WorkSpan

WorkSpan operates as a co-sell management network, offering a platform for companies to scale their revenue growth through partnerships. Founded in 2015 by Mayank Bawa, Amit Sinha, and Milind Joshi, the company provides a secure Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution tailored for partnership and sales teams. The business model centers on subscriptions to its platform, which enables clients to collaborate on deals, exchange co-sell referrals directly within their CRM systems, manage a shared sales pipeline, and monitor performance via a live dashboard.

The founding of WorkSpan was inspired by the founders' direct experiences with the complexities and missed opportunities in business collaborations. A pivotal moment occurred in 2014 when co-founders Mayank Bawa and Amit Sinha, who were undergraduate classmates at IIT Bombay, discussed the inefficiencies in inter-company collaboration. Their research, involving discussions with leaders at over 75 companies, solidified the idea for a unified platform to streamline partnership marketing and sales. Mayank Bawa, the CEO, previously founded Big Data firm Aster Data Systems, which was acquired by Teradata. Amit Sinha, the President, gained experience in ecosystem growth during his tenure at SAP, where he was involved with the SAP HANA platform. Milind Joshi, the CTO, also comes from a background at Aster Data Systems and possesses extensive engineering experience from companies like Sun and EMC.

WorkSpan's platform is designed to digitize and manage the entire ecosystem business lifecycle, offering functionalities for co-selling, co-innovating, co-marketing, and co-investing. Clients, which include major technology and communications companies like Microsoft, Cisco, SAP, and AWS, use the platform to accelerate the market entry of joint solutions and enhance the productivity of their partner managers. The system facilitates the creation of joint business plans, referral sharing, and provides real-time data for pipeline reviews. It allows for the management of joint marketing campaigns, including lead distribution and ROI tracking, and provides a transparent interface for managing shared funds and investments. The platform integrates with existing CRM systems and data warehouses, ensuring security and compliance while providing performance analytics and customizable reporting. Since its inception, WorkSpan has raised a total of $66 million in funding over three rounds, with the latest being a $30 million Series C round in October 2022 led by Insight Partners.

Keywords: co-sell management, partner ecosystem platform, partnership management, channel sales, ecosystem business management, joint marketing, co-innovation, B2B SaaS, sales collaboration, pipeline management, referral exchange, alliance management, partner relationship management, ecosystem-led growth, indirect revenue, GTM strategy, partner programs, channel collaboration, co-investing, technology partnerships, cloud marketplace, enterprise software, deal registration, performance analytics, strategic alliances