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Ecosystem partner segmentation map

Builds a structured segmentation map of an ecosystem's actors — VCs, law firms, LPs, banks, audit firms, placement agents, and industry associations — categorized by role, influence tier, partnership type, and…

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Purpose

Produce a complete, prioritized map of the ecosystem actors surrounding a VC or private-markets SaaS product — classified by their functional role, influence tier, and the partnership model that fits each — so business development effort goes to the intermediaries that actually move deals and adoption, not whoever is easiest to email.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks to:

  • Map the partner ecosystem for a VC, fund admin, or private-markets SaaS product
  • Decide which intermediaries (law firms, banks, placement agents, LPs) to prioritize for partnerships
  • Build a referral, channel, or co-marketing network across the private capital landscape
  • Segment ecosystem actors by influence or by partnership type
  • Prioritize BD outreach when there are too many potential partners to pursue at once
  • Justify a partnership strategy or target list to a head of partnerships or revenue leader

Inputs Required

Before starting, collect:

  • Product: What the SaaS product does and who in the workflow uses it (e.g., fund operations, LP reporting, portfolio monitoring, deal sourcing)
  • Target market: The specific segment served — early-stage VC, growth equity, PE, fund admins, family offices, etc.
  • Geographic focus: Primary regions or financial hubs (e.g., US, UK, DACH, SEA)
  • Partnership goal: What partnerships should produce — referrals, integrations, co-selling, distribution, credibility, or data access
  • Current partners: Any existing partners or relationships, including those already explored or stalled
  • Deal cycle: How the product is bought — bottom-up adoption, procurement, committee approval, or champion-driven
  • Resourcing: How many partnerships the team can realistically support in the next 2 quarters

If geographic focus or resourcing is missing, assume a single primary region and capacity for 6–10 active partnership conversations, and note the assumption.

Instructions

Step 1: Inventory Ecosystem Actors by Role

Build the actor inventory across these seven role categories. For each, identify the specific subtypes relevant to the stated target market and geography:

  • Capital allocators (LPs): Pension funds, endowments, fund-of-funds, family offices, sovereign wealth — the source of fund capital and a high-trust referral channel into GPs
  • Fund managers (GPs / the buyers themselves): The direct customer; classify only as a partner where larger funds can refer their portfolio or peer network
  • Legal: Fund formation counsel, transactional/M&A firms, regulatory specialists — embedded in every fund launch and deal close
  • Banking & finance: Fund finance lenders, custody banks, prime brokers, investment banks — touch the operational and capital flow layers
  • Audit, tax & administration: Audit firms, tax advisors, third-party fund administrators — own recurring, workflow-adjacent relationships
  • Intermediaries & agents: Placement agents, secondaries advisors, capital introduction teams — sit at the deal-flow chokepoints
  • Associations & communities: Industry bodies (e.g., ILPA, BVCA, NVCA), conferences, accelerators, peer networks — provide reach and credibility at scale

For each role category, list 3–6 specific named-type actors (organization types, not necessarily named companies unless an obvious leader exists) that matter for this product.

Step 2: Score Each Actor on Influence Tier

Assign every actor an influence tier using two axes:

  • Reach — how many of the target buyers this actor touches (one fund vs. hundreds)
  • Trust weight — how much the buyer defers to this actor's recommendation in a purchase decision

Classify into three tiers:

  • Tier 1 — Network hubs: High reach AND high trust. A single relationship unlocks many buyers (e.g., a fund administrator serving 200 GPs, a major association)
  • Tier 2 — Trusted advisors: High trust, narrower reach. Recommendations carry weight but reach fewer buyers (e.g., a leading fund formation firm)
  • Tier 3 — Volume channels: Higher reach, lower per-recommendation trust (e.g., a broad conference or directory)

State the reasoning for each tier assignment in one line — not just the label.

Step 3: Match Each Actor to a Partnership Type

Assign the partnership model that fits each actor's position in the workflow:

  • Referral partner: Sends qualified buyers; best for trusted advisors adjacent to a triggering event (fund launch, audit, close)
  • Integration partner: Technical/data connection that creates stickiness; best for fund admins, banks, and data providers
  • Co-sell / channel partner: Joint pursuit or reseller motion; best where the partner has a sales relationship with the same buyer
  • Co-marketing / credibility partner: Content, events, endorsement; best for associations and communities
  • Strategic / ecosystem partner: Deeper alignment, possibly equity or roadmap; reserved for Tier 1 hubs with structural leverage

A single actor may carry a primary and secondary partnership type — name the primary.

Step 4: Build the Prioritized Target List

Combine influence tier, partnership type fit, and the stated partnership goal into a ranked target list of 10–15 actors. Rank by expected impact-to-effort, not by tier alone — a reachable Tier 2 advisor often beats an unreachable Tier 1 hub.

For each ranked target include:

  1. Actor type and tier
  2. Why now: The event or dynamic that makes this partner timely
  3. Partnership type and the value exchange: What each side gives and gets
  4. Entry point: The realistic first conversation or warm path in

Step 5: Sequence the First Two Quarters

Sequence the top targets into a phased outreach plan aligned to team capacity:

  • Quarter 1 — Foundation: 1–2 Tier 1 hubs (long lead time) plus 3–4 high-fit Tier 2 referral partners (faster wins)
  • Quarter 2 — Expansion: Add integration and co-marketing partners once early referral signal exists
  • Note dependencies — which partnerships should land before others are pursued, and which require a reference customer first.

Output Format

  • Structure: Role inventory table → influence tier classification → partnership-type mapping → ranked target list → two-quarter sequencing plan
  • Length: 1,100–1,500 words
  • Format: Tables for the actor inventory and ranked target list; structured bullets for tier reasoning and sequencing
  • Sections: Ecosystem Actor Inventory (7 roles) → Influence Tier Classification → Partnership Type Mapping → Prioritized Target List (10–15) → Two-Quarter Sequencing Plan
  • Tone: Head of partnerships — strategic, prioritization-driven, allergic to busywork; every recommendation tied to deal or adoption impact

Quality Checklist

Before delivering output, verify:

  • [ ] All seven role categories are populated with 3–6 specific actor types each
  • [ ] Every actor carries an influence tier (1/2/3) WITH one-line reasoning — not a bare label
  • [ ] Every actor is matched to a primary partnership type that fits its workflow position
  • [ ] The ranked target list contains 10–15 actors ordered by impact-to-effort, not by tier
  • [ ] Each ranked target has a "why now" event and a concrete entry point — no generic "reach out"
  • [ ] The sequencing plan respects the stated team capacity and names at least one dependency

Notes

  • The most common BD error in private markets is chasing Tier 1 hubs first — they have the longest lead times and lowest reply rates; seed Tier 2 referral wins in parallel to build credibility for the hub conversations
  • Fund administrators and audit firms are consistently undervalued: they hold recurring, workflow-embedded relationships across dozens of funds and convert well as integration or referral partners
  • A referral partnership without a triggering event (fund launch, audit cycle, close) rarely produces flow — anchor every referral target to the moment its buyers are most active
  • If the product is bought bottom-up rather than through procurement, weight community and association partners higher — they reach the individual champions directly

How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

Installing in Claude Code:

  • ~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
  • <your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:

  1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
  2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills