The $10 Million MSP Podcast

Brian Hoppe Coaching
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The $10 Million MSP Podcast dives into the real stories of MSP leaders who have gone beyond 10 million. How they built teams, created systems and turned their businesses into valuable wealth-building assets. Join Brian Hoppe, Strategic Coach to MSPs, as he sits down with leaders of $10M+ MSPs to unpack the inflection points that matter – From the personal stories of MSP leaders to key fundamentals like culture, operational maturity and driving profitability. This isn’t another MSP podcast about tools and tech. On The $10 Million MSP Podcast you’ll find behind the scenes conversations with leaders that have built thriving MSPs – their biggest wins, their toughest lessons and practical advice that you can use now. If you’re an MSP owner who knows that growth starts from within, that mindset, leadership and strategy, align to create both wealth and meaning, then this show is for you. New episodes are released every other week!

  1. 3d ago

    $2M to $20M: Building a Sales Engine That Scales w/ Brian Strong

    Can your MSP scale without you? Take the free MSP Maturity Assessment. brianhoppe.com/assessment Most MSPs do not have a sales problem because they hired the wrong personality. They have a sales problem because they never built a system. Brian Hoppe sits down with Brian Strong, CEO of TenHats and former founder of Vendor Registry, to break down the sales process behind growing an MSP from roughly $2 million to nearly $20 million in five years. Brian explains why marketing cannot close deals on its own, how outside sales helped the company move upmarket, and why owner-led sales eventually limits growth. The conversation also explores the center of influence strategy responsible for much of Brian’s success. He shares how to find the right relationships, stay top of mind, and generate stronger opportunities without relying on endless cold outreach. In this episode: - How TenHats grew from roughly $2 million to nearly $20 million - Why MSPs need a sales system that does not depend on the owner - How outside sales helped the company move upmarket - Why centers of influence drive most of Brian’s prospecting - How to build valuable COI relationships through existing clients - The leadership shift required to become a true CEO If you’re an MSP owner trying to build a repeatable sales engine, move beyond owner-led growth, or generate better opportunities through strategic relationships, this is the conversation. Key Moments 0:00 - Welcome to The $10 Million MSP 1:07 - Meet Brian Strong 2:23 - What MSP owners get wrong about sales 6:25 - Selling more than $100,000 in new MRR 10:38 - From SaaS founder back to the MSP industry 14:47 - Growing an MSP from $2 million to nearly $20 million 18:48 - Moving beyond owner-led sales 23:37 - Building an upmarket sales team 29:21 - Centers of influence as a growth strategy 36:44 - Building and managing COI relationships 45:40 - Starting with existing clients 49:31 - Asking for referrals the right way 53:10 - Why COI strategies fail 58:12 - Should sales or operations come first? 1:00:32 - Brian’s biggest leadership lessons 1:04:14 - Rapid-fire questions 1:09:10 - Where to connect with Brian Strong Connect Brian Hoppe: https://brianhoppe.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhoppe/ Brian Strong: https://tenhats.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-strong/

    $2M to $20M: Building a Sales Engine That Scales w/ Brian Strong

  2. Jul 27

    The $14M MSP Lesson: Stop Waiting to Feel Ready w/ Billy Adams

    Can your MSP scale without you? Take the free MSP Maturity Assessment. brianhoppe.com/assessment Organic growth becomes much more predictable when sales stops depending on the owner and starts operating like a system. Brian Hoppe sits down with Billy Adams, president of ACS, to unpack how he helped grow the family-owned MSP from roughly $3.5 million to nearly $14 million in revenue without acquisitions, private equity, or outside investors. Billy breaks down the sales engine behind that growth, including how ACS built a team of SDRs and BDRs, created clear activity targets, developed talent internally, and generated enough pipeline to recover after unexpectedly losing $150,000 in monthly recurring revenue. The conversation also explores ACS’s move into managed AI. Billy explains why MSPs need to help clients establish AI governance before chasing automation, how ACS is turning that guidance into recurring revenue, and why every AI initiative should begin with a valuable business outcome. Billy also shares his plans to keep ACS independent, potentially transition the company to a third generation, and continue building toward $30 million while protecting the culture and relationships that made the business successful. In this episode: How ACS grew from $3.5 million to nearly $14 million without M&AWhy MSPs need a repeatable sales engine instead of one salespersonHow ACS generates 8 to 10 new sales appointments each weekWhy peer groups and EOS became critical to Billy’s growthHow AI governance can become a new managed serviceWhy AI projects should begin with business outcomes, not toolsHow Billy is thinking about independence and family successionWhat leading with emotion taught Billy about people and leadership If you’re an MSP owner trying to create predictable organic growth, move beyond owner-led sales, or find a practical way to bring AI services to your clients, this is the conversation. Key Moments 0:00 - Introduction 1:06 - Meet Billy Adams 2:00 - What MSP owners misunderstand about organic growth 5:35 - Growing ACS from $3.5M to nearly $14M 7:07 - Replacing $150K in lost monthly recurring revenue 11:35 - Building a repeatable MSP sales engine 18:00 - Investing in salespeople and developing talent internally 23:00 - The activity and metrics behind the pipeline 25:29 - EOS, leadership layers, and the fractional integrator 29:51 - Building an AI practice inside an MSP 32:28 - AI security, governance, and acceptable-use policies 38:24 - Connecting AI to meaningful business outcomes 41:00 - Turning managed AI into recurring revenue 49:50 - Staying independent and planning the future of ACS 55:09 - Billy’s biggest leadership mistakes 58:23 - Rapid-fire questions and closing thoughts 1:02:15 - Where to connect with Billy Connect Brian Hoppe: https://brianhoppe.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhoppe/ Billy Adams: https://acs.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamadamsjr/

