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Collaborative Partners

Collaborative partners are the subject-matter expert in the room with the client. You don't need to have referred the client to take this role — anyone qualified can be brought in as the collaborative partner on a project.

What you do​

You sit with the client and own the front end of the delivery process:

  • Gather and validate requirements
  • Negotiate the scope and contract with the client
  • Produce and get sign-off on the BRD (Business Requirements Document), SRS (Software Requirements Specification), and FSD (Functional Specification Document)
  • Define the development plan and task breakdown
  • Act as product owner, architect, or domain expert through to the start of build — and stay engaged through QA acceptance so the delivered product matches what the client actually asked for

What you earn​

14% of total project value, paid after delivery on the same net-30 schedule as other roles.

If you also referred the client (the Referral Partner role), the two stack: 8% + 14% = 22%.

Worked example: Jennifer refers a client needing a regional logistics app (Referral Partner, 8%). She then sits with the client herself to gather requirements and produce the BRD/SRS/FSD (Collaborative Partner, 14%). Jennifer earns 22% of the project value across both roles.

Splitting the role​

The 14% can be split between multiple people or a small team contributing to requirements and SME work — for example, two people might split it 8%/6% based on contribution. Colakin determines the split based on documented input to the project.

Who qualifies​

  • Can be an individual or a company.
  • Needs demonstrated experience as a product owner, architect, or subject-matter expert, with evidence of similar past projects.
  • No fixed sales target (unlike referral partners) — qualification is about expertise, not pipeline.