Affiliate partners - yay or nay for a startup?

The affiliate program has worked very well for us at SmartSuite to go from 0 to 1. I was able to get YouTubers to join our affiliate program and produce videos on how to use our product which drove thousands of signups and put us "on the map." Some larger YouTube channels will lower their sponsorship amounts by participating in the affiliate program.

I would say it really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If it is volume then definitely go for it; if it is high quality users then I would pay close attention to who you are partnering with and why. If I were Head of Partnerships at a startup, I would focus on identifying a handful of partners that I believe could be highly fruitful for our company’s growth and place most of my efforts on building out my relationships there.

This is a great time to trial Affiliates, the smaller and more passionate the better. Don't go for the big companies just because they have a larger reach, they likely wont match your passion. Look for Affiliates that fit your ideal customer profile. If you can find affiliates that use your product, or can share examples of value with real experience even better.

Personally always recommend exploring new partnership options as a startup as you really won't know the potential outcomes until you try it. I think the most important part with exploration is choosing the right partners to experiment with to mitigate any downside risk.