Tank Talk: Ryan Freeman (Head of Enterprise Partnerships @ DoorDash) - Managing Partnerships as a Startup

On today’s Tank Talk! We welcome our guest Ryan Freeman, Head of Enterprise Partnerships @ DoorDash to discuss Managing Enterprise Partnerships as a Startup.

On today's Talk, we ask Ryan about his operator journey starting out in Consulting at Accenture where he worked his way into a global group focused on international expansion. Ryan explains how his experience at Accenture helped shape his views on how startups can deal with ambiguity and strong competencies around specific markets and technologies when working with enterprises.

We get Ryan to dig into his transition to the startup world as a VP of Partnerships at Turnstyle where he had to learn the hard way on how to get a seat at the table when he had no brand name behind him. After spending time at Yelp in San Francisco, Ryan explains why he took on the role at DoorDash to head up their Canadian offices last year. We learn what startups should do to avoid being taken advantage of during partnership conversations and key items to look out for when starting partnerships negotiations.

Ryan’s Book Recommendations

How the Mind Works - Steven Pinker

Guns, Germs and Steel - Jared Diamond

Expecting Better - Emily Oster

Ryans’ words of inspiration - “Don't think about the next step in your career journey as a linear set of steps that try to fit a mould. Try to solve for the most interesting next set of experiences to set you up for future success.”

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