How to MSP

Andrew Moore

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How to MSP© is the podcast of Ridgeview Advisors — the learning and development firm for the MSP industry. Smart MSP owners and IT leaders come here to laugh, learn, and level up. Host Andrew Moore and his guests unpack the chaos of running a Managed Services Provider — service delivery, scaling, hiring, pricing, valuation — with expert tactics, real talk, and just enough sarcasm to keep it fun. More at ridgeviewadvisors.com.

Aug 18

How to Turn MSP Vendors Into Partners: Treat Them Like Clients

Becky Teal watched an MSP threaten to leave a vendor over two features the product had shipped years earlier. Nobody had asked. In this episode of How to MSP, Andrew Moore talks with Becky Teal, Director of Community Peer Groups at Huntress, about how MSPs actually get value out of vendor partners, peer groups, and trade shows. Teal has been in the channel thirteen years, seven of them at what is now IT Nation Evolve, and her argument is blunt: MSPs demand quarterly business reviews from their clients and never run one with their vendors. She walks through the Four Helpful Lists and the resources most partners never ask for, from market development funds to free incident response tabletops. What you’ll learn: • Why MSPs buy from each other instead of from vendors, and what that means for how you evaluate a tool • How to run a vendor QBR using the Four Helpful Lists: right, wrong, missing, confused • Eleven things channel vendors give away that only go to partners who ask • How to work a trade show floor, starting with the vendors you already pay • Why sending only the owner to a conference produces shelfware, and how to fix it Mentioned in this episode: • The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann: Goodreads • Social Distortion on Spotify: Listen • Meat Loaf on Spotify: Listen • Huntress: huntress.com • IT Nation: itnation.connectwise.com • IT Nation Evolve: itnation.connectwise.com/evolve • ConnectWise: connectwise.com • Pax8: pax8.com • Provarro, formerly Taylor Business Group: provarro.com • MSP Geek: mspgeek.org • Right of Boom: rightofboom.com • NinjaOne: ninjaone.com • Backdoors and Breaches, Black Hills Information Security: View the game About the guest: Becky Teal is the Director of Community Peer Groups at Huntress, where she helps turn typical vendor-buyer interactions into collaborative partnerships. She spent seven years at what is now IT Nation Evolve and has been in the MSP channel for thirteen years. Read the full show notes: https://www.ridgeviewadvisors.com/blog/how-to-turn-msp-vendors-into-partners-treat-them-like-clients Key topics: MSP vendor management, MSP trade shows, MSP peer groups, vendor QBR, market development funds, MDF for MSPs, channel partnerships, managed service provider conferences, shelfware, incident response tabletop exercise, MSP tool consolidation, IT Nation, Right of Boom, MSP Geek #MSP #ManagedServiceProvider #MSPChannel #VendorManagement #MSPCommunity #ITChannel #MSPGrowth #PeerGroups About How to MSP How to MSP is the weekly podcast for Managed Service Provider owners and operators who want to grow, scale, and exit on their terms. Host Andrew Moore — Founder of Ridgeview Advisors — interviews MSP operators, advisors, and investors on the topics that actually move the business: EOS implementation, valuation and exit strategy, sales and marketing, service delivery, M&A, financial benchmarks, and operational excellence. Watch full episodes on the How to MSP YouTube channel. How to MSP is produced by Ridgeview Advisors and hosted by Andrew Moore.
Jul 28

