It's a Numbers Game

Previewing ChannelCon EMEA: AI, Community, and GTIA Initiatives Dan joins Daniel on a podcast to preview ChannelCon EMEA in London, building on recent ChannelCon North America success under the GTIA brand and its focus on the IT services channel. They discuss the event's emphasis on timely, vendor-neutral education, peer-to-peer interaction, and post-session conversations, with AI as a major theme...

In the latest episode of "It's a Numbers Game", Adam and Daniel interview Mit Patel, founder of Netstar, who built the MSP from zero clients to about 60 staff over nearly 19.5 years and sold it during COVID in 2020, staying on until 2021. Mit describes early client wins, rapid growth that repeatedly "broke" the business, and the resilience needed to recover. He explains how the sale felt anticlima...

In this podcast episode, Daniel Welling and Adam Morris speak with Larry Garcia about the rise of EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) among MSPs, attributing its popularity to MSPs' productivity mindset and EOS's prescriptive framework for running a business. They explain EOS's origins in Gino Wickman's book Traction, its core components (vision, traction, and a healthy organisation), and its s...

Podcast hosts Daniel and Adam interview Christian (CloudFest/MSP Global) about parallels between cloud hosting and today's MSP M&A market, describing how private equity funding drove consolidation into a few large platforms while new niche specialists emerged and were later acquired. Christian argues MSPs should stay optimistic because customers still need trusted advisors amid security complexity...

In this podcast episode, Daniel interviews James Steel of MSP Testimonials about using video testimonials to create reusable marketing assets for MSPs, building on a prior episode about written case studies. They discuss common objections (not wanting to bother clients and not knowing what to do with the content) and emphasise that clients often respond positively when asked, especially with clear...

Dan speaks with Sean Farrow of Arctic Wolf about the fast-changing MSP cybersecurity landscape and Sean's move from a 15-year MSP career, most recently as security practice lead, to the vendor side. Sean explains how gaps in an MSP's Microsoft-based SOC portfolio led him to Arctic Wolf for vendor-agnostic coverage, and discusses the pressure of keeping pace with shifting best-of-breed tools and in...

Cristian discusses how his MSP experience provisioning thousands of pandemic-era laptops exposed frequent mis-provisioned user accounts, often caused by clients submitting incomplete joiner requests (missing departments, licenses, and permissions). He highlights the larger risk on off-boarding, citing studies in the UK and USA where 50% of businesses reported former employees not being fully off-b...

Matt discusses MSPX, a marketplace for MSPs to buy and sell individual managed services contracts as an alternative to acquiring entire businesses. The platform helps MSPs divest non-profitable or non-strategic clients and enables buyers to shorten sales cycles by targeting specific verticals or geographies, with typical pricing around 6–8x MRR (sometimes higher with negotiation and longer remaini...

Marino joins the podcast to discuss decision-making psychology for MSPs, emphasising that B2B buying differs from B2C because decisions require justification to others and are shaped by different goals. He describes common friction caused by misalignment between what MSPs pitch as "gains" and what business owners perceive as "losses," highlighting loss aversion, status quo bias, and sunk cost effe...

Justin returns to the podcast and discusses the challenges and lessons from acquiring three Apple-focused businesses since 2020 amid consolidation in the Apple consultant community and difficulty targeting Mac-using clients. He describes buying a small Iowa Apple consultancy with the seller kept on for business development, only to learn ownership doesn't equal sales skill and that ex-owners often...

Tom discusses Adfin as a "new, better GoCardless," arguing it offers stronger support, more competitive pricing, and a broader product: direct debits, cards (including Apple Pay/Google Pay), open banking, and bank transfers in one platform with integrated chasing and reconciliation via Xero. He says the market has lacked innovation for 15–20 years and positions Adfin's goal as getting businesses p...

Paul joins the podcast to discuss MSP M&A trends and what 2026 may look like after years of consolidation driven by PE-backed platforms, self-funded acquirers, listed buyers, and newer permanent capital vehicles. He explains why the market has been attractive (fragmentation, cloud migration, cyber demand, COVID-driven working changes, inflation-led price increases) but notes the bar is rising for...

