Hey all,

Last week was a hell of a week. A lot of movement across the board. Events, sales, product, production, recruiting. All of it moving at once.

There are moments in every company that you don't recognize as they're happening. It's only later, with some reflection, that you see them for what they were: a turning point.

I believe last week was one of those weeks.

I also know what those weeks cost. People putting in the hours, nose to the grind, doing the work that makes a turning point possible. I see it and I appreciate it.

Excited for what's coming this week.

With that, let’s dive into it.

WHAT'S TOP OF MIND

1) Big week this week

This is a big week for us, and I wanted to let you all know before things start moving.

On Tuesday, we're announcing the Partner Platform. This is the one we've been building toward for a long time, and it's finally being talked about in the world. I'll be in New York doing a handful of interviews, and you'll start to see press roll out around it (including The Marketing Millennials!). If any of it crosses your feed, I'd love everyone's support amplifying it on social. A repost, a comment, a quick share. It all adds up, and it all matters more than you'd think.

The part I'm most excited about: this is just the start. The Partner Platform is the first in a parade of announcements that runs all the way to Upfronts. Mobile apps, creator tooling, and a lot more are coming between now and then. The whole point is momentum. Each announcement sets up the next one, and together they tell a much bigger story about where we're headed.

We'll talk through all of it tomorrow so everyone knows what's coming and how to help.

Your support means the world.

2) Perception and Press

One of the biggest lessons from my time at The Hustle was how much public perception matters.

Does press make you a great business? No. The work does. The product, the team, the thing people actually pay for. I've watched plenty of well-covered companies march straight to zero.

But does press help? Big time.

It makes everything a tad easier. More leads come in. Recruiting moves faster because candidates already know us. Sales starts a few rungs up the ladder because the buyer walks in half-sold. You won't find it cleanly in a spreadsheet, but you feel it everywhere.

The part people rarely admit with press. Public perception is almost never how it feels on the inside. You read a flattering article and picture a polished machine, while the people inside are duct-taping things together at 11pm hoping it holds. That gap is normal. PR is built around the best version of the company. The aspirational one. The one we're running toward but haven't fully become. Putting that version out into the world pulls us toward it faster.

We've done this before. Axios, Business Insider, The Information, and plenty more. But it's been a while since we really pushed.

This week, we push again.

The best proof I have is the yellow PFP. One color. One small decision. And it's done an absurd amount of work. People see Workweek yellow and know exactly who we are. It's built a shared identity. You'd be shocked how often it comes up in rooms I'm not even in. And it makes us feel a lot bigger than we are. Feeling bigger helps you become bigger.

Perception doesn't replace reality. It bends reality in your favor. It gets the door open so the real work can walk through.

3) The Hidden Sales Cycle

Let me tell you about the hidden sales cycle, because it's the heart of what the Partner Platform fixes.

Right now, we're having internal conversations about possibly moving our HRIS. We might do it. We might not. We're doing our homework, researching, quietly evaluating vendors.

But here's the thing. We haven't talked to a single one of them yet. We won't show up in anyone's CRM until we're way down the road and close to actually switching.

So ask yourself. Is marketing shaping how we think about HRIS vendors right now? Absolutely. The content we've read, the brands we already trust, the names that come to mind first. All of that is doing work months before any salesperson hears from us.

Now here's the problem. The marketer behind all that influence has no way to prove it. None. By the time we hit the CRM, it looks like sales found us. The marketing that actually moved us is invisible. And invisible work is work that gets cut. That sets marketers up to fail at no fault of their own.

That's what we're solving.

We're helping marketers finally see the impact of the hidden sales cycle. The part that was always there and never measurable. It's honest. It's accountable. And it's flat out better for the people doing the work.

Nobody has really embraced this in an honest way. Plenty of platforms will sell you a black box and a confident dashboard. We're doing the opposite. We're showing the real picture, even the messy parts.

Because when marketers win, we win. The Partner Platform is how we start making it true.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

What's a question about the Partner Platform or even about how we work with advertisers that you want to know?

Thanks for giving it a read. Make it a great one.

Adam