Stop Mining Clients for MSP Referrals: Recruit Their Vendors

Bill Poole did the math on referral-driven growth and found most MSPs need far fewer referral sources than they think. They are just asking the wrong people. In this episode of How to MSP, Andrew Moore talks with Bill Poole, founder of Convergo and creator of the Strategic Connector System, about why the referrals that built your managed service provider eventually stall. Poole's answer is that MSPs mine their client base for introductions when the real network is the set of non-competing vendors already serving those same clients: the fractional CFO, the PEO rep, the insurance broker, the banker. He covers how to size that network, how to recruit into it, and why referrals received is the one metric worth taking off your scorecard. What you'll learn • Why the referrals that built your MSP eventually dry up • Which vendors to recruit instead of asking clients • How to size the referral network you actually need • The leading metrics that belong on a sales scorecard • Why marketing is the slower fix for a referral problem Mentioned in this episode • The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin P. Hardy: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58563697-the-gap-and-the-gain • Phish on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5wbIWUzTPuTxTyG6ouQKqz • Convergo: https://www.convergo.co/ • HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/ • Empath: https://empathmsp.com/ Read the full show notes: https://www.ridgeviewadvisors.com/blog/stop-mining-clients-msp-referrals-recruit-their-vendors Connect with Bill Poole on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billpoole3/ Schedule an MSP Growth Strategy Session: https://calendly.com/andrewpmo/htmsp_strategy_call Key topics MSP referrals, MSP referral partners, strategic connectors, centers of influence, MSP business development, ideal client profile, MSP sales scorecard, referral network, MSP growth #MSP #ManagedServiceProvider #MSPGrowth #ReferralMarketing #MSPSales #StrategicPartnerships #BusinessDevelopment About How to MSP How to MSP is the weekly podcast for Managed Service Provider owners and operators who want to grow, scale, and exit on their terms. Host Andrew Moore — Founder of Ridgeview Advisors — interviews MSP operators, advisors, and investors on the topics that actually move the business: EOS implementation, valuation and exit strategy, sales and marketing, service delivery, M&A, financial benchmarks, and operational excellence. Watch full episodes on the How to MSP YouTube channel. How to MSP is produced by Ridgeview Advisors and hosted by Andrew Moore.
Jun 9

Why SMBs Will Soon Spend More on AI Than Security — and What It Means for MSPs

Within two years, the average SMB will spend more on AI than on cybersecurity — and Jimmy Hatzell, Co-Founder and CEO of Hatz AI, says the MSPs that win this shift will look nothing like the per-seat help desks of the last decade. In Episode 10 of How to MSP, host Andrew Moore sits down with Jimmy Hatzell, Co-Founder and CEO of Hatz AI, to unpack how fast AI is moving through the MSP channel and what it means for managed service provider growth, pricing, and the future of the vCIO role. Jimmy explains why the AI wave is moving roughly six times faster than the security wave did, how Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers from Halo PSA, ScalePad, Liongard, and N-able are changing what MSPs can actually deliver, and why intelligent model routing cut Hatz AI's costs by about 75 percent on common workflows. Andrew and Jimmy lay out a practical playbook — starting with shadow AI as the security conversation — and dig into how per-seat MRR breaks when clients hire fewer people and spend more on intelligence. What you'll learn: • Why SMB AI spend is on pace to overtake SMB security spend inside two years • How to use existing DNS, RMM, and firewall data to surface shadow AI in any client environment • What Model Context Protocol (MCP) is, and why Halo PSA, ScalePad, Liongard, and N-able have all released official MCP servers • Why intelligent model routing can cut AI costs by roughly 75 percent without sacrificing output • How the per-seat MRR model breaks under AI — and what advisory and account-management revenue replaces it Mentioned in this episode: • Behind the Cloud by Marc Benioff — Goodreads • The Grateful Dead on Spotify — open.spotify.com • Phish on Spotify — open.spotify.com • Hatz AI — hatz.ai • Halo PSA — halopsa.com • ScalePad — scalepad.com • Liongard — liongard.com • N-able — n-able.com • Cisco Umbrella — umbrella.cisco.com • ThreatLocker — threatlocker.com • ConnectWise — connectwise.com • Pax8 — pax8.com • Salesforce — salesforce.com About the guest: Jimmy Hatzell is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hatz AI, a secure AI platform for SMBs delivered through managed service providers. He previously led teams at SKOUT Cybersecurity through its acquisition by Barracuda and served as VP of Revenue at CyberQP. Read the full show notes: https://www.ridgeviewadvisors.com/blog/smbs-spend-more-on-ai-than-security-msp Key topics: MSP AI strategy, shadow AI, Model Context Protocol, MCP servers, MSP per-seat pricing, AI governance for SMB, MSP vCIO, AI model routing, AI cost management, managed service provider AI services #MSP #ManagedServiceProvider #ShadowAI #AIGovernance #ModelContextProtocol #MSPGrowth #vCIO #SMBTech About How to MSP How to MSP is the weekly podcast for Managed Service Provider owners and operators who want to grow, scale, and exit on their terms. Host Andrew Moore — Founder of Ridgeview Advisors — interviews MSP operators, advisors, and investors on the topics that actually move the business: EOS implementation, valuation and exit strategy, sales and marketing, service delivery, M&A, financial benchmarks, and operational excellence. Watch full episodes on the How to MSP YouTube channel. How to MSP is produced by Ridgeview Advisors and hosted by Andrew Moore.
May 26