  3. Jul 13

    The $27m MSP Playbook for Scaling Past $10M w/ Willis Cantey

    Can your MSP scale without you? Take the free MSP Maturity Assessment. brianhoppe.com/assessment The people who help you get to one stage of growth are not always the people who can help you scale to the next one. As MSPs grow, the business changes. The owner can’t be the hero. The best tech can’t be the only person clients call. And the team cannot keep relying on individual effort instead of process, structure, and leadership. Brian Hoppe sits down with Willis Cantey, founder of Cantey Tech, to unpack how he grew a two-person IT support company into a roughly $27 million MSP with around 120 employees. This conversation gets into the real work of scaling an MSP, from getting out into the community and building trust, to hiring salespeople, investing in management before the payoff shows up, and moving away from the “Superman cape” model that keeps small MSPs stuck. Willis also shares what he has learned through acquisitions, organic growth, leadership development, vertical focus, private equity, and the hard people decisions that come with building a more mature company. In this episode: - Why MSP owners need to get out from behind the desk to grow - How Cantey Tech scaled through relationships, sales, and referrals - Why investing in management can shrink margins before it improves the business - How to move beyond the “hero tech” model and build a process-driven company - Why holding onto the wrong people too long can cost clients, culture, and growth - What Willis learned from acquisitions, integration, and protecting culture - How to develop leaders without forcing great techs into management roles If you’re an MSP owner trying to grow beyond founder-led chaos, build a stronger leadership team, and create a company that can scale without depending on superheroes, this is the conversation. Key Moments 0:00 - Introduction 1:07 - Meet Willis Cantey 1:29 - Growing from $5M to $10M 3:23 - Buying and building Cantey Tech 8:33 - Scaling to $27M and 120 employees 11:25 - Investing in management before the payoff 19:42 - Moving beyond the “Superman cape” model 24:22 - The cost of holding onto the wrong people 27:30 - Decisions that created disproportionate growth 30:39 - Vertical focus, markets, and specialization 39:43 - Acquisitions, culture, and integration 45:14 - Organic growth and sales strategy 48:01 - Developing leaders inside the company 58:03 - The role of the CEO at scale 1:01:52 - Willis’ biggest leadership mistake 1:03:31 - Rapid-fire questions and closing thoughts 1:06:16 - Where to connect with Willis Connect Brian Hoppe: https://brianhoppe.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhoppe/ Willis Cantey: https://canteytech.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/williscantey/

  4. Jun 29

    Running an MSP Isn’t That Hard w/ Jesse Miller

    Download the framework I use with $10M–$100M MSP owners: https://brianhoppe.com/blueprint/ A cybersecurity practice that actually sells. Not because the stack is better, but because the client finally understands the risk. Most MSPs know they need to mature their security offering. The harder part is getting clients to care, getting the team aligned, and turning cybersecurity into a strategic revenue engine instead of another set of tools. Brian Hoppe sits down with Jesse Miller, founder of Power PSA Consulting and creator of the Power Gryd vCISO system, to unpack what it really takes to build a cybersecurity practice inside an MSP. This conversation gets into the shift from selling controls to selling risk management, why paid assessments change the entire client conversation, and how strategic advisory can increase client lifetime value. Jesse also shares lessons from scaling an MSP from 5 people to 75, building a cyber program the hard way, navigating internal friction, and why vertical focus will matter even more as AI changes the industry. In this episode: Why cybersecurity practices fail when MSPs lead with tools instead of riskHow paid risk assessments create better buyers and stronger relationshipsWhy vCSO and vCISO should be treated as real advisory services, not bundled extrasHow to align sales, service, and leadership before launching a new practiceWhy specialization, vertical focus, and strategic consulting are becoming harder to avoid If you’re an MSP owner trying to move beyond reactive IT, build stronger client relationships, and create a more valuable advisory-led business, this is the conversation. Key Moments 0:00 - Introduction 1:06 - Meet Jesse Miller 2:06 - Why MSP growth is simple, but not easy 4:09 - Jesse’s path from telecom to MSP cybersecurity 10:34 - Selling risk management instead of security tools 18:18 - Why every client needs a paid risk assessment 23:49 - Building true vCISO and vCSO advisory services 33:09 - Leadership lessons from launching a cyber practice 42:35 - Letting go, building smarter teams, and avoiding shiny object decisions 47:49 - AI, specialization, and the future of MSP strategy 56:00 - Jesse’s biggest leadership mistake 57:45 - Rapid-fire questions and closing thoughts 1:01:08 - Where to connect with Jesse Connect Brian Hoppe: https://brianhoppe.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhoppe/ Jesse Miller: https://www.linkedin.com/in/secopswarrior/ https://powerpsa.com/

