Partner Playbook · Ambassador Program

Growing together —
how we work with growth partners.

How Ontop and its growth agency partners collaborate to identify and connect the right companies with our global workforce platform — who we're looking for, how we evaluate leads together, and how partners earn and grow through the Ontop Ambassador Program.

See the playbook Performance-based · Shared success
01 · The partnership

How we collaborate.

Growth partners bring us introductions to companies that could benefit from Ontop's global workforce platform. Ontop handles qualification, demos, and the sales process. When a partner's introduction activates as a client, they earn — and the more companies they activate, the more they earn per activation.

The model is simple: partners focus on relationships and introductions. Ontop handles the rest. Every activated company earns a flat commission — and that commission grows as partners bring in more clients.
01

Introduction made

Partner submits a prospect via the Ambassador portal with context.

02

Ontop reviews

Our team checks the lead against ICP criteria within 48 hours.

03

SQL accepted

We accept or return the lead with clear written feedback.

04

Commission earned

Flat commission per activated company, growing with each tier milestone.

02 · Partner earnings

The more you bring, the more you earn.

Partners start at Explorer and tier up automatically as they activate more companies. No application or approval needed — hitting the milestone moves the commission rate up on the next activation.

Explorer

Activations to qualify
Join the program
Commission per company
$0
per activated client

Partner

Activations to qualify
5 companies activated
Commission per company
$0
per activated client
★ Top Tier

Elite

Activations to qualify
10+ companies activated
Commission per company
$0
per activated client
Example · How tier progression plays out
Companies 1–4 activated (Explorer)$1,000 each → $4,000
Companies 5–9 activated (Partner)$1,500 each → $7,500
Company 10+ activated (Elite)$2,000 each → $2,000+/company
Total on 10 activations$13,500 earned

Activation = client goes live on Ontop. Commissions are paid monthly via the Ambassador portal. No cap on total earnings — every additional client continues to compound.

03 · Who we're looking for

The companies that are the best fit.

Three types of companies where Ontop creates the most impact. The closer a lead matches one of these, the faster it moves through to activation.

Core ICP · 80% focus

Tech-driven startups & scale-ups

Fast
High-velocity, transactional deals
20+ employees, remote or hybrid
10+ active contractors globally
Series A–C funded
Buyer: Founder, People, or Ops
Immediate compliance or payment pain
Strategic ICP · 20% focus

Mid-market & enterprise orgs

High
Larger ACV, longer sales cycle
250+ employees, fragmented systems
Multi-country distributed workforce
Vendor consolidation initiative
Evaluating contractor-first model
Buyer: VP People, CFO, Head of Ops
Fintech Arm · Emerging

Payments-only use case

New
Payment infra, no contracts needed
Need USD payment infrastructure only
Paying global or cross-border talent
Fintech, creator, or gig platforms
No compliance layer required
Same commission as Core & Strategic
Priority verticalsFintech / WealthtechSaaS / Tech / EdtechStaffing / RecruitmentHR-tech / Professional ServicesGig & Creator platforms
04 · Lead qualification

How we evaluate every introduction.

A clear four-factor framework. Leads that meet all four get accepted quickly. We'll always share our reasoning when a lead doesn't qualify — expect actionable feedback, not just a yes or no.

B

Budget awareness

Company is open to investing in contractor payment infrastructure. Many use free tools (PayPal, Zelle) today — confirming they understand this is a new cost category helps a lot.

A

Decision authority

Connected to a decision-maker or strong influencer — Founder, VP People, Head of Ops, or CFO. Access to senior stakeholders accelerates everything.

N

Confirmed need

A real, active pain point — not purely exploratory. Contractor payments, compliance gaps, cross-border payroll friction, or payment infrastructure needs all qualify.

T

Active timing

In an active change initiative, or expects one within 90 days. Early exploratory conversations are logged as nurture — and can still convert later.

Leads we'd ask you not to submit

Companies needing employer-of-record (EOR) — Ontop focuses exclusively on contractors
Companies with no active contractors and no near-term hiring plans
Purely domestic workforces with no cross-border payment need
Companies already in Ontop's CRM — check with us first, we'll verify quickly
05 · Submitting a lead

What makes a great submission.

All leads are submitted through the Ambassador portal — where you also track every submission in real time, watch leads move to SQL, and monitor tier progress and commission history. More context up front means faster review. Good submissions move in 24–48 hours.

Every submission, status update, and rejection note is logged in the portal — so there's always a clear record of where things stand.

Company name, website, and LinkedIn of the key contact you've spoken with

Number of active contractors and which countries they operate in

How they're currently paying contractors — tells us the pain level and baseline

What triggered the conversation — a job post, funding event, compliance concern, or tool change

Which ICP tier you believe this fits — Core, Strategic, or Fintech Arm

Confirmation that the contact knows Ontop will be in touch

06 · Signals worth targeting

What good opportunities look like in the wild.

Triggers that indicate a company is likely in an active buying cycle — the highest-quality leads consistently come from moments like these.

Hiring signal

Job posts for remote roles in LATAM, or listings specifying "contractor" in emerging markets.

Funding event

Series A/B/C within the last 6 months — expansion capital often means scaling a global team fast.

Tool frustration

Negative G2/Capterra reviews for Deel, Remote, or Papaya — or mentions of switching in the last 90 days.

Compliance exposure

Companies paying contractors via Binance, Zelle, or PayPal — high misclassification risk, immediate pain.

Headcount growth

LinkedIn showing 20%+ headcount growth in 6 months, concentrated in LATAM geographies.

Ops hiring

"Payroll Ops" or "Global Mobility" job posts at a 20–100 person company — clear signal the pain is real.

07 · How we stay aligned

Keeping the partnership healthy.

A long-term relationship built on transparency. Partners get clear feedback on every submission, and we do a monthly review to share what's converting and what to double down on.

Activity
Owner
Cadence
Lead review & SQL decision
Ontop AE
Same day as submission
Rejection feedback (written)
Ontop AE
With every returned lead
Commission payment
Ontop Finance
Monthly via Ambassador portal
Tier milestone update
Ambassador portal
Automatic on activation
Partner performance sync
Sergio
Monthly — conversion rates, top verticals, what's working
Duplicate / conflict check
Sales Ops (Daniela)
At submission — same-day response

If a partner's rejection rate exceeds 50% over 30 days, we'll proactively schedule a briefing call to realign on ICP and signals. Our goal is to make every submission count.

08 · Visibility

No stepping on each other's toes.

Partners get read-only CRM access to two key lists: Ontop's active client roster and all leads currently being worked by the sales team. Before submitting, partners can check directly — no back-and-forth needed.

Active clients

A live list of all companies currently on Ontop. If a company you're considering is already a client, you'll see it here before submitting — saving everyone time.

Leads in progress

All companies currently being worked by an Ontop AE are visible to partners. If a lead is already in motion, you'll know — and we'll flag the context so you can still get credit if you influenced it.

CRM access is view-only and scoped to company name, status, and ownership. No deal values or contact details are exposed. Access is granted through the Ambassador portal once you're onboarded.

09 · Next steps

From playbook to first commission.

01

Onboard to the portal

Get access to the Ambassador portal, the CRM visibility lists, and your tier dashboard.

02

Submit your first lead

Use the ICP, BANT and signals as a guide. We'll review within 24–48 hours with written feedback.

03

Earn and tier up

Every activation pays a flat commission — and unlocks the next tier as you compound.

Ontop · Ambassador Program

You bring the intros.
We share the upside.

Partner Playbook v1.2 · Confidential · May 2026