Grow Together: A Framework for Collaboration | Tory Burch Foundation

“Community is not a soft benefit. It’s the cheapest growth engine you will ever have.”

That’s attorney and executive coach Nicole Cober on the power of collaboration and its ability to increase capital, expand capacity and strengthen leadership. She would know. As the founder of The Bow Collective, she’s built a network of more than 300 Black women-owned businesses whose members generate $2 billion annually—and they do it by working with one another.

As she put it: “A community that does not do transactions together is just a social club.”

Cober joined our webinar series to share how to create a trusted coalition of your own, from identifying the right partners to her practical playbook for driving meaningful, measurable results.

WHY COLLABORATION MATTERS

Strategic partnerships offer advantages to entrepreneurs beyond reach. You get built-in credibility with new customers, a combined team can compete with larger firms for bigger opportunities, and shared expertise means fewer mistakes. Go it alone and the expenses go up: ads, cold outreach, hiring and learning by trial and error.

Then there are the less tangible benefits. “Founders who feel alone quit sooner,” Cober said, noting that those with a support system “stay in the game long enough for growth to compound.”

She pointed out that many of the women in The Bow Collective run multimillion-dollar companies while raising families, helming nonprofits and volunteering at church. “You’re always going to be balancing life,” Cober added. “Balance is having great partners. My husband is a great partner. Teamwork makes the dream work on every front.”

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PARTNERS

The goal is to find people who align with your vision and values. They should, naturally, have the right qualifications, the required certifications and a good track record. But don’t overlook interpersonal skills, like listening well. “They’re foundational because when things go awry, it’s usually because you didn’t have good communication,” Cober explained.

Show what’s in it for them—not you. Know your own worth, too. Because you can’t assess somebody’s value if you can’t measure your own.

The best collaborations pair complementary strengths, with both sides committed to and motivated by a collective win. Determine which firms you’d like to collaborate with—Cober recommended starting with five—then set up a standing monthly call for check-ins.

THE FIVE-STEP FRAMEWORK

Whether you’re leading a large corporation or a company of one, the framework is the same.

And remember: don’t rush the process. Cober likened it to baking cookies. “You’ve got to put the time in and let those authentic relationships mature,” she said. “You can’t keep opening the oven; you’ve got to let them bake.”

1. Buy from each other.
   
   The fastest way to prove a community creates revenue is to make it your first customer. Every dollar you spend outside your circle is a dollar someone inside it could have earned. Before every purchase, ask: could someone I know do this?
   
   • Audit your spend. List every vendor you paid last quarter, from events and marketing to legal and accounting. Mark the ones a peer could have done.
   • Hire inside first. Give the next contract to someone in your circle, and make sure you pay them on time. “Paying your peers late kills community faster than anything,” Cober said.
   • Make it visible. Tell the group who you hired and why. Others will follow.
   • Track what you spend within the network. A number you track becomes one that grows.
     
2. Team up for bigger work.
   
   Think your business is too small to land big-ticket projects? Link up with two or three others and bid together. The company that spots the opportunity takes point—”so there’s no question of competition,” Cober said—and the rest are subcontracted.
   
   • Pick partners based on fit, not friendship. What can they bring that you can’t? Consider geography, capability, certifications and expertise. Collectively, you should cover the full scope of work.
   • Set the terms and put it in writing. The contract should include who leads, who delivers and how payment will be split. “Money conversations are easier before the deal and impossible after,” said Cober.
   • Bid one size up—just beyond your capacity, not wildly beyond it. Stretch, don’t overreach.
     
     Pro Tip: If you have employees, designate one to own partnerships. “Teaming never happens without an owner,” Cober said.
     
3. Refer purposefully.
   
   Referrals don’t happen by accident. They happen because there’s a place and a rhythm for asking. Cober outlined the below system to keep them coming. “Structure is what turns goodwill into revenue,” she explained.
   
   • Make it a habit. Schedule a weekly call or start a thread dedicated to asks and offers. The Bow Collective has Bow and Grow Tuesdays, when opportunities and referrals are sent to the entire membership.
   • Own your lane. Members should have a clear focus so they become the go-to when someone needs a referral.
   • Give before you ask. Make one referral a week before asking for one. “It shows you are not exclusively self-seeking,” said Cober. “Referrals flow to people who refer.”
   • Let members teach—and pay them for it. This becomes both a referral engine and revenue.
     
4. Create a safe space. 
   
   Running a business is lonely. Nobody on your payroll can hear your fears, and nobody at home fully understands them. Reframe this isolation by cultivating a trusted circle “to say what you know, what you don’t, what you’ve won, what you’ve lost,” said Cober. “This step is the reason members stay long enough for the money to matter.”
   
   • Find your five, the people who will be honest with you and cheer you on.
   • Establish ground rules for member vetting, orientation and conduct.
   • Keep it cozy. Make it easy for people, especially newcomers, to form real connections through intimate group dinners and one-to-one pairings.
   • Don’t just talk shop. “We’re talking about health, faith, grief and celebrations,” said Cober. “Showing up in the losses and wins is the secret sauce.”
     
     Pro Tip: Peer connection is great for your own staff, too. Leaders lead better, and there’s less turnover.
     
5. Own together.
   
   The deepest form of community is shared ownership. Invest together in equipment, property or a business. “Equity is also a retention tool,” Cober pointed out. “A team that co-owns a piece of the deal stays.”
   
   •  Start small—one deal, a few people, always with written terms.
   • Pool what you have. Capital, credit and bonding capacity all count.
   • Buy each other out. Or, if a founder retires, the community can be the buyer.
   • Form a for-profit arm. It lets the community hold assets and contracts and pursue acquisitions.
     

COLLABORATION AT SCALE

When you take your group from state to state, country to country, the impact goes beyond any single company. “You’re now looking at the multiplier effect, the economies of scale,” said Cober. “When a community travels, local economies move.”

She highlighted The Bow Collective’s annual conference as an example. The entire membership travels to one destination, bringing hundreds of business owners—and their spending. They block rooms and meeting space at hotels. They hire local vendors—e.g., caterers, transport, entertainers—who then join the network as future partners. They shop, dine and explore for days, sending more money to small businesses on the ground.

The connections don’t stop there: founders also meet with government and tourism leaders to gain a foothold in the market. “Travel, spend locally with intention and ask to meet the people who run the place,” Cober advised.