Partnership GTM draft
Where HubSpot stops, operating workflow begins.
A practical partner motion for Altitude and LightForge: Altitude owns the client relationship and commercial wrapper; LightForge turns exposed workflow friction into supported single-purpose applications.
Why this fits now
Altitude has the visibility. LightForge has the delivery lane.
Apex is giving Altitude a sharper internal view of data, agents, and production workflows. That same lens reveals client problems that are valuable, urgent, and usually outside a marketing agency's support boundary.
The wedge is not "AI." The wedge is client workflow friction that Altitude already sees but should not have to support alone.
Public fit: Altitude positions around data-first B2B marketing for life sciences, industrial/manufacturing, and technology companies. Adam's public role already includes technical integrations and data management.
The client gap
Many Altitude clients need the layer between go-to-market systems and operating reality.
The first opportunity is usually not a full platform. It is a narrow decision workflow that existing systems do not answer cleanly.
Partner model
Keep each company in its lane.
Altitude owns the account
Client trust, discovery context, HubSpot/marketing boundary, commercial package, and ongoing strategic relationship.
LightForge owns the build
Workflow diagnosis, data/artifact intake, prototype, 30-day SPA delivery, support, and 30/90-day iteration.
Client sees one practical motion
Altitude brings in LightForge when the problem extends into operating workflow. The work can sit under Altitude's commercial wrapper.
Positioning line: Altitude helps the client create demand and manage the revenue engine. LightForge helps the client operate the workflow that demand exposes.
Qualification lens
The best first accounts share four signals.
Altitude can see the workflow
The client already brings Adam/John into conversations that reveal what HubSpot can solve and what sits beyond it.
The systems do not agree
HubSpot, QuickBooks, ClickUp, spreadsheets, inventory, and ops data answer different parts of the same decision.
The value is more than time saved
The stronger case is risk, margin, quote confidence, fulfillment visibility, or leadership reporting.
A first SPA can be named
The first version should fit in a 30-day box and produce a proof artifact the client can use immediately.
Pilot candidate
Standard Fluids looks like the first useful test.
Adam's read: HubSpot can support quote and sales process, but the client needs the next layer: inventory confidence, ops/accounting handoff, QuickBooks realities, and fulfillment risk.
Sales asks: can we quote this?
Current answer depends on calls, memory, and manual checks.
Ops asks: can we fulfill this?
Inventory, packaging units, kilograms, and customer-specific pricing do not live in one decision view.
Leadership asks: what is at risk?
The SPA should expose quote confidence, stock constraints, margin assumptions, and handoff status.
First meeting motion
Game plan first. Diagnose live. Prototype from real artifacts.
1. Pre-call game plan
Altitude names the relationship context, likely business pain, sensitive boundaries, and desired client outcome.
2. Joint diagnostic call
Altitude frames the known problem. LightForge asks workflow, data, risk, and decision questions until the first SPA candidate is clear.
3. Artifact request
Under NDA where needed: screenshots, spreadsheets, exports, sample reports, current handoff notes, and desired decision views.
4. Prototype
LightForge mocks up a working view from the artifacts and pressure-tests it with Altitude before client review.
5. Client proposal
Define the smallest useful version, proof artifact, price package, support expectations, and first 30-day outcome.
6. Build and iterate
Launch the first SPA, tune for 30 days, then revisit every 90 days for the next useful workflow addition.
Commercial frame
Start with one SPA that proves return on expense.
Illustrative monthly LightForge partner cost per SPA from the conversation.
Illustrative Altitude client package range, depending on advisory layer, account work, and value.
Potential SPA expansion range over time when the first workflow proves useful.
Pricing principle: the first SPA should be easy to justify from risk, margin, decision speed, or management visibility. Time savings help, but the stronger sale is operational control.
Commercial terms are draft inputs only. Partnership paper, SLA, support boundaries, and client packaging still need review.
Next actions
Use the deck to align Adam, Andrew, and John before the first client move.
The goal is not to finalize a partner program in one pass. The goal is to pick the right first account, agree on the client-facing story, and prepare a useful diagnostic conversation.
Adam loops John Manning
Map the motion next to the HubSpot partner program and define where LightForge enters.
Align with Andrew
Confirm commercial appetite, support boundary, and which client should be first.
Game-plan Standard Fluids
After NFPA, prepare the first diagnostic agenda and artifact request for a mid-July conversation.
Draft light partner paper
Define MSA-style terms only when the first client path is concrete enough to warrant it.