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Distribute Through Trusted Intermediaries

Distribute Through Trusted Intermediaries is a partnerships & affiliates tactic for getting your first users: Instead of selling only direct, you route the product through people who already hold the customer relationship — agencies, consultants, or the professionals your buyer already listens to.

It's a strong fit for Agencies / services, B2B SaaS, Consumer / mobile apps, Dev tools / technical, and Newsletters / media teams, and works especially well for B2B SaaS, dev tools, consumer products with an advisor layer. As a partnerships & affiliates play, plan for high effort and expect results to build gradually over time, all grounded in 4 linked primary sources.

Partnerships & affiliatesHigh effortSlow

Why does partnerships & affiliates work for this?

Partners come with pre-built trust and existing accounts, so they shorten the sales cycle and multiply your reach without you hiring an army of reps.

The exact steps (5)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

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Sources

Works for
Agencies / servicesB2B SaaSConsumer / mobile appsDev tools / technicalNewsletters / media

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Distribute Through Trusted Intermediaries" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for Agencies / services, B2B SaaS, Consumer / mobile apps, Dev tools / technical, and Newsletters / media — pick it when your product looks like one of those, since the play is shaped around how those users find new tools.
How is the "Distribute Through Trusted Intermediaries" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 4 primary sources — real founder write-ups and interviews, not generic advice. They are linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original accounts yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is high effort, and results tend to be slow.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Jason Cohen (WP Engine) on building 2 unicorns and The ClicData bootstrapping journey, is in the paid library.

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