  5. Jun 15

    What $100M MSPs Do Differently w/ Steve Torres

    Download the framework I use with $10M–$100M MSP owners: https://brianhoppe.com/blueprint/ A $100M operator’s view of what actually makes an MSP valuable. Most MSPs do not stall because they lack effort. They stall because brute force stops working. Brian Hoppe sits down with Steve Torres, President of CFO for IT, to unpack the operational disciplines that separate MSPs that scale from the ones that stay trapped in founder-led chaos. Steve has helped scale multiple IT services companies beyond $100M, worked through roughly 20 acquisitions, and now helps MSPs build the financial and operational maturity needed to increase enterprise value. This conversation is not about tools, tactics, or chasing growth for growth’s sake. It’s about the systems, discipline, metrics, and decision-making habits that create a more valuable business. In this episode: Why “brute force execution” quietly destroys enterprise valueThe 6 disciplines Steve sees in MSPs that scale past $100MWhy strategy frameworks create clarity, alignment, and accountabilityThe metrics MSP owners should actually care aboutHow CRM discipline exposes the real bottlenecks in sales and marketingWhy standardized offerings improve margins, sales cycles, and deliveryHow budgeting and rolling forecasts create better decisionsThe leadership danger of hiring purely for intelligence If you’re trying to build an MSP that can scale without breaking, this is the conversation. Key Moments 0:00 - Welcome to The $10 Million MSP Podcast 1:07 - Brian introduces Steve Torres 1:41 - The blind spot hurting MSP enterprise value 6:22 - The 6 attributes of MSPs that scale past $100M 10:37 - Why strategy frameworks create clarity and alignment 15:13 - The metrics MSP owners should actually track 23:51 - Why CRM discipline is non-negotiable 28:06 - The cost of customized offerings 39:04 - Decisiveness, agile velocity, and failing forward 43:43 - Why budgeting discipline drives maturity 51:52 - Steve’s biggest leadership mistake 57:52 - Where to connect with Steve Connect Brian Hoppe: https://brianhoppe.com/ Steve Torres https://www.linkedin.com/in/cfoforit/ https://cfoforit.com/

  6. Jun 1

    From $13M to $60M: What It Really Takes to Scale an MSP w/ Kevin Cook

    A $13M MSP turned into a $60M platform in four years. That kind of growth does not happen because the founder works harder. It happens because the business becomes more valuable, less owner-dependent, and built for scale. Brian Hoppe sits down with Kevin Cook, Chief Strategy Officer at Ntiva and former CEO of The Purple Guys, to unpack what it really takes to move from founder-led MSP to private-equity-backed platform. This conversation gets into enterprise value, acquisitions, leadership development, AI, and the hard decisions owners face when they want the business to outgrow them. In this episode: Why owner dependence is one of the biggest value killers in an MSPHow Kevin went from a $13M MSP to a $60M platform through PE and acquisitionsWhat acquirers actually look for beyond EBITDAWhy culture fit can make or break an acquisitionHow AI is changing the timing and strategy behind MSP exits If you’re thinking about how to build a business that can scale, sell, or survive beyond you, this is the conversation. If you want to go deeper on the levers behind growth and valuation, you can get the Value Creation Blueprint here: https://brianhoppe.com/blueprint/ Key Moments 0:00 - Welcome to The $10 Million MSP Podcast 1:07 - Kevin Cook joins the show 5:29 - Taking on private equity and becoming The Purple Guys 13:36 - What creates enterprise value in an MSP 24:23 - How AI is changing the MSP landscape 32:22 - What changes after outside investment 37:20 - Why leadership development becomes critical 51:15 - Kevin’s biggest leadership mistake Connect Brian Hoppe: https://brianhoppe.com/ Kevin Cook: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-cook-ntiva/ https://www.ntiva.com/