Adam Morris and Daniel Welling discuss how MSPs can offer compliance as a service to differentiate and create recurring, high-margin revenue, joined by Dom Haughton (Brigantia Partners) and Alastair Goodwin (Adoptech).  They explain that MSPs are increasingly asked by customers for certifications such as Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001, ISO 9001 and ISO 42001, but often avoid selling them due to perce...

Daniel Welling welcomes back cybersecurity advisor Adam Pilton (Heimdal Security) for a masterclass on cyber tabletop exercises. Adam defines a tabletop as a staged rehearsal where senior leaders and key responders use the organisation's incident response procedure while a facilitator introduces evolving information, aiming to build confidence, stress-test decision-making, and improve communicatio...

Dave discusses how Flotek scaled its finance and billing operations from a simple setup (a bookkeeper and a director overseeing finances) to a more structured team while growing rapidly through acquisitions. He explains their philosophy that client-facing billing is part of service delivery, with SLAs and a "wow" mindset to protect relationships and reduce friction from invoice errors. The convers...

Dave joins the podcast to discuss Flotek's M&A journey, having completed 14 acquisitions in three and a half years, and argues the MSP market is diverse, fragmented, and active, with frequent inbound opportunities. He explains deal sourcing through SEO, brokers, network reputation, and supplier referrals, and stresses sellers should do due diligence on buyers. Flotek prioritises cultural and value...

In this episode, the hosts Adam and Daniel are joined by PR consultant Rahme to discuss an upcoming 2026 collaboration and unpack what PR means for MSPs and vendors: public relations as audience-focused communication that builds reputation, brand awareness, and relationships with influencers such as reporters, editors, analysts, and advisors. They contrast PR with marketing, using a white paper as...

Chris joins Daniel and Adam to discuss Patrick Lencioni's Working Genius assessment, a 40-question framework about where people get energy and joy at work, contrasting it with tools like Myers-Briggs and DISC (communication preference). He explains the WIDGET model: Wonder (identify gaps), Invention (generate ideas), Discernment (judge ideas), Galvanizing (rally action), Enablement (help others mo...

Loneliness Is the Tax You Pay for Autonomy: The Hidden Cost of Business Ownership Adam and Daniel depart from the usual guest format to discuss the often-ignored loneliness of business ownership, especially in MSPs. They frame autonomy as rewarding but inherently tied to responsibility, asymmetrical relationships, and an unshared cognitive load that leaders can't fully offload to employees or spou...

In this episode, we welcome Nils, co-founder of Ironbridge, to discuss the transformative potential of AI for Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Nils shares his extensive background and experience in scaling businesses and investing in tech startups. He elaborates on how MSPs can leverage AI to revolutionise their operating models, scale efficiently, and deliver new, high-value services. The conver...

Join us as we chat with Justin Esgar about the ACEs Conference, an event designed to help MSPs (Managed Service Providers) grow their businesses with a focus beyond just technological skills. Justin shares his journey in founding the conference, designed originally for Apple consultants but open to all. He talks about the unique business-oriented aspects of the conference, the importance of non-te...

In this podcast episode, Nicola Moss, a marketing expert, discusses effective budgeting strategies for marketing within Managed Service Providers (MSPs). She highlights the differences in budget allocation and approaches between small and large MSPs and provides a practical guide on setting annual marketing budgets based on percentages of turnover and desired outcomes. Nicola emphasises the import...

In this episode, Alicia discusses her role as a hybrid distributor and manufacturer within the Wortmann Group, focusing on Terra branded devices and their distribution of over 10,000 SKUs from various major brands. The conversation delves into supply chain issues exacerbated by the pandemic and the Windows 10 support cessation, and how Terra positions itself against tier-one brands like HP, Dell,...

In this episode, the Adam and Daniel welcome Al Lakhani a cybersecurity expert, to discuss the revolutionary MFA 2.0 technology. Al explains how traditional MFA (Multifactor Authentication) methods, known as MFA 1.0, are vulnerable to credential phishing attacks, highlighting recent breaches by the Shiny Hunters group. He introduces MFA 2.0, which utilises public key cryptography to eliminate pass...

In this episode, Roy Castleman joins the podcast to share insights from his extensive experience in leveraging AI to run multiple businesses. The conversation delves into practical applications of AI, the challenges of selecting the right tools amongst many, and optimising AI usage through clear communication and iterative prompting. Roy emphasises the importance of understanding AI as an enhancem...