Making deals is a big part of what we do. A lot of time and energy goes into negotiating the usual business terms like fees, deliverables, territory, length of agreement, exclusivity, and so on. These are all important. But the real sign of a successful deal is something you can’t find in the fine print: fairness.

After years of shaping deals that last – whether that’s full-service 360 agreements with strategic investment, SaaS partnerships, or inventive combinations in between – I’ve come to believe that the strongest ones have three things in common: empathy, honesty, and balance. These are the principles that guide how we sign and sustain deals for the long term.

Read the full article on the Downtown Journal.