Product Partnerships & Strategic Alliances

I turn partnerships into growth channels.

I've spent 20 years across SaaS, e-commerce, retail technology, product strategy, and marketing. Today I lead strategic partnerships for POP.STORE, building programs from zero, working shoulder to shoulder with Product and Engineering, and turning partner relationships into revenue.

Head of Strategic Partnerships, CommentSold / POP.STORE Huntsville, AL · Remote MBA, University of Alabama in Huntsville

Where I've worked

CommentSold · 2018–Present
POP.STORE · 2025–Present
Intergraph, now Hexagon · 2010–2012
Chili's · 2006–2010

Selected work

Programs I built or led, and the results they produced.

Program design · CommentSold · 2020–2026

A partner ecosystem behind 30%+ of new business

I built and managed four partnership program types and a certified partner ecosystem at CommentSold, a platform processing roughly $1B in GMV a year, and built and led the four-person team that ran it. Partner-sourced leads became one of the company's most valuable channels.

30%+of new business came from partner-sourced leads

44%higher GMV from partner leads than non-partner leads

~$1Bin annual GMV on the platform

Launch · 2025

Bringing POP.STORE to market, starting with real estate

Helped launch and commercialize POP.STORE, a creator-first commerce and AI platform, and built its vertical go-to-market. I look for segments where the product fits naturally and a community is ready to adopt it. Real estate was one, and I grew it with a partner-led playbook.

Pilots
Events
Community nurturing
Brand ambassadors

Sponsorship · 2026

VidCon 2026 title sponsorship

Built POP.STORE's title sponsorship at VidCon and its flagship activation, a live space for product education, creator feedback, and partnership development with the creators we serve.

515sign-ups from the flagship activation

Go-to-market · 2018–2020

Scaling CommentSold's marketing engine

Joined early as Marketing Director and built the go-to-market infrastructure, hiring the team and running a $2M ad budget as the company grew from 5 to 150 employees.

$0→$75Mmonthly GMV

300→5Kdaily active customers

Experience

Nine years at CommentSold, after founding and running a SaaS company.

Sep 2026 – Present

Head of Strategic Partnerships

CommentSold / POP.STORE · Remote

Lead POP.STORE's strategic partnerships with creators, talent agencies, coaches, and communities. Build new partnership motions from 0 to 1, feed partner and market insight into the product roadmap and build-versus-partner decisions, and own senior external relationships and joint programs.

Apr 2020 – Sep 2026

Senior Director of Partnerships

CommentSold · Remote

Helped launch POP.STORE, opened the real-estate segment, built the VidCon 2026 title sponsorship, and created a certified partner ecosystem whose leads drove more than 30% of new business for a platform processing roughly $1B in GMV a year. Built and managed a four-person partnerships team; promoted to Head of Strategic Partnerships.

2018 – 2020

Marketing Director

CommentSold · Remote

Joined early and built go-to-market infrastructure as the company grew from 5 to 150 employees and from $0 to $75M in monthly GMV. Hired and led the marketing team, managed a $2M ad budget, reached about 1,200 new MQLs in my final quarter, and helped grow daily active customers from 300 to 5,000.

2012 – 2018

Co-Founder & President

Sharp Auction Engine, Inc. · Huntsville, AL

Co-founded and led a SaaS product business: product vision, roadmap, pricing, and commercialization. Built pricing models from CAC, lifetime value, and margin, and set up scalable sales, onboarding, and support.

2014 – 2024

Board of Directors

Socianado LLC · Huntsville, AL

Advised a social media marketing agency that helped small businesses across the Tennessee Valley navigate social media marketing, guiding its strategy, business development, and client work.

2010 – 2012

Global Sales & Strategy Operations Analyst

Intergraph (now Hexagon) · Huntsville, AL

Supported global sales strategy with the numbers behind it: Salesforce administration, forecasting, data analysis, and executive reporting. Built channel enablement, onboarding, and process training for sales teams worldwide.

2008 – 2010

Restaurant Manager

Chili's Grill & Bar · Huntsville, AL

Managed a staff of 50+ and served as Training Manager, leading new-hire training and onboarding. Owned food and bar ordering and inventory for daily operations.

2006 – 2008

Franchise Marketing Manager

Chili's Grill & Bar Franchise Group · Birmingham, AL

Corporate marketing liaison for 17 restaurants across the Southeast. Analyzed P&Ls, sales and product trends, pricing, demographics, and competitive performance to shape each market's local growth plan.

What I bring

Product partnerships
Strategic alliances
Ecosystem strategy
Build / buy / partner evaluation
Executive relationships
Complex deal development
0-to-1 programs
Partner GTM
Product & Engineering collaboration
Business cases & ROI
Team leadership
E-commerce & retail tech

Education & community

MBA, Supply Chain & LogisticsUniversity of Alabama in Huntsville

BS, Marketing ManagementUniversity of Alabama in Huntsville

Partnerships, Retail Women in Tech2025 – Present

Former Co-Director, Women Who Code Huntsville

Carolyn Williamson