Why Your MSP Should Hire Bartenders Before IT Pros

Jack Lincourt's MSP help desk handles 85% of tickets with technicians who'd never touched IT three months earlier. He'd rather hire a Dunkin' Donuts drive-through veteran than an experienced MSP tech — and he has the numbers to prove it works. In this episode of How to MSP, Andrew Moore talks with Jack Lincourt, VP of Service Delivery at Microtime Computers, about the hiring assessments, ConnectWise template library, and certification compensation model that built one of the most disciplined help desk operations in the MSP industry. Jack also explains why he won't hire from other MSPs, why he reviewed 5,000 historical tickets by hand, and why he hasn't yet adopted AI tools — even with vendor pressure to do so. What you'll learn: • Why customer service skills and chaos tolerance beat IT credentials when hiring a help desk technician • How Microtime gets new hires to 85% ticket coverage and on-call rotation in 3–4 months • The certification bonus model that turns a $38,000 starting hire into a $70,000 tech in 3 years • How Jack reviewed 5,000 historical tickets to build a template library that runs the help desk • Why slow tool adoption (Rewst, Cyft) is the right pace for a process-driven MSP — and why AI shouldn't come first Mentioned in this episode: • The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni — https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28930640-the-ideal-team-player • Journey on Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/artist/0rvjqX7ttXeg3mTy8Xscbt • Microtime Computers — https://microtime.com/ • Rewst (automation for MSPs) — https://rewst.io/ • Cyft (AI ticketing for MSP service desks) — https://www.cyft.ai/ • Criteria Corp HireSelect (assessments) — https://www.criteriacorp.com/ About the guest: Jack Lincourt is VP of Service Delivery at Microtime Computers, an Andover, Massachusetts–based MSP. He brings 30+ years of experience leading client services, technical support, and operations teams — and has built a help desk with effectively zero turnover. Read the full show notes: https://www.ridgeviewadvisors.com/blog/why-your-msp-should-hire-bartenders-before-it-pros Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@howtomsp Learn more about Ridgeview Advisors: https://www.ridgeviewadvisors.com/ Subscribe to How to MSP for weekly conversations on growing, scaling, and exiting your MSP. Key topics: MSP help desk hiring, MSP technician training, ConnectWise templates, MSP certification bonuses, Rewst automation, Cyft AI ticketing, service delivery management, MSP operations. #MSP #ManagedServiceProvider #HelpDesk #ITHiring #ServiceDelivery #MSPOperations About How to MSP How to MSP is the weekly podcast for Managed Service Provider owners and operators who want to grow, scale, and exit on their terms. Host Andrew Moore — Founder of Ridgeview Advisors — interviews MSP operators, advisors, and investors on the topics that actually move the business: EOS implementation, valuation and exit strategy, sales and marketing, service delivery, M&A, financial benchmarks, and operational excellence. Watch full episodes on the How to MSP YouTube channel. How to MSP is produced by Ridgeview Advisors and hosted by Andrew Moore.
May 11