  7. May 18

    How GCS Built A Durable $15M MSP w/ Shane Gronniger

    A nearly $15M MSP in Austin. No acquisitions. No private equity. No traditional outbound sales machine. Most MSP growth stories focus on founder vision, aggressive sales, or rolling up other companies. This one is different. Brian Hoppe sits down with Shane Groniger, CEO of GCS Technologies, to unpack what it looks like to step into the CEO seat of a company he didn’t found and help move it past the $10M plateau. This is a conversation about discipline, focus, leadership maturity, and building a durable business without blindly following the standard MSP playbook. In this episode: - What it takes to lead an MSP you didn’t found - How GCS moved from an $8M-$9M plateau to nearly $15M - Why discipline, focus, and “addition through subtraction” became key growth drivers - How fixed-fee security packaging changed the business model - Why margin by client and agreement matters more than top-line revenue - The hard leadership lessons that come with putting people in the right seats - How Shane thinks about AI, automation, and the next curve jump for MSPs If you’re thinking about what has to change inside the business before the next stage of growth can happen, this is the conversation. If you want to go deeper on the levers behind growth and valuation, you can get the Value Creation Blueprint here: https://brianhoppe.com/blueprint/ Key Moments 1:06 – Shane Groniger joins the show 1:41 – Leading a company he didn’t found 3:01 – GCS Technologies’ journey to nearly $15M 6:29 – Breaking through the $8M-$9M plateau 7:28 – Revenue per employee, margin discipline, and EBITDA 8:50 – Moving into packaged cybersecurity services 10:54 – GCS’ ideal client profile 13:05 – Founder identity vs. non-founder CEO identity 19:03 – What had to change to get past $10M 21:54 – Building a lean leadership team 24:09 – What breaks between $8M and $15M 26:48 – The hard lesson of right people, wrong seats 31:19 – Growth plans from $15M to $20M 38:51 – Building a durable asset instead of chasing an exit 41:45 – Borrowing from EOS, peer groups, and industry benchmarks 44:42 – The metrics Shane watches most closely 49:02 – Why account management and retention matter more at scale 50:52 – Shane’s biggest leadership mistake 55:15 – Delegating decisions, not just tasks 56:35 – Lightning round 59:39 – Books and ideas that shaped Shane’s leadership Connect Brian Hoppe https://brianhoppe.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhoppe Shane Gronniger GCS Technologies https://www.gcstechnologies.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanegroniger/

  8. May 4

    How to Build a Best-in-Class $15M MSP in a Small Market w/ Ed Knott

    A $15.5M MSP in rural Nebraska. No major market. No shortcuts. Most MSP owners assume scale requires geography, talent density, or luck. This conversation challenges that. Brian Hoppe sits down with Ed Knott, who built Applied Connective Technologies from 2 people to 68 employees, to unpack what actually drives growth beyond $10M. This is not a conversation about tactics. It’s about the shift most owners struggle to make. In this episode: - What really changes between a $5M and $10M MSP owner - How to build and retain a team in a constrained market - Why client experience and retention become the primary growth engine - The transition from founder-led hustle to leadership-driven scale - What “financial maturity” actually looks like inside an MSP If you’re thinking about what it takes to build a business that scales beyond you, this is the conversation. If you want to go deeper on the levers behind growth and valuation, you can get the Value Creation Blueprint here: https://brianhoppe.com/blueprint/ Key Moments 1:06 – The real difference between $5M and $10M MSP owners 7:32 – Building in a rural market and why geography didn’t matter 12:24 – Hiring and retaining talent when your market is constrained 19:05 – The moment an owner has to let go 25:11 – How sales evolves as the business scales 32:58 – Retention as a strategic growth driver 36:35 – Using leading indicators to run the business 45:42 – The biggest mistake Ed made as a leader Connect Brian Hoppe https://brianhoppe.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhoppe Ed Knott Applied Connective Technologies https://appliedconnective.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-knott-a218535/

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About

The $10 Million MSP Podcast dives into the real stories of MSP leaders who have gone beyond 10 million. How they built teams, created systems and turned their businesses into valuable wealth-building assets. Join Brian Hoppe, Strategic Coach to MSPs, as he sits down with leaders of $10M+ MSPs to unpack the inflection points that matter – From the personal stories of MSP leaders to key fundamentals like culture, operational maturity and driving profitability. This isn’t another MSP podcast about tools and tech. On The $10 Million MSP Podcast you’ll find behind the scenes conversations with leaders that have built thriving MSPs – their biggest wins, their toughest lessons and practical advice that you can use now. If you’re an MSP owner who knows that growth starts from within, that mindset, leadership and strategy, align to create both wealth and meaning, then this show is for you. New episodes are released every other week!

Information

  • Creator
    Brian Hoppe Coaching
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Brian Hoppe Coaching
  • Show Website
    The $10 Million MSP Podcast