49 — Marketplace Strategy
Status: CANONICAL · Commercial OS
Owner: Founder
Last verified: 2026-07-29
Constraint honored: IW-Spine-Network publication is release-gated by the
architecture publication contract. Nothing here overrides Customer Zero,
tenant-isolation, approval or marketplace-review gates.
Purpose
The two marketplace surfaces that matter — where we list to be found, and where we distribute to be used — with honest sequencing against the release gates.
Target audience: Founder; future growth hire.
1. Three Different Marketplace Games
Game A — Plugin marketplaces/directories (embedded daily use): publish
IW-Spine-Network Plugin, containing the MCP-backed IW app, focused embedded
UI, workflow skills and optional templates. A user installs it inside ChatGPT,
Codex or another compatible AI host and receives an isolated tenant activated
from the Customer Zero-proven reference profile.
Game B — MCP marketplaces/registries (portable distribution): publish
IW-Spine-Network MCP, the remote exact 19-tool IW Spine Tools server,
optional focused MCP App UI and browser Workbench launch. The full browser UI
works independently from ChatGPT.
Game C — Provider app marketplaces (connection depth and trust): listings
where provider OAuth, installation IDs, webhooks or sync require a native app:
HubSpot App Marketplace, Salesforce AppExchange, Slack App Directory, Zendesk
Marketplace, GitHub and similar channels.
The Plugin does not automatically inherit apps already connected to an AI host.
They participate through host composition, explicit delegation or a direct IW
connector.
2. Sequencing
| Phase | Action | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Now | HubSpot App Marketplace listing prepared (copy, screenshots, security review docs); AppExchange requirements scoped (their security review is months — start paperwork early) | Wedge connector production-hard |
| At public launch (51) | HubSpot listing live; Slack directory live (notification/digest surface) | Launch |
| Post-launch quarter | AppExchange listed; Zendesk listed | Security reviews passed |
| IW-Spine-Network GA | Plugin Directory package, MCP registry package, embedded UI, browser Workbench and skills | Publication contract and Customer Zero gates verified |
3. Listing Standards (Game A)
Every listing is a positioning artifact, not a form-fill:
- Title pattern: "IntegrateWise — [their-noun] intelligence for your whole stack" (e.g., HubSpot: "account intelligence"), never "integration" (category discipline 18 §6).
- First screenshot: the workbench three-beats morning — never a settings page.
- Description: the three failures → the workbench answer in ≤ 80 words; canonical lines only; "works with the tools you keep."
- Reviews flywheel: every design partner + activated customer asked once for a marketplace review at day-90 review (their realized numbers make the review write itself).
- Security/compliance sections: verbatim from 42 Security FAQ — one source of truth.
4. Marketplace Economics & Expectations (honest)
Marketplaces are credibility and intent-capture channels at our stage, not volume channels: expected contribution ≈ 5–10% of pipeline by end-2027, with above-average conversion (stack-fit is pre-qualified). Rev-share on marketplace-sourced deals (where applicable) is a cost of presence, not a channel P&L. The real return: co-install proof in sales conversations ("we're in your HubSpot marketplace") and SEO-adjacent surface area (55).
KPIs: listings live per phase-plan · marketplace-sourced signups and their activation rate vs. baseline · review count/rating (target ≥ 4.5) · AppExchange security review passed by target quarter · Bridge GA only after 5/5 doctrine gates (tracked as a compliance metric, not a growth metric).
Related: 48 Partner Strategy · 51 Launch · 55 SEO · Doctrine: ../../doctrine/04-distribution-access-doctrine.md