Stop Failing at EOS: Why Your "Chaos OS" is Killing Your MSP Growth

Are you running your business on a "Chaos Operating System"? In this episode of the How to MSP podcast, host Andrew Moore sits down with Larry Garcia, President and founding member of Strety (and former BrightGauge veteran), to discuss the hidden mental "calorie burn" that keeps MSP owners stuck. Larry breaks down why managing a business in a state of reactive chaos actually takes the same amount of mental energy as running a high-performance accountability framework. They dive deep into the functional shift from traditional org charts to Accountability Charts, the "grace to miss" your initial goals, and Larry’s industry-shaking "hot take" on why the next big movement for MSPs might actually be a return to on-premise servers. Whether you are struggling with "ride or die" employees who no longer fit or trying to upskill your team for the AI era, this conversation provides the blueprint for moving from accidental management to intentional scale. "The chaos operating system in your head... is burning the same amount of calories as an accountable framework where you're on task. You're already spending the energy—you might as well spend it on being on task." — Larry Garcia. Questions Answered in This Episode: Why does "Chaos Mode" burn the same mental energy as a structured system? How do you define a role by function instead of the person currently sitting in the seat? What is the "Grace to Miss" and why is it vital for your first 90-day goals? How will AI shift the requirements for entry-level "busy work" into high-level business intelligence? Why are major firms like Basecamp ditching the cloud to save millions on on-premise infrastructure? About How to MSP How to MSP is the weekly podcast for Managed Service Provider owners and operators who want to grow, scale, and exit on their terms. Host Andrew Moore — Founder of Ridgeview Advisors — interviews MSP operators, advisors, and investors on the topics that actually move the business: EOS implementation, valuation and exit strategy, sales and marketing, service delivery, M&A, financial benchmarks, and operational excellence. Watch full episodes on the How to MSP YouTube channel. How to MSP is produced by Ridgeview Advisors and hosted by Andrew Moore.
Apr 27

The MSP Engine: Aligning Sales & Operations for High-Margin Growth | Feat. Ashton Solutions

What happens when your sales team and operations team are actually on the same page? You get a "dynamic MSP engine" that drives profit, reduces stress, and sets clear boundaries with clients. "We are clear about telling clients that during onboarding we are going to find the things they don't even know about, so they should expect a remediation project. Make your peace with whatever God you may or may not believe in; it’s happening. Aligning what you sell with what you actually do is the ultimate maturity step for an MSP." In this episode, host Andrew Moore sits down with the leadership team from Ashton Solutions—Travis Grundke, Jim Abbott, and Tom Foley—to pull back the curtain on how they’ve aligned their organization for over two decades. From the "6-week onboarding rule" to the art of saying "no" to bad business, this conversation is a masterclass in MSP maturity. Key takeaways from this episode include: The Power of Expectations: Why you must tell prospects about remediation projects before they sign the contract. Process vs. Magic: How to transition from owner-led selling to a scalable, process-driven sales engine using the EOS framework. The Actuarial MSP: Viewing your contracts through the lens of risk management and profitability. The "Spider Sense": How to identify "red flag" clients before they ever touch your service desk. The Future of AI: Moving past the hype to find real-world business outcomes for your clients. Stick around for the "Final Five" questions to hear about the most legendary (and slightly terrifying) hiring horror story in MSP history. Show Notes: https://www.ridgeviewadvisors.com/blog/aligning-sales-and-operations-in-your-msp About How to MSP How to MSP is the weekly podcast for Managed Service Provider owners and operators who want to grow, scale, and exit on their terms. Host Andrew Moore — Founder of Ridgeview Advisors — interviews MSP operators, advisors, and investors on the topics that actually move the business: EOS implementation, valuation and exit strategy, sales and marketing, service delivery, M&A, financial benchmarks, and operational excellence. Watch full episodes on the How to MSP YouTube channel. How to MSP is produced by Ridgeview Advisors and hosted by Andrew Moore.
Apr 10

