Magnolia Ventures
Partnerships

Partnerships Built on Alignment, Not Just Invoices

We partner with a small number of companies each year where our work materially changes the trajectory of the business — and where long-term alignment makes more sense than a purely transactional relationship.

Why This Model Exists

Most consulting and services models are misaligned by default. The provider is paid for activity, not for durable outcomes, and has no stake in what happens after the engagement ends.

On the other side, founders are asked to take on significant cost and execution risk, often without knowing whether the work will meaningfully compound over time.

Our partnership model exists to correct that misalignment by tying part of our upside to the long-term success of the systems we build and the businesses we support.

How Engagements Work

We begin like any other engagement: by understanding the business, the systems already in place, and the constraints that matter — technical, financial, and organizational.

If there is a clear opportunity for durable impact and mutual alignment, we structure the engagement as a partnership instead of a pure services contract.

Discovery and System Design

We analyze the current state of your growth, data, and operational systems and identify where structural changes can create long-term leverage.

Build and Implementation

We design and implement the systems — technical, analytical, or operational — that create that leverage.

Partnership Alignment

If the work is foundational and long-term, we structure a partnership so that we remain aligned as the business scales.

50% Cash / 50% Warrant Structure

Partnership engagements are structured as a combination of cash compensation and warrants or options in the business.

This ensures we are compensated for the work we do today while remaining aligned with the long-term outcomes of that work.

Cash Component

The cash portion covers our time, team, and execution costs. It is typically priced below a comparable purely transactional engagement because part of our upside is deferred into the warrant.

Warrant Component

The warrant represents the right — but not the obligation — to purchase equity in the company in the future at a predetermined price. It allows us to participate in the upside if the systems we build contribute meaningfully to long-term value creation.

Who This Is For — And Who It's Not For

Good Fit

  • Companies building durable products with long-term ambition
  • Founders who value structural thinking over short-term tactics
  • Teams willing to share context, data, and constraints openly
  • Businesses where systems and infrastructure meaningfully affect outcomes

Not a Fit

  • Companies looking for short-term traffic or cosmetic improvements
  • Teams unwilling to share internal data or decision context
  • Founders who prefer purely transactional vendor relationships
  • Situations where alignment or trust is missing

What Magnolia Commits

We treat partnership work as if we were building inside our own company.

High-leverage system design

We focus on structural improvements that compound over time rather than isolated optimizations.

Execution with accountability

We take responsibility for implementation quality, not just recommendations.

Long-term alignment

We remain engaged as the systems evolve, not just until a contract ends.

What Partners Commit

Partnerships require openness, trust, and a willingness to think beyond the next quarter.

Transparency

Share data, constraints, and honest context so we can design systems that actually fit.

Operational follow-through

Support internal adoption and change management as systems are introduced.

Long-term orientation

Engage with the work as infrastructure, not as a one-off project.

Ready to Explore a Partnership?

If this model resonates and you believe there may be a fit, the next step is simply a conversation.