What it tests

Ability to design a structured partner program from scratch — tiers, incentives, onboarding, and success metrics — for a fast-scaling ecosystem

Format

1Candidate receives a 'Craft Challenge' brief: design a partner program for a company with 500+ integration partners and no formal tier structure yet
2They have 5–7 days to produce a working document: program architecture (tiers, criteria), partner benefits matrix, onboarding flow, KPIs, and a 30/60/90 day launch plan
3Submission is a written doc or structured deck — candidate's choice of format
4Live review session (45 min): walk through the design, then panel stress-tests it — 'What happens when a Tier 1 partner doesn't hit their targets?', 'How do you manage 9,000 partners with a team of 5?'

What to look for

Is the tier structure based on real business logic (revenue impact, engagement) or just vanity tiers?
Do they think about partner experience — onboarding time-to-value, self-serve vs. high-touch?
Are the KPIs leading indicators (partner activation, co-sell velocity) or just lagging revenue numbers?
Does the launch plan account for change management — migrating existing partners without churn?

Adaptation guide

Tune the scale to your reality. If you have 50 partners, make it a single-tier program design with a recruitment strategy. The complexity of the scenario should match the seniority of the role.

Full description

Format:

Candidate receives a "Craft Challenge" brief: design a partner program for a company with 500+ integration partners and no formal tier structure yet
They have 5–7 days to produce a working document: program architecture (tiers, criteria), partner benefits matrix, onboarding flow, KPIs, and a 30/60/90 day launch plan
Submission is a written doc or structured deck — candidate's choice of format
Live review session (45 min): walk through the design, then panel stress-tests it — "What happens when a Tier 1 partner doesn't hit their targets?", "How do you manage 9,000 partners with a team of 5?"

Time: 90 minutes

What to look for:

Is the tier structure based on real business logic (revenue impact, engagement) or just vanity tiers?
Do they think about partner experience — onboarding time-to-value, self-serve vs. high-touch?
Are the KPIs leading indicators (partner activation, co-sell velocity) or just lagging revenue numbers?
Does the launch plan account for change management — migrating existing partners without churn?

Adaptation: Tune the scale to your reality. If you have 50 partners, make it a single-tier program design with a recruitment strategy. The complexity of the scenario should match the seniority of the role.