Setting Expectations With Your MSP Clients & Team

Can Your MSP Scale Beyond You? Avoiding the Process TrapMost MSP owners get stuck at the same ceiling: they are the smartest person in the room, and their "processes" only exist in their heads. When they finally try to document everything, they often create a bureaucratic monster that kills creativity and slows down service delivery. In this episode of How to MSP, Andrew Moore and Connor Fagan (Renada) break down the high-level operational strategy required to move from a "hero-based" business to a repeatable machine. We discuss the "Ambiguity Trap," the dangers of over-engineering tools like Halo PSA, and why your senior engineers might actually be the biggest bottleneck in your helpdesk. Blurb: "Everything I do is: how simple can we make it? I'm obsessed with simplicity in everything I do in my entire life. Because as soon as it's really simple and repeatable, it gets done way more accurately." — Connor Fagan What You’ll Get Out of This Episode: The Ambiguity Trap: Why technical failures are usually management failures in disguise—learn how to look inward to find the root cause.Process vs. Outcomes: How to give your team "Commander's Intent" so they can solve problems autonomously instead of just clicking buttons in a workflow.The 60% Rule for Growth: Why accepting "good enough" from an autonomous employee is the only way to eventually get 100% results without you doing the work.Solving the Sales-to-Ops Handover: A simple framework to move the "laptop quote bottleneck" away from your high-cost technicians.AI Reality Check: Why AI is currently better at "party tricks" than actual MSP logic, and why you should probably use a script instead.Ling to Show Notes About How to MSP How to MSP is the weekly podcast for Managed Service Provider owners and operators who want to grow, scale, and exit on their terms. Host Andrew Moore — Founder of Ridgeview Advisors — interviews MSP operators, advisors, and investors on the topics that actually move the business: EOS implementation, valuation and exit strategy, sales and marketing, service delivery, M&A, financial benchmarks, and operational excellence. Watch full episodes on the How to MSP YouTube channel. How to MSP is produced by Ridgeview Advisors and hosted by Andrew Moore.
Feb 17

MSP Valuation Secrets: How to Maximize EBITDA Multiples for Your Exit

Are you building a business or just a job? In this episode, Andrew Moore sits down with Reed Warren, President and CEO of IT Valuations, to pull back the curtain on what actually drives the market value of a Managed Service Provider. With over 30 years of experience and 700+ clients, Reed explains why your valuation is the most critical metric for directing your business investments. Whether you are planning an exit in the next three years or want to build a more resilient, profitable MSP that can weather any market downturn, this conversation provides the financial roadmap you need. In this episode: What is a Multiple?: Understand how EBITDA and revenue multiples are used for comparative analysis in the MSP space. The Rule of 40: Learn how to balance growth and profitability to achieve an operationally efficient organization. Driving High Valuation: Discover the 26 risk factors, including contract length and customer churn, that impact your transaction value. Revenue Mix Strategies: Why maintaining 65% to 70% recurring revenue is the "sweet spot" for maximizing both EBITDA and multiples. M&A Readiness & Due Diligence: Practical advice on "corporate hygiene," including assignability in contracts and resolving hidden liens before you go to market. Owner Dependency: How to delegate effectively so your business can thrive without you, making it more attractive to investors Show Notes: https://www.ridgeviewadvisors.com/blog/msp-valuation-secrets-how-to-maximize-ebitda-multiples-for-your-exit About How to MSP How to MSP is the weekly podcast for Managed Service Provider owners and operators who want to grow, scale, and exit on their terms. Host Andrew Moore — Founder of Ridgeview Advisors — interviews MSP operators, advisors, and investors on the topics that actually move the business: EOS implementation, valuation and exit strategy, sales and marketing, service delivery, M&A, financial benchmarks, and operational excellence. Watch full episodes on the How to MSP YouTube channel. How to MSP is produced by Ridgeview Advisors and hosted by Andrew Moore.

How to MSP© is the podcast of Ridgeview Advisors — the learning and development firm for the MSP industry. Smart MSP owners and IT leaders come here to laugh, learn, and level up. Host Andrew Moore and his guests unpack the chaos of running a Managed Services Provider — service delivery, scaling, hiring, pricing, valuation — with expert tactics, real talk, and just enough sarcasm to keep it fun. More at ridgeviewadvisors.com.

Creator

Andrew Moore
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

13
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© 2026 How to MSP
Show Website

How to MSP