SMB Community Podcast

Host Karl interviewed Ryan Denehy, Founder and CEO of Electric (www.electric.ai).

Electric manages pretty much any cloud-based services for end users.

Interestingly, they provide support via Slack, Teams, and Email - not through a client-facing ticketing system. Ryan explains that they primarily focus on SaaS management, device management, and network management.

In growing their MSP business, Ryan challenged the assumption that you have to be local and small in order to thrive in the SMB IT market. In particular, they challenged the belief that you have to look people in the eye and ask for their business.

About Ryan:

Ryan Denehy is a 3x entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Electric. Having experienced the pain and frustrations that many business owners encounter in managing their IT infrastructure and support needs, Ryan's light bulb idea to create a cloud-based, real-time, 24-7 IT Support ecosystem laid the foundation for Electric's vision to redefine IT Support for a new generation.

Throughout the pandemic, Electric sought out to be the antithesis of all things "Silicon Valley bro culture". The company has seen demand skyrocket during the pandemic and actually reopened its Series B round in March and April for added funds from Dick Costolo and Adam Bain at 01 Ventures.

Links:

• https://www.electric.ai/
• https://twitter.com/DenehyXXL
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandenehy

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Host Karl caught up with John Hammond, the Senior Cybersecurity Researcher at Huntress. Right at the start is Karl's favorite new term: Ransomware canaries.

Here we discuss the Huntress "Hack_it 2021" event, March 22-24 online. In addition to an all-day "Hacking Windows" pre-day, the event features a variety of great hands-on training. You can see the full agenda at https://www.huntress.com/hack_it_2021.

John is a primary presenter of the event. One of the cool sessions is Making the Malware: A Choose-Your-Own Adventure Exercise. This is a true hands-on opportunity to see how hackers actually plan, design, and execute attacks. Check out all the details and register now.

Huntress is totally focused on cybersecurity detection and prevention. You can sign up for a free demo and kick the tires at https://www.huntress.com.

About John Hammond

Hammond is a cybersecurity instructor, content creator, red teamer, and Capture the Flag enthusiast. As a previous Department of Defense Cyber Training Academy curriculum developer and teacher for the Cyber Threat Emulation course, he educated both civilian and military members on offensive Python, PowerShell, and other scripting languages as well as the adversarial mindset.

Hammond personally developed training material and infosec challenges for events such as PicoCTF, the "Capture the Packet" competition at DEFCON US, and the HacktivityCon CTF with HackerOne. He speaks at security conferences such as BsideDC, to students at colleges such as Clemson University and the US Coast Guard Academy, and other events like the SANS Holiday Hack Challenge/KringleCon.

He is an online YouTube personality showcasing programming tutorials, cyber security guides, and CTF video walkthroughs. John currently holds the following certifications: Security+, eJPT, eCPPT, CEH, PCAP, OSWP, OSCP, OSCE, and OSWE.

Sponsor Memo:

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Join Huntress for their 2nd annual cybersecurity training event, hack_it 2021! Sharpen your tradecraft, network with security professionals and get hands-on training you can actually use in your business. Three days, including a Hacking Windows pre-day and two full days of cybersecurity education. Want to sign up? https://www.huntress.com/hack_it_2021

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Host James Kernan interviews writer Kate Frank about the strategic use to writing as a marketing tool.

Kate is a professional writer with decades of marketing expertise. She has a unique ability to tap into the genius of others and get their message on the page of a book or other media. Most people struggle with identifying their unique proposition for their customers and clients. For Kate, it is an instinct.

Kate is the Editor of Tech UP or Lose OUT, an author in 6 collaborative books, and a ghostwriter in many others.

Web Sites and Links:

• http://authorityredefined.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghostwritingkate/

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Host Karl sat down with Pete Matheson for the second time in two months. Here we get an update on Pete's YouTube channel traffic and the lessons he's learned.

Check out Pete's last appearance here: https://www.smbcommunitypodcast.com/2021/01/pete-matheson-using-video-to-grow-your-it-business/

Basically, Pete saw great opportunities with YouTube, so he jumped in and gave it a lot of his attention. In this podcast, he gives us the update on how he is growing revenue with his channel. He also gives us lots of great tips and tricks on building an audience AND providing business-related content.

Lesson number one: Start a channel!

Lesson two: Just start posting videos. Don't wait until they're great (or perfect). Just do it.

Lesson three: Get comfortable and let people see your personality. After all, that's what people buy.

Pete gives some great examples of the videos he produced as an IT consultant. These are client-facing. From there, he moved to helping IT pros figure out videos for their business.

Sites:

• https://petematheson.co.uk
• https://youtube.com/petematheson
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/petematheson/
• https://twitter.com/petematheson

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Karl and Mike get together for an update on security. As you know, 2020 was quite a year. There was new legislation at the state and local levels, primarily in response to an explosion of sophisticated attacks of ransomware.

We went into a good deal of detail on new NIST and CMMC recommendations, as well as a major update on HIPAA.

Mike Semel is a noted thought leader, speaker, blogger, and best-selling author. He is the President of Semel Consulting, focused on compliance regulations; cyber security; and Business Continuity planning. Mike has also developed Semel Systems, a series of cybersecurity and compliance training and go-to-market systems for MSPs.

