Claude Partner Program: Two-Person Consultancy Solves 10-Person Requirement with Certified Independents

An AI consultancy with just two people got into Anthropic's Partner Program with Claude's help — and now they're using Claude to solve the 10-person minimum requirement by building a network of certified independent contractors.

The Problem

The Partner Program requires at least 10 people. The team has two. They've been building agent workflows, MCP server integrations, and full-stack AI products for clients for the past year. They deliver real implementation work but don't have 10 employees.

How They Used Claude

• Wrote the Partner Program application
• Structured their pitch
• Figured out positioning — they got accepted
• Now using Claude to write outreach messages, identify missing specialties, and draft the LinkedIn post that got responses from experienced independent devs and fractional CTOs

Their Solution: A Bench of Certified Independents

They're assembling a group of independent developers across specialties: full-stack, DevOps, healthcare AI, security, agent architecture. Everyone must complete four Anthropic Academy courses:

• Building with Claude
• Prompt Engineering
• Tool Use
• Claude for Enterprise

After certification, the group can go after implementation work together that none could land solo.

What They're Asking the Community

• Has anyone else pulled together outside independents to meet the 10-person requirement?
• For those who completed the training courses: how long did it take and what did you think of the content?
• Is there a partner community or Slack where people share notes on this process?

Bottom Line

This is a practical case of a tiny team using Claude both as a strategic tool (writing applications, structuring pitches) and as an operational tool (writing outreach, identifying gaps). If you're in the Partner Program or considering it, their model of a certified independent bench might be worth studying.