MSP Mindset with Damien Stevens

✅ Not sure about full support, we’re giving away our process for you to check out for yourself: https://bit.ly/4hCw4Wi

In this episode, Harjit Singh of Transacta Capital shares insights on how smaller MSPs can leverage creative financing to fund MSP acquisitions and drive growth. He shares how MSPs in the $250k-$500k EBITDA range can utilize SBA loans and peer financing to acquire other firms, without the need for private equity; how community banks and credit unions may be more willing to provide acquisition financing compared to larger institutions, and how to overcome the "mindset roadblock" that holds back many MSPs from pursuing M&A. If you're looking to grow through strategic acquisitions, don't miss Harjit’s insights on MSP M&A financing.

🕵️Check out IT by Design: https://itbd.net/
🖊️Sign up for Build IT 2025: https://itbd.net/live/

🤝 Connect with Harjit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harjits/
🤝 Check out Transacta Capital today: https://transactacapital.com/
🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

✅ Not sure about full support, we’re giving away our process for you to check out for yourself: https://bit.ly/4hCw4Wi

In this episode, Harold Mann, the Co-founder of Mann Consulting (a top 500 MSP based in San Francisco), shares insights on turning employee complaints into operational advantages and emphasizing the importance of building a culture that encourages feedback and using it to drive continuous improvement. He discusses practical examples of enhancing efficiency through automation, the need for IT professionals to set boundaries and prioritize employee well-being, and potential for AI in the near future.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:57 - Why he started
5:27 - Saying "yes" too much
11:34 - Operational Efficiency
25:30 - Creating a culture of self-care
31:10 - His niche
37:55 - What does he attribute to his growth?
43:04 - Not burning out in IT
53:02 - MSP Titan Questions
1:07:17 - Conclusion

📈Sign up for Growcon today! https://growcon.com/

🤝 Connect with Harold: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hmann/
🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

✅ Not sure about full support, we’re giving away our process for you to check out for yourself: https://bit.ly/4hCw4Wi

AI is the wave of the future, and if you wait too long to jump on, it could come back to bite you... Fortunately, on today's episode, Jimmy Hatzell, CEO of Hatz AI, joins the show to discuss how your MSP can make money with AI right now, and what you should be doing to prepare. Because the MSPs that learn to leverage AI now are positioning themselves well for 3-5 years down the road. Don't get left behind in the rise of AI.

0:00 - Intro
0:54 - Are MSPs making money from AI?
6:07 - Don't be scared of AI
14:21 - How do I prepare my MSP for AI?
18:16 - Real world cases for AI
31:22 - How to be a leader in AI for your clients
38:43 - Putting your team on AI
41:31 - What Jimmy's excited about with AI
45:17 - AI trends now

🕵️Check out IT by Design: https://itbd.net/
🖊️Sign up for Build IT 2025: https://itbd.net/live/

🤝 Connect with Jimmy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hatzell/
🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

✅ Not sure about full support, we’re giving away our process for you to check out for yourself: https://bit.ly/4hCw4Wi

On this week's episode, Jeffrey Newton, co-founder of Cyft, shares how he broke operations at an MSP because of insane sales, adding $3 million in recurring revenue in just 28 months. Insane growth is possible for your MSP, but are you willing to pay the price that growth requires? For Jeff's MSP, the owner had to allocate serious resources toward growth and the ROI wasn't overnight... And are you willing to take on the challenges that quick growth brings with it? For Jeff's MSP, their operations was completely broken by the sales team (good problem to have) and they had to make a tough decision on how to fix it. If you'd like to learn how Jeff created insane growth while also having to fix operations, then listen to today's episode.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:30 - Jeff's Evolution
8:17 - Getting humbled by sales
15:14 - Being challenged (goal of 50% growth per year)
17:42 - Breaking operations
26:27 - Fixing operations and hard conversations
38:45 - Everything must in line
44:11 - Having the right mindset for sales as the owner
1:06:45 - How do I find a sales leader?
1:10:50 - What he's doing now
1:19:55 - Conclusion

📈 Sign up for Growcon 2024 today! https://growcon.com/

🤝 Connect with Jeff:
🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

✅ Not sure about full support, we’re giving away our process for you to check out for yourself: https://bit.ly/4hCw4Wi

Kelsey Randhawa, the COO of the $680M Lyra Technology Group, discusses the company's unique "family of brands" model for aggregating and supporting over 70 global MSPs. She shares insights on Lyra's focus on investing in people, process and productivity versus just technology, as well as the value of the Chief of Staff role. Kelsey provides advice for MSP owners on overcoming common challenges like over-reliance on marketing and junior sales, while highlighting future trends in automation, AI and cybersecurity that MSPs must address. She emphasizes the importance of succession planning and building a resilient, next-generation business for sustainable growth.

