Program Overview

The AWS Global Startup Program serves as a marketing support initiative exclusively available to early- and mid-stage startups that have secured institutional funding, achieved product-market fit, and are prepared to scale. Participating companies receive dedicated support through assigned partner development managers (PDMs) and partner solution architects (PSAs) who bring deep AWS knowledge and startup or business development experience. Startups gain targeted assistance across three critical business areas: product development, marketing, and co-selling.

Key Benefits

Product Development

  • Reduce workload risk and achieve enterprise-grade readiness by implementing Well-Architected best practices
  • Collaborate with AWS partner solution architects to refine solutions for specific customer use cases and differentiate your offering

Marketing

  • Increase visibility through case studies, Win Wires, blog features, and AWS Startup Partner Solution pages
  • Access marketing development funds (MDF) to accelerate outreach, offset campaign and content development expenses, and list solutions on AWS Marketplace or AWS Data Exchange

Co-Selling

  • Shorten sales cycles and accelerate existing deals with support from AWS sellers
  • Generate new opportunities through customer introductions and receive funding for proof-of-concept initiatives

Participant Success Stories

Reltio's customer experience vice president Curt Pearlman has discussed how the company leverages AWS to help organizations break down information silos and effectively manage master data for comprehensive customer understanding.

Cazena, a data lake-as-a-service company, has shared insights through CEO and founder Prat Moghe about the value and benefits of participating in the AWS Startup Partner program.

Cloudinary, a cloud-based image and media platform, has highlighted through business development director Bob Miyahara the advantages of collaborating with APN and the resulting benefits for the company and its customers.

Ambra Health, a digital health company and AWS Startup Partner, has shared through CEO Morris Panner the value of AWS partnership and the utility of working with AWS teams possessing deep industry expertise.

MachineMetrics, a predictive analytics firm serving discrete manufacturing, has explained through co-founder and CTO Jacob Lauzier how collaboration with the AWS Startups team enables faster growth and improved customer service.

Eligibility and Application Process

The AWS Global Startup Program targets venture-backed early- to mid-stage startups, typically at Series A through Series C funding stages, that deliver differentiated products to AWS customers.

Step 1: Assess Your Startup

Confirm your organization qualifies as a venture-backed early- to mid-stage startup and follow the outlined steps to participate.

Step 2: Join the AWS Partner Network

  • Establish an AWS Partner Central account to join APN at no cost
  • Enroll in the Software Path, designed for organizations developing software that runs on or integrates with AWS
  • Upon completing registration, your startup will receive a welcome email with instructions on information to submit to the AWS Global Startup team for evaluation
  • After receiving the welcome email, collaborate with the team to establish eligibility and create your Co-Create Value story and eligibility forms, then submit according to the welcome email instructions

Step 3: Prepare for Co-Selling

  • Watch "Grow Your Business Through the AWS Customer Engagement (ACE) Program" to qualify for co-selling
  • Share 10 qualified partner opportunities with AWS through ACE Pipeline Manager in AWS Partner Central over a consecutive 12-month period
  • Upload 2 public references to AWS Partner Central under the Marketplace tab

Step 4: Complete Foundational Technical Review

  • Determine if your product is ready for FTR by watching "Leverage AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR)" to understand validation procedures
  • Use the validation checklist to assess your software architecture and complete the FTR

Step 5: List on AWS Marketplace

  • Create a product listing in AWS Marketplace to qualify for program participation
  • Review the "Getting Started as a Seller on AWS Marketplace" video to determine whether publishing on AWS Marketplace aligns with your product delivery model and business objectives

Step 6: Apply to Global Startup Program

After completing steps 1-5, submit an application to the ISV Acceleration Program. Once approved, contact startuppartners@amazon.com to apply for the Global Startup Program.

Testimonials from Participating Companies

In the past 4 months, the AWS Global Startup Program has been an excellent resource for Prognos Health, helping us navigate complex AWS environments, coordinate co-selling introductions, identify marketing opportunities, and build relationships across the AWS organization. Having a single point of contact to maximize opportunities and provide guidance has been invaluable.

Chris Hayes, Senior Vice President of Sales and Strategic Partnerships, Prognos Health

Over the past six months, the AWS Global Startup Program has transformed Pepperdata's go-to-market approach on AWS. The GSP team has provided targeted co-marketing opportunities, supplied critical resources to identify and refine new co-selling opportunities, and facilitated strategic-level discussions with core technical and business leaders to drive our business forward. They have provided strong support in helping us succeed on AWS.

Through the AWS Global Startup Program, our startup has been able to increase the visibility of our solution within AWS, the AWS Partner community, and among customers. With their support, we identified and executed efficient programs that drove a 500% year-over-year increase in AWS Marketplace subscriptions for our product. Additionally, we launched ISVA co-selling initiatives with dozens of AWS sales teams.

From our early days through our growth phase, AWS has been a valuable partner, providing unwavering support. With flexible pricing models and architect support, we have seamlessly scaled our platform on AWS. Moreover, the AWS Startup support team has proven instrumental in providing guidance through the AWS Marketplace team to ensure our successful market entry.

Since joining the AWS Global Startup Program, Drata, a rapidly growing company, has gained significant momentum. For founders and leaders of emerging startups, the AWS Global Startup Program is essential for company scalability by offering diverse resources for product development, go-to-market efforts, and co-selling initiatives.

The AWS Global Startup Program has enabled our global sales team to expand our marketing reach more effectively. We have built a strong working relationship with the global AWS team, which has been a strategic partner in our growth and go-to-market plans. Since our collaboration began, we have accelerated deal velocity, expanded customer account coverage, and increased demand through co-marketing programs.

Source: AWS News Blog