Apple Podcasts
Spotify
YouTube
About this episode
Lowry Gladwell didn’t plan a career in B2B sales. He trained as a corporate lawyer, moved into B2B partnerships at Vend during the early days of cloud point of sale, and helped build one of Xero’s most studied growth engines: its accountant and bookkeeper channel. He’s now the founding country head of Airwallex in New Zealand, tasked with taking on the banks in a market that’s small and trust-driven.
In this conversation with Paul Perrett, Lowry unpacks the customer overlap test he now uses to kill bad partnerships early, why the worst partnership ideas often come from the top down, and how Xero’s channel playbook didn’t translate cleanly into every overseas market. He also breaks down Airwallex’s pain qualified segment approach to New Zealand’s travel and tech exporters, and the three traits that he hires for above everything else.
This is a working playbook for anyone building B2B partnerships, opening a new market, or trying to earn trust faster than the competititor next door.
Key topics covered
[09:29] Vend turned iPads into cloud point of sale systems years before Square or Shopify existed
[12:50] The customer overlap test: why shared customers are the first signal a partnership is worth pursuing
[19:22] Xero engineered 60 to 70 percent of its growth through B2B partnerships with accountants and bookkeepers
[26:36] The first contact trust framework: what to earn in the first 30 seconds, the next 30, and the minute after that
[29:34] Airwallex targeted New Zealand’s tech and travel exporters based on product market fit, not guesswork
[34:17] Capital raises are the buying trigger: new market, new payroll, new lease, new need
[36:51] The three hiring traits Lowry looks for above experience: curiosity, hunger, and low ego
Notable quotes on B2B partnerships
“The worst partnerships that I’ve done are ones where we don’t have any joint customers.”
“In that first 30 seconds, what are you going to do to be able to establish credibility and trust so that someone gives you another 30 seconds?”
“If you’re not hungry, you’re going to struggle.”
“We look at who’s raising, who’s growing, who’s going abroad.”
FAQs about B2B partnerships
It’s a quick check Lowry Gladwell uses at Airwallex to see if two companies share customers before investing in a partnership. Shared customers signal real potential; no overlap is treated as a red flag.
First contact trust is the credibility a seller has to earn in the first 30 seconds of a conversation, before they’ve had a chance to explain any value proposition, so the prospect grants them more time.
It’s a narrower slice of an ideal customer profile defined by the specific pain a customer is feeling right now, not just their industry or size, which Airwallex uses to prioritise who to approach.
Who this is for
This episode is for BDMs and AEs building B2B partnerships or opening new markets, and for sales leaders and founders deciding whether a partnership idea is worth the investment. If you’ve ever greenlit a partnership that quietly went nowhere, Lowry’s test will save you the next one.
Where to next?
Subscribe to the B2B Sales Blueprint for more conversations with B2B sales leaders.
Explore how Firmable helps you find the accounts showing the buying signals Lowry looks for.
