Mr. Pollack, in a tux.

Business development professionals still don't have their own noun. It's either "I do biz dev for ____" or "she's in biz dev" or, our favorite, "they're biz dev folks." Maybe business... developers? Bizzy devvers? Bizzy dev bees? Hustlers-in-chief? Someone should come up with a phrase quick, because biz dev folks are increasingly visible and sought after, and more and more job listings are asking for biz dev rockstars and ninjas.

Nowhere does the business developer shine more than at the small, scrappy startup with a million users whose revenue possibilities are basically anywhere between zero and infinity. "Business Development is a mysterious title for a little discussed function or department in most larger companies. It's also a great way for an entrepreneur or small business to have fun, create value and make money," the marketing pundit Seth Godin wrote in 2009. "And often it's a little guy who can be flexible enough to make things happen."

While biz dev is still somewhat behind the scenes, some of these players are moving into the spotlight. Foursquare's Tristan Walker is usually cited as the Platonic biz dev ideal—tenacious but not too obnoxious, energetic but not too manic, and super creative. Under his direction, Foursquare has closed deals with tiny East Village restaurants all the way up to chains like Payless and mega, global companies like American Express. Betabeat recently noticed some restaurants have their menus in Foursquare now, thanks to Battery Park startup SinglePlatform (and their EVP of biz dev, Kenny Herman). Keith Rabois is another star, of course; locally, Aviary's Alex Taub and Foursquare's Eric Friedman both write blogs.

Scott Pollack, who does biz dev for American Express, teaches a class on business development through Skillshare and General Assembly. He hosted one last night, he told Betabeat by phone, for newbies from all backgrounds who want to get into the biz dev game. Students include startup founders and freelancers.

"The term applies broadly across startups or big companies," said Mr. Pollack, who is contemplating writing a book about biz dev called The Start of the Deal. "The challenge with it is one of the reasons I started this class is, I dont think there is one consistent definition out there as to what exactly business development is."

That's actually how he opens his class, which he started teaching partially in order to explore opportunities in the startup world. Mr. Pollack, unlike some other biz dev people we know, is the opposite of abrasive. He speaks at a normal pace and does not seem overcaffeinated. He did not try to sell us anything. And yet somehow, at the end of the conversation, we decided we should really write an article about biz dev.

"I'm trying to be the diplomat of business development," he said. "There are a lot of
strong personalities out there. There's certainly a sales component to any business development job and traditionally sales people have strong personalities and it's like, close deals immediately! There's a proactive drive and aggressiveness that definitely serves a purpose and has lots of value, but you also need a desire to truly hear out the other side."

He says he's definitely noticed a growing number of business development-centric events around the city. It's pretty gender-balanced, he said, which surprised us—especially given the dearth of women on this list. Four guys and two women attended Mr. Pollack's class last night, but it's usually 50-50, he said, and he pointed out that Skillshare recently hired Abigail Besdin to head up brand partnerships and business development. Aol's Andrea Hong made it into the Betabeat Most Poachable list. (Huh, that sorta nixes our "BD Bros" slideshow idea.)

In fact, Mr. Pollack attended a business development breakfast on Tuesday hosted by Kristal Bergfield, who works in formerly did business development for Amex, that was "definitely populated by a good mix of genders." Her choice words for what it is, exactly, she does there: "Marketer. Connector. Deal maker."

Paul Murphy - VP of Business Development at Aviary

Hot on the heels of their successful hack day, Aviary launched a mobile SDK today to embed their photo editing tools into mobile apps. They launched with 31 partners including Picplz, Pictour, Pixable, Piictu, Getaround, Fashism, Yumalicious, Minus and iSocialize.

"Right now it's all about distribution for us," says Aviary's Biz Dev artiste, Alex Taub. "We want to get this in the hands of as many developers as possible, then monetize down the line with premium tools and services."

To that end Aviary has just hired Paul Murphy, an eight year vet of Microsoft, who prior to Aviary was chief of staff for Office, Redmond's largest division.

"I've always been passionate about the startup space and I wanted to find a great team with good investors," Mr. Murphy told Betabeat by phone. "Photos are a part of so many mobile apps these days. My job is to take us to the next level, to help Aviary figure out where the rubber meets the road."

Betabeat doesn't know much about rubber roads, but it seems like Aviary is making a big push to expand its developer base and business partnerships.

That comic book filter does wonders for the abs

This is a guest post by Alex Taub, who leads business development and partnerships at Aviary. He blogs at alexsrandomtechthoughts.tumblr.com

So you’re stuck in NYC for the last two weeks of August (and survived the earthquake/hurricane/tornado/zombie-pocalypse). You work at a startup in business development and don’t want to be dead weight as the summer comes to an end. You could probably convince your CEO that drink-up is a totally worthwhile use of your afternoon, but be honest with yourself, all the important folks are already checking in to their favorite clam shacks out in Montauk and the Hamptons. Here is a list of five things you can do to actually be productive in the dog days of summer.

1. Regroup

You probably have a list of companies you would like to work with. Take a day or two to make sure all notes, statistics, and info on partners and prospective partners are up to date. This will help you prioritize those dream meetings, and prep you to hit it out of the park with those companies  once things are back in full swing.

2. Strategize

Once you’ve regrouped, it’s time to figure out the best plan of action for the rest of the year. Who are you going after? Why will you go after them? And perhaps more importantly--how? Your strategy will depend on what industry you are in. Aviary, for example, works on having our photo editing tools implemented on third-party websites. When we think of strategy, we focus on sites that (1) allow for photo uploading and (2) could use photo editing solutions. This list is broken down into verticals.

We then ask ourselves a slew of questions: Do we want to go after dating sites? Blogging platforms? Marketplaces? Social networks? Do we focus on all the companies in one vertical, or do we go after one company in each vertical? Do we go after one 800 pound gorilla partner, or multiple smaller partners? The process of addressing these details is all part of the strategy process. Now is the time to talk with your team and figure out the best way to proceed.

3. Put Together A Killer Partnership Proposal

While regrouping and strategizing you should be putting together your materials to go and close that killer deal. It should include pages on your product overview, your partner-specific solution, benefits, pricing, examples of existing partnerships, and next steps. Putting together a killer proposal for prospective partners is like showing up to a knife fight with a bazooka.

4. Catch Up On Reading

When you are working hard, it's easy to miss a lot of news. This is your time to catch up. Did you read that awesome piece by Marc Andreessen in the WSJ? What about Mark Suster's article, What Startups Can Learn About PR And Crisis Management? How about the blog post by Fred Wilson, Users First, Brands Second? Staying up-to-date on tech news and BD go hand in hand (hearing about new companies, acquisitions, funding, etc). Get reading. Now.

5.  Get A Tap On What’s Going On In Startup-ville

Similarly, working hard with your head down can cause you to lose touch with current happenings in the startup world. Talk to VCs, entrepreneurs, and press people about what they are seeing: what’s interesting, trending, or upcoming? Go out and catch up with people. Ask them what they are up to, tell them what you are working on. Get your finger back on the pulse of what is to come.

While the pace of work may be slower than normal for the next two weeks, there is plenty to do to put yourself--and your company--in a great position to capitalize when things pick up again.