Desmond Russell is an experienced business leader. He has built businesses, been part of successful companies and worked for large enterprises such as Microsoft. Along the way Des has been able to gather an incredible amount of knowledge and how businesses, particularly those in vendor relationships, are missing opportunities by not organising themselves in a way to make themselves more attractive to their customers and their vendors.
In this episode Des describes the journey to Partner Elevate. The first step was creating a program within Microsoft to roll out EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) into partner businesses in Australia. Following the deployment of EOS into the Microsoft partner community Des saw an opportunity to support businesses further by unpacking what it takes to develop a more valuable vendor partnership. This has resulted in the establishment of Partner Elevate in which he has identified the three attributes of what makes a business a valued partner to a vendor.
Des also describes the difference he sees in the businesses running on EOS as opposed to those that don’t and how businesses can address problems such as qualified lead generation, managing current customers and how to remain focussed on outcomes.
Transcript
Murray Smith: Des Russell, welcome to Gripping Business Tales. You’re from Partner Elevate—great to have you here.
Des Russell: Thanks, Murray. It’s great to be here. Really appreciate the time.
Murray: No problem at all. I’m fascinated by the work you’re doing and keen to explore it in more detail. You’re also kicking off the first episode of our new series—no pressure! Like all our episodes, we begin with two simple questions: can you share one personal success and one professional success you’ve had recently?
Des: Absolutely. Personally, I’ve started learning Spanish. My wife gifted the family a Duolingo subscription for Christmas, and we all picked Spanish. There’s a bit of healthy competition around who can keep the longest streak—I think I’m on a 63-day streak now, even though I started later! But I really need to go to Spain and actually use the language. I’m doing well in the app—top of leaderboards—but outside it, I still sound like I’ve never spoken Spanish before. So, now that borders are open, a trip to Spain is definitely on the cards.
Murray: That sounds like a great plan. What about your professional success?
Des: Professionally, there’s been a lot going on. Partner Elevate is now 18 months in, but in the past 90 days I had a big realisation around the concept of “future pacing.” We often hear about future pacing in marketing, but I started thinking about how we do that for our clients—helping them plan for where they want to be, not just where they are now. The pandemic forced us to repackage our program so that businesses could consume it more easily and get the results they need now while building for the future. That’s been a key insight recently.
Murray: Excellent. Let’s unpack that more soon. First, tell us about Partner Elevate—what does the business do?
Des: Partner Elevate exists because my co-founder Ben Shapiro and I saw an opportunity in the channel ecosystem. There’s a lot of ambition in this space, but it lacked a structured way for businesses to truly thrive. We help channel partners—especially in ecosystems like Microsoft’s—become what we call “investible businesses.” These are businesses that vendors prioritise, invest in, and see as growth-ready.
Murray: That ties into your background in the Microsoft ecosystem. What were you doing before Partner Elevate?
Des: I’ve had a great career. I started a Microsoft partner business when I moved to Australia more than 20 years ago. I eventually exited that and went on to work with Brian Cook and Brett Campbell at Linx, which was an incredible learning experience. That’s where Ben and I first met and started what some call a “bromance”! I then joined Microsoft in 2013, initially in the public sector industry team, but quickly moved into the partner space. That was a perfect fit—I got to work with business owners at a time of huge change, moving from client-server models to the cloud.
Murray: What challenges did you see with those businesses?
Des: The biggest thing was a lack of planning. Everyone had a vision, but few had a clear plan—and those who had a plan often didn’t have a strong enough vision. Many technical founders turn their expertise into businesses, but vendor enablement programs don’t really focus on business fundamentals. There’s plenty of technical training, but not much around how to run and grow a sustainable business. That’s the gap Ben and I wanted to fill by bringing a framework like EOS into the Microsoft partner ecosystem around 2019.
Murray: I remember when Microsoft began supporting their partners to implement EOS. It made a big difference. Now at Partner Elevate, how do you help businesses—what’s your process?
Des: We take them through a 12-month journey with three phases: On-Ramp, Basecamp, and Summit. But before that, we make sure there’s a fit—can we solve a real problem for this business, and do we align culturally? In the first 90 days—On-Ramp—we focus on solving the biggest issue we see: generating new business consistently. Most partners struggle with marketing not delivering qualified leads, sales teams wasting time, and over-reliance on existing customers. So we help them generate 30 leads in 90 days—not by giving them leads, but by helping them build the internal systems and strategy to do it themselves.
Murray: That’s a great distinction. You’re not an agency—you’re helping them build their own capability.
Des: Exactly. We want partners to confidently invest in marketing and know what outcomes to expect. At day 75, we have a one-on-one results session where we review outcomes and create a three-point plan for the rest of the journey.
Murray: And how’s it going so far?
Des: We’ve now worked with around 110 partners across APAC. Some standout results include helping Metate—Microsoft’s Korean Partner of the Year—shift from technical to outcome-focused messaging. Another client, Rob from Apache, who runs on EOS, grew his business by 20% with our help.
Murray: That’s impressive. You’ve mentioned EOS a few times—what impact have you seen it make?
Des: Huge. Businesses running on EOS already have a leg up. They’ve got clarity, focus, and a structure to execute. Without that, goals become vague activities, and activities lead to overwhelm. With EOS, execution is sharper and more consistent—and that’s what drives results.
Murray: That aligns well with your focus on “investible partners.” What makes a business investible?
Des: It’s not just about improving marketing or processes. Those are surface-level fixes—the top 10% of the iceberg. What’s under the waterline matters more. The best partners have three things: decisiveness, predictability, and currency. Currency means relevance with both the vendor and the market. Businesses with those traits are future-ready and investment-worthy.
Murray: That’s a really helpful model. For anyone listening who wants to learn more or get in touch, what’s the best way?
Des: Connect with me on LinkedIn and follow the Partner Elevate page. You can also head to partnerelevate.com—there’s a “Get Started” page, and I’d recommend downloading our eBook on what it means to be an investible partner.
Murray: Brilliant. Even just exploring the concept of becoming investible is a valuable first step for many. Marketing and strategy can feel uncomfortable, especially for technically minded founders, so it’s great to have support from people like you, Ben, and Hannah to bridge that gap. And the fact that your program is results-based, not just theoretical, makes a big difference.
Thanks for joining us, Des—it’s been a pleasure.
Des: Thanks, Murray. I really appreciate the opportunity.
“It is execution that delivers results.”