Link:

• www.mikesemel.com

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Karl caught up with a fellow CompTIA Executive Committee member, Pete Busam from Equilibrium Consulting. Pete and Karl sit on the Advancing Tech Talent and Diversity E.C.

Pete Busam is the founder and owner of Equilibrium Consulting, LLC, a management consulting and outsourced marketing firm specializing in assisting channel and technology services organizations with establishing partner relationships, and directing IT channel strategy, design and execution.

He has more than 35 years of experience in the channel, where he began as a technician. Since then, he has operated several successful technology services providers and continues to be recognized by clients, partners and channel publications for his outstanding performance, commitment and contributions to the industry.

His thought-provoking insights on the channel have been published by numerous industry-leading trade publications, including CRN, ChannelPro, Channel Futures and Channel Insider. An industry thought leader, he has given presentations and participated in panel discussions at numerous channel events over the years. He has also provided commentary on the industry for The Philadelphia Business Journal, Entrepreneur and the Wall Street Journal.

Fully committed to the communities he immerses himself in, Pete is an active member with CompTIA, The Sales Association Sales Leader Council, Forbes Coaches Council and the American Legion. He is a United States Navy veteran.

Websites

• equilibriumconsult.com
• connectmyPSA.com
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/equilibrium-consulting-llc/
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/EquilibriumConsulting

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Host Karl interviews Paul Katzoff from White Canyon Software.

White Canyon provides software to really, truly, honestly remove all the data on hard drives so it cannot be recovered. As Paul points out, we could download free tools from the internet, but "they don't get certified for a reason - they don't work."

Wipe Drive can erase one drive at a time, a dozen at a time, or even build a Pixi network.

In addition to securing old hard drives, Wipe Drive makes it easy to recycle systems to keep them out of the land fill and help not-for-profit associations with donated hardware.

The program also gives you great reports that can be shared as proof that hard drives have been wiped clean.

For almost a decade, Paul has worked with technology companies seeking manageable growth and brand loyalty/expansion. His career has ranged from being an integral part of a new business start-up team, to becoming a key driver in the business enabling it to become both sustainable and profitable. Currently, Paul serves as the CEO of White Canyon Software -- a data security company used by 44 of the fortune 100 companies.

Web Site - https://www.whitecanyon.com/

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James Kernan interviews Hartland Ross from eBridge Marketing Solutions.

Hartland has been working in the sales and marketing of IT services and SaaS firms since 1999. He is well recognized and regarded in the IT services industry and to date has worked with hundreds of firms providing opportunities for business growth through M&A, marketing strategy and by providing industry advice, recommendations and introductions.

With over 20 years of business development experience and having worked with technology firms since 2001, Hartland is a sought after conference speaker and authority who is often interviewed and quoted in industry related case studies and articles.

eBridge Marketing Solutions focuses on working with B2B IT service firms looking for alternative growth strategies to complement existing efforts. We focus on both organic (digital marketing) as well as M&A options for those in the following industries: Web hosting, SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, MSPs, Data Centers and IT Security companies.

Links:

• http://www.thehostbroker.com/
• https://www.ebridgemarketingsolutions.com
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/hartlandross/

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Karl interviews Janet Schijns from the JS Group. Janet is the CEO and Digital Ninja of JS Group, a leading go-to-market consultancy in the technology industry. She's a former executive at Motorola, Verizon and Office Depot. Plus, Janet is the founder of Tech Worlds Half, a not-for-profit dedicated to keeping women in the technology industry.

Her recent awards include:

• Channel Influencer of the Year
• Top 10 Women in Technology
• Top 50 Influencer in Technology
• ... and her newest accolade: Analytics Insight "10 Most
• Impactful Women in Technology 2020"

Plus she's a Star Wars raving fan!

Janet has a super focus on channel marketing. The mission statement of the JS Group is: "Save the Channel." What a great mission.

Here Janet makes the argument that the "digital transformation" has already happened. We are now in the digital normal. If you missed it, that's on you: you need to catch up.

Sites/Links:

• https://www.jsgnow.com
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetschijns/
• https://twitter.com/channelsmart

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Host Karl interviews Daniel Welling from Marlow, UK.

Here we look at "organic growth" vs. buying companies as a growth strategy. Which is best for you?

Daniel started his career in IT in 1995, following a sales track, working for a number of VARs and quickly developing a consultative approach to new business and account management, leading to Sales Management within a few years. The urge to do more resulted in forming an IT support business (what today we call an MSP!) in 2002 which developed over the following 12-years with the obligatory highs, lows and lessons learned.

In 2014 the opportunity arose to exit the business in a trade sale, allowing Daniel to pursue his non-IT interests, which have included further highs, lows and lessons in the fields of motorsport and soft drinks, while remaining involved with the MSP market through being an active member of MSP communities, taking a part time role with the acquirer of his business and growing a base of other MSPs with whom he has worked in the blended-capacity of mentor, consultant, NED and devils advocate.

Note: Daniel is a late-comer to the community of IT pros who meet all over the world. He discovered this great community after he sold his business.

Site: https://www.wellingmsp.com

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