm-and-fuzzy kind. In today’s Rivet Report, we break down what’s changing in the economy, the latest moves in AI and startups, and the one growth play that can improve retention without spending another dollar on ads.

Plus, you’ll discover how to build partnerships that actually drive revenue instead of becoming a slow-motion calendar invite.

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Economy
U.S. GDP for Q3 2025 came in hotter than expected at 4.3% annualized, driven mainly by consumer spending and exports, while inflation measures in the release stayed sticky (PCE inflation still above the Fed’s 2% target). That combo matters because it keeps the “soft landing” story alive, but also keeps rate-cut hopes from getting too dreamy too fast.

What this means to you: If you sell to consumers or SMBs, demand may hold up longer than you’d expect. But plan your runway as if capital stays selective and rates stay higher-for-longer.
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis

AI
Nvidia just did the modern Big Tech move: license + hire, not buy. It struck a major licensing deal with AI chip startup Groq (focused on inference) and is bringing over key Groq executives and engineers. This “acqui-hire without acquiring” pattern is becoming the fastest path to ship in AI, while dodging some antitrust heat.

What this means to you: Expect the talent market (especially systems + inference) to stay brutal. If you’re building in AI, consider partnerships/licensing as a speed lever instead of reinventing core infrastructure.
Source: CNBC

Startups
Coinbase announced it’s acquiring The Clearing Company, a startup focused on prediction markets, as Coinbase keeps stacking acquisitions to expand what it can offer customers beyond spot crypto. Prediction markets are becoming a “power user” wedge: sticky traders, constant engagement, and a natural fit with crypto rails. But it also increases the compliance surface area (market integrity, geos, consumer protection expectations).

What this means to you: The exit environment is still real, but it’s skewing toward strategic tuck-ins. Build with “bolt-on value” in mind: distribution, licenses, data, or a niche trading community.
Source: Bloomberg

Here’s a spicy take: Most partnerships are built to sound impressive, not produce revenue.

We have all sat in those calls. Two teams trade compliments, agree to “explore synergies,” schedule a webinar, and celebrate a launch post. Then nothing happens. Not because the people are lazy. Because nobody built a system.

The assumption worth questioning is this: “Partnerships are relationship-driven, so results are hard to measure.”

That’s convenient. It also keeps partnerships safely unaccountable.

The teams getting results treat partnerships like a channel with inputs, conversion rates, and rules. Not romance.

Look at AWS ISV Accelerate. AWS makes co-sell more real by rewarding its own sales teams for supporting ISV partners, including sales compensation incentives tied to Marketplace private offers. That is not a vibe. That is a mechanism that makes behavior show up on calendars.

Or look at HubSpot’s Solutions Partner motion. Partners register deals and create “shared deals” that sync between HubSpot and the partner portal. HubSpot also draws a bright line between sales motions like partner-sourced and partner-assisted, with explicit policies around when a deal should be registered. That’s how you scale without channel conflict and finger-pointing.

So what’s the practical takeaway for founders?

Start with two numbers. They force clarity.

If you cannot agree on those definitions, you do not have a partner program. You have a networking habit.

Now the real question.

If a partner “influences” a deal, what did they actually do?

If you can’t answer that in one sentence, you’re counting ghosts.

Here’s a simple way to make partnerships measurable in a week:

Then run one play with five partners. Not fifty. Five.

The goal is not “more partners.” The goal is a partnership motion you can predict.

Because the best partnership strategy is boring in the right way. It turns hope into throughput.

The WSJ just reported the highest price ever paid for modern art at auction.

While equities, gold, bitcoin hover near highs, the art market is showing signs of early recovery after one of the longest downturns since the 1990s.

Here’s where it gets interesting→

Each investing environment is unique, but after the dot com crash, contemporary and post-war art grew ~24% a year for a decade, and after 2008, it grew ~11% annually for 12 years.*

Overall, the segment has outpaced the S&P by 15 percent with near-zero correlation from 1995 to 2025.

Now, Masterworks lets you invest in shares of artworks featuring legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso. Since 2019, investors have deployed $1.25 billion across 500+ artworks.

Masterworks has sold 25 works with net annualized returns like 14.6%, 17.6%, and 17.8%.

Shares can sell quickly, but my subscribers skip the waitlist:

Skip waitlist

_{*Per Masterworks data. Investing involves risk. Past performance not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd}

Turn your onboarding into a “Day 7 Win” machine, and churn will quietly fall.

Most startups lose customers before they ever feel value. Fix that by designing a single, tangible outcome a new user can hit in their first week, then make everything else secondary. Pick one “activation event” that correlates with retention (not vanity usage), and restructure your onboarding around getting them there fast: pre-filled templates, default settings that are actually useful, and a guided checklist that ends with a visible payoff. Then add a lightweight “save” loop: automate a Day 2 nudge, a Day 5 “here’s what good looks like” example, and a Day 7 concierge check-in for accounts that haven’t activated.

If you can reliably manufacture one early win, you’ll spend less on acquisition, discounting, and “please don’t cancel” gymnastics.