🕵️Check out IT by Design: https://itbd.net/
🖊️Sign up for Build IT 2025: https://itbd.net/live/

🤝 Connect with Kelsey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-randhawa/
🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

✅ Not sure about full support, we’re giving away our process for you to check out for yourself: https://bit.ly/4hCw4Wi

On this week's episode, we continue our MSP Titans series, where we interview 100 of the top MSPs in the nation. This week's guest is Stuart Bryan, CEO of I-M Technology. Stuart realized that in order to grow his MSP he couldn’t keep all his clients — over 50% of them, to be exact. It led to some rough moments, but the results speak for themselves: he now has a happier team and a more prosperous MSP.
But that’s not all Stuart shares. He discusses how he apologized to all his shareholders for not leading the business well, how he instills a sense of ownership within his team’s culture, and how to make IT an advantage for clients.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:32 - How he started
9:47 - Apologizing to his shareholders
16:54 - Instilling ownership in his team's culture
22:36 - Less then 1/2 the clients they used to have
35:40 - How to make IT an advantage
44:58 - How he got past his personal wall
57:07 - MSP Titan Questions
1:12:50 - Conclusion

🤝 Connect with Stuart: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartjbryan/
🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

✅ Not sure about full support, we’re giving away our process for you to check out for yourself: https://bit.ly/4hCw4Wi

What are you doing now to prepare your MSP for exit? If nothing, that’s probably not a good idea… It’s always good to be prepared because you never know when that perfect offer may come, or on the opposite side, if you get sick and can’t run the business anymore. If your MSP isn’t functioning in a mature state, then don’t expect to get what you want in the sale. But, if you prepare now, you can make sure your MSP’s value is where it needs to be.

🕵️Check out IT by Design: https://itbd.net/
🖊️Sign up for Build IT 2025: https://itbd.net/live/

🤝 Connect with Christopher: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cvollmondcarstens/
🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

✅ Not sure about full support, we’re giving away our process for you to check out for yourself: https://bit.ly/4hCw4Wi

Does your MSP struggle to stand out against the rest? It's a problem most MSPs face, but not all... In today's episode, Jordan Alcott, CEO of Alcott Enterprise, shares about his journey into the MSP world, and what he and his team have done to differentiate from the hundreds of other MSPs they're competing against in the crowded LA/nationwide market - he's the 2nd fastest growing MSP in the entire LA area and has had multiple years in a row of quadrupling his business.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:10 - Crazy growth 2020 and sustaining it afterwards
15:21 - Setting expectations with clients
20:35 - Understanding where you clients want to go
23:13 - His background into tech through Direct TV
27:24 - Putting IT talk into business talk
42:14 - Differentiating in LA
49:06 - Quadrupling growth several years in a row
59:52 - MSP Titan Questions
1:09:54 - Conclusion

🤝 Connect with Jordan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanalcott/
🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

✅ Not sure about full support, we’re giving away our process for you to check out for yourself: https://bit.ly/4hCw4Wi

We all say we grow by “referrals”, but can you claim your MSP grows largely by referrals at an average of 25% each year? For Sarabjit, CEO of 5 Rivers Technology, that’s his reality, and it wasn’t created by coincidence either. He’s applied a mindset to his business that’s helped his MSP flourish and grow without a sales team (they just hired their first sales person last year). So if you’d like to learn how to get solid referrals (and enought to actually grow your business), then check out today’s episode with Sarabjit.

🕵️Check out IT by Design: https://itbd.net/
🖊️Sign up for Build IT 2025: https://itbd.net/live/

🤝 Connect with Sarabjit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarabjit-singh-frit/
🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens

📺 Watch on YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzzyR7yX9l9XQaZCBp0v0g

✅ Not sure about full support, we’re giving away our process for you to check out for yourself: https://bit.ly/4hCw4Wi

Is your MSP's goal to help others or to just provide a service? If you're not making it about your clients, you'll never see great success. For Val, CEO of Whitehat Virtual Technologies, he attributes his success to going over and beyond in delivering value to his clients. It's his mission to support their missions. By putting their business needs at the forefront, he's been able to grow his business while making it all about them. This is interview 8 in our series MSP Titans, where we're interviewing 100 of the top 500 MSPs on the planet.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:53 - His first three years
9:08 - Not crushing your team
28:10 - Culture + hiring
33:14 - Val's Mission (making it about their mission)
43:50 - What caused his growth?
55:08 - What's his biggest constraint?
59:58 - MSP Titan Questions
1:14:34 - Conclusion

🤝 Connect with Val: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valking/
🤝 Connect with Damien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstevens