Setting the Stage: No Formalized Way To Find Partners

For years, Ron Farnum, founder of Chicago-based design agency Damen Jackson, believed that the key to sustained growth was better partnerships, not just more clients. Yet finding reliable, like-minded partners was an uphill battle.

“I’d tried partnerships before with little or no success. Collective OS enabled that success to actually happen. That’s what I liked about it.”

When Ron joined Collective OS in September, 2024, it was his first deliberate step toward building deeper partnerships that could lead to collaboration, referrals, and long-term business growth. A year later, that focus led to a company-defining project and a transformative lesson in how he now approaches partnerships and business development as a whole.

The Challenge: Finding Time for Consistent, High-Quality Partnership Outreach

Before joining Collective OS, Ron’s approach to finding partners was typical of many agency owners. He relied on his personal network, LinkedIn, and scattered referrals to meet new firms.

“It was mostly my own network, my own referral relationships, whoever I knew. I was always trying to find time for outreach, but as a business owner, there’s only so many hours in the day.”

The biggest challenge wasn’t just time, it was the nature of partnership outreach itself. Building partnerships requires consistency, trust, and personalization. Unlike selling to customers, where outreach can be broad, partnership development demands a more focused and thoughtful approach.

“Finding the time to do outreach in a consistent way was the hardest part. As a business owner, you’re pulled in so many directions. You can’t just spray and pray with partnerships like you might with customers. Each potential partner is different, so it takes a more tailored, more disciplined effort.”

Without that consistency, the results were unpredictable. Some conversations started strong but fizzled. Others never quite aligned. Without a clear structure or rhythm, it was difficult to stay organized or measure progress.

“Agency owners aren’t always equipped to do business development for arms-length relationships. It takes a different mindset and a lot more patience.”

Ron needed a better way, a system built for partnership development, where intentionality and credibility could scale without losing the human touch.

The Solution: Finding a True Partnership Platform

Everything changed when a user on Collective OS referred him to the platform.  At $150 per month, the cost was low enough to make joining the platform an easy decision.

“The cost made the ROI a no-brainer. Even a small deal would pay for itself and then some. I wanted to meet people who actually wanted to collaborate and worked in areas that were complementary to my business. I wanted to stop having to guess whether I was working with serious players who wanted to work together.

At first, Ron set modest expectations. He hoped to meet three or four partners who might lead to something meaningful. What he found was a community of professionals who were open, collaborative, and genuinely interested in helping each other succeed.

“People on Collective OS authentically want to be here and make connections. That’s what I like about it. We’re not at a trade show competing. Everyone’s trying to solve the same problems and help clients win. There’s this common bond between everyone you speak to that you can’t find elsewhere.”

Today, Ron regularly speaks with more than ten partners from the platform, several of whom are on the path to creating new business, and some of whom he now considers friends.

The Learning Curve: From Passive to Partnership

In the beginning, Ron approached the platform like many agency leaders do. He expected that once introductions started coming in, the partnerships would naturally take shape. But over time, he realized that Collective OS works best when you treat it like any meaningful relationship:  one that grows through effort, reciprocity, and collaboration.

“At first, I thought the platform would bring the right partners and something would just happen. But partnerships aren’t one-way. The more time you put into being active and engaged, the more value you get in return.”

He began reaching out to other agencies with an eye toward co-creation, exploring how he could help their clients by expanding his own offerings or collaborating on shared opportunities.

“Even though it’s a digital platform, personal relationships make it work. You have to put in the effort. It’s a two-way street. In order to receive, you also have to give.”

That shift in mindset changed everything. Ron stopped waiting for opportunities to come to him and started cultivating them, treating each introduction as the beginning of a potential alliance. He would follow up every few months with each new connection to continue to build a relationship – the same way one might do with a new friend.

“The more you dig into it, the more you find connections. The web just keeps getting deeper and wider.”

By showing up consistently and adding value to others, Ron found that his network grew not just in size, but in quality and trust.

“Collective OS gives me the ability to make Damen Jackson look like a bigger and better agency partner for other clients.”

The Breakthrough: The Milestone Win

After about nine months of consistent engagement and staying top of mind, one of Ron’s early connections reached out about teaming up on a large opportunity with a major consumer brand.

“When I hire a new salesperson, I tell them they won’t get a deal for the first six to nine months. I had the same expectations for Collective OS. Then, almost exactly at the nine-month mark, the opportunity arrived.”

The brand, a well-known, Fortune 500 CPG company, had a common challenge: strong packaging designs that looked good individually but lacked cohesion across the product line. Ron’s team redesigned the packaging system to create consistency, stronger shelf impact, and a better shopping experience.

That project has grown into an ongoing relationship as new products are launched. Ron credits the entire connection to Collective OS.

“I wouldn’t have known the people who made that introduction without Collective OS. It’s 100% responsible for that relationship, and it changed the way we present ourselves to future partners.”

The Lesson: Patience Over Shortcuts

Ron’s experience illustrates one of the core truths about business partnerships: meaningful ones take time to build, but when they mature, the impact can be substantial.

“You have to treat it like a long-term sales deal. It might take six to nine months before anything closes, but when it does, it’s a meaty contract.”

Over the course of a year, Ron invested $1,800 and earned several hundred times more in  return, but he’s quick to point out that the real value goes far beyond money.

“Most people think about how to grow short-term revenue and overlook the importance of growing long-term partnerships. Partnerships are the number one way to grow your business and credibility without adding staff. They take longer to materialize, but the deals are bigger and more repeatable.”

“Collective OS meaningfully changed the course of our year. Collaboration is now integral to how we operate.”

What began as an experiment in September 2024 has become a powerful proof point for the value of authentic, patient relationship building. For Ron, Collective OS didn’t just help him find partners, it gave him a framework for creating the kind of professional trust that compounds over time.

“You have to build a relationship for something to happen. I started treating the connections like real relationships and the investment came back to me and then some.. This is the best way of growing an agency business in existence.

About Damen Jackson

Damen Jackson is a Chicago-based design agency founded by Ron Farnum. The firm specializes in brand identity and packaging systems for leading consumer brands and manufacturers.