Onboarding roadmap_
Expected completion: 90 days · Steps 1–5 are self-serve. Work top to bottom — your progress is saved in this browser.
Pick your Marketplace delivery path to trim step 03 to the packaging tasks that apply — SaaS, ML model (SageMaker), or AMI/Container. Shipping an AI agent? Choose SaaS.
Early to mid-stage, VC-backed startups follow the outlined steps to participate in the AWS Global Startup Program. Confirm your stage and that your product runs on — or integrates with — AWS.
For early to mid-stage, VC-backed startups building on AWS.
Early to mid-stage and VC-backed, with a product that runs on or integrates with AWS.
Your software should run on, or be integrated with, AWS — the basis for the Software Path in the next step.
Join the APN at no cost by creating your AWS Partner Central account in the new AWS Console-native experience. Enroll in the Software Path — designed for organizations that develop software that runs on or is integrated with AWS. After registration you receive a welcome email with prescriptive guidance on what to submit to the AWS Global Startup team.
Free. Then complete your “Better Together” story form and Qualification form from the welcome email.
Join the APN at no cost. On the Partner Central sign-in page, use the RIGHT-hand option — “New or migrated partner → Sign in to AWS Console” — then choose “Become an AWS Partner”. This registers you directly in the new AWS Console-native Partner Central.
Important: new startups must start in the new AWS Console-native experience — the RIGHT-hand “Sign in to AWS Console” option. Do NOT pick the left-hand “Sign in to Partner Central (legacy)”. Starting in the legacy console forces you through an extra migration step later; choosing AWS Console from the start avoids it entirely. And have the right person register: whoever starts becomes the partner alliance lead, and business registration is hard to reverse — resetting a mis-started one takes an AWS Support case (typically 7–10 business days).
For organizations that develop software that runs on or is integrated with AWS. Joining the APN is free; path enrollment carries the annual APN fee (currently USD 2,500), which AWS returns as promotional credits.
Submitted to the AWS Global Startup team for evaluation (linked in your welcome email).
Follow the instructions in the welcome email to submit.
With your APN registration underway, create your AWS Marketplace listing — the Global Startup Program requires at least one published product. Verify seller eligibility, set up a dedicated AWS account for Marketplace, complete seller registration (tax, banking, disbursement, KYC), then package and publish in your delivery format: SaaS, AMI, Container, Professional Services — or an ML product through SageMaker.
AWS recommends a dedicated AWS account used exclusively for Marketplace, registered with your company’s US billing details. Use the product-path selector above to see only the packaging tasks that apply to your listing.
Confirm your legal entity is incorporated in an eligible jurisdiction — US, UK, EU member states, Australia, Japan, UAE, Colombia, Israel, South Korea, Switzerland, Norway, Bahrain, Qatar, New Zealand, or Hong Kong SAR — and that you have production-ready software with a defined customer-support process.
AWS recommends a separate AWS account used exclusively for Marketplace, so disbursements (product-sale payments) and reporting stay isolated from your other AWS accounts.
Set the account root to a generic inbox you control — e.g. aws-marketplace@yourcompany.com — shared by whoever runs Marketplace operations, and configure it with your company’s US billing details. If the management account’s billing address is outside the US, disable tax inheritance before creating the new account.
Register via the AWS Marketplace Management Portal — the account you use becomes the seller of record when a customer subscribes.
US entities submit a W-9; non-US sellers submit a W-8 plus VAT/GST registration.
A US bank account for US entities, or a SWIFT-enabled account in an eligible jurisdiction — or a virtual US bank account via Hyperwallet. Bank verification finalizes registration and unlocks product publishing.
Choose how and when AWS pays out your Marketplace proceeds.
Required to sell into EMEA; also for South Korea, and for UK bank-account disbursements.
Package your product as SaaS, AMI, Container, or Professional Services — then work the tasks for your path below. Define simple products in the Products tab; for complex ones, complete a Product Load Form (PLF).
