Ep 39 | How Factorial Built a 100-Person Partner Team (That Drives 30% of Revenue)

As VP of Partnerships at Factorial, Marcel Queralt turned a side project into a full-blown business unit, driving one-third of the company’s revenue. In this episode, Marcel breaks down how he built a 100-person global team, why partner leaders need to think like entrepreneurs, and the exact culture and org structure that keeps it all running.

Chapters

02:30 - Why partnerships became a growth lever

06:05 - Finding product-market fit before hiring

10:33 - Why Marcel hired “mini-founders” first

27:50 - Culture of ownership and reporting discipline

45:52 - The role of partner enablement at scale

50:48 - Presenting to the board and owning the number

Key Takeaways

1. Mini-Founders First: Marcel prioritized hiring entrepreneurial talent who could own a market and figure out what works before scaling.

2. Reporting is Strategy: Clean attribution and shared CRM visibility are non-negotiable if you want internal alignment and credibility.

4. Partner Enablement is Make or Break: Fast partner activation—within the first two weeks—is the key to long-term results.

5. Partnerships = Business Unit: Marcel runs his org with full P&L ownership, localized teams, and dedicated marketing and ops support.

6. Culture Eats Incentives: Internal collaboration is less about comp plans and more about shared trust and aligned goals.

Key Quotes

"My whole thing right now is, hey, can a partnership leader track performance all the way down to earnings per share... even if you can come down to like net income generated from partnerships, that would actually be a pretty cool thing." - Asher Mathew

"It sounded like when you initially took this on, you were looking quite broad at a lot of different types of organizations that could drive the business forward." - Kelly Sarabyn

"Signing a partnership doesn't mean anything... we want to understand if they want to invest or not on this relationship, if they are able to sign on a business plan or not, and if they have the ambition to be relevant for us. Because we want to be relevant for them." - Marcel Queralt

Final Thoughts

Partnerships don’t scale on charm alone. Rooted in ownership, discipline, and strategic hiring, Marcel’s approach shows what it takes to turn partner teams into revenue engines. Whether you’re in the early days or managing a global org, this episode is a blueprint for doing it right. It’s also a reminder that treating partnerships as a real business unit is necessary if you want to move the needle.