Shipping an AI agent? List it under the Marketplace “AI Agents & Tools” category — delivery is typically SaaS-style, so follow the SaaS path.
- SaaS path
Register the SaaS product with its fulfillment URL and pricing model — contracts (upfront commitment) or subscriptions (pay-as-you-go) — and public pricing dimensions.
- SaaS path
Resolve the buyer when AWS redirects to your fulfillment URL (ResolveCustomer), then report usage (BatchMeterUsage) or check entitlements for contract products. A SaaS listing is not functional until this integration works.
- SaaS path
From a separate test account, walk the full flow before going live: subscribe → fulfillment redirect → onboarding → metering/entitlement. Keep the listing limited while you test.
- ML model path
A SageMaker Algorithm is a trainable product — it ships training + inference containers, and buyers train on their own data. A Model Package is pre-trained, inference-only. Products that must learn from each buyer’s data are Algorithms.
- ML model path
Build SageMaker-compatible training/inference images, push them to seller-owned ECR, and create the SageMaker resource with CertifyForMarketplace enabled — the flag is fixed at creation (recreate to change it) and runs validation plus a security scan.
Certification runs your containers with network isolation — any runtime call to the internet fails the scan. Build-time package installs are fine; runtime downloads are not.
- ML model path
A sample Jupyter notebook demonstrating the full workflow (AWS requires it hosted on GitHub), real-time and batch input/output samples, and recommended instance types — including batch-transform instances.
- ML model path
ML products start at Limited visibility — visible only to your account plus allowlisted AWS account IDs. Share privately by allowlisting specific buyers, use private offers for custom terms, and promote to Public only when you choose to.
- ML model path
Subscribe from a real buyer account and run the whole journey: train on buyer-owned data → deploy from the subscribed algorithm via a model package → invoke → clean up. Same-account tests never exercise the Marketplace entitlement and can hide listing defects.
- AMI / Container path
Prepare the image per AWS Marketplace policies, pass the vulnerability scans, and provide CloudFormation templates where applicable.
- Automation soon
Submit your listing (PLF and any CloudFormation templates) via the Management Portal, then monitor status while AWS reviews it for policy, security, and usability before publishing.
From the Management Portal: update products, track usage and revenue reports (available within hours of launch), run go-to-market activities, and let the automatic AMI vulnerability scans do their job.
The FTR is not required to list and sell on AWS Marketplace. It is a prerequisite only if you pursue AWS ISV Accelerate co-selling (Phase 2). If you are pursuing it: evaluate your software architecture against the validation checklist and complete the review to demonstrate AWS best practices.
Only needed if you apply for ISV Accelerate — you can list and sell on AWS Marketplace without it.
Learn how to validate your product.
The FTR is only a must if you apply for ISV Accelerate (co-selling with AWS — Phase 2). To just list and sell on AWS Marketplace, you can stop after step 03.
Review the FTR Guide and self-assess your software architecture.
- Automation soon
Become eligible for the AWS Customer Engagements (ACE) program. Share 10 “qualified” partner opportunities (over a rolling 12-month period) with AWS through the ACE Pipeline Manager in Partner Central, and upload 2 public references.
Co-sell readiness: ACE Pipeline Manager (opportunities) + the “Market” tab (references).
- Automation soon
Over a rolling 12-month period, in Partner Central.
In Partner Central.
Once you have completed steps 1–5, apply for the ISV Accelerate program. Upon acceptance, reach out to the AWS Global Startup team to apply for the Global Startup Program.
Support contact: startuppartners@amazon.com
Upon acceptance, reach out to startuppartners@amazon.com.
Need a hand?
binbash is an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner. We can pair with your team on FTR, Marketplace listings, and ACE opportunities to accelerate every step — and advisory engagements are frequently eligible for AWS Startups funding programs, often fully covered.
Book a call with binbash →Eligibility prerequisites + the official four-stage motion — Build, Co-Sell, Accelerate, Scale — to co-sell with AWS field teams.