Meet Caleb Brown, Owner of JS Computek!

Tell us a little about your MSP…

JS Computek is headquartered in Columbia, MO and we’ve been serving Mid-Missouri since 1997.

How long have you been a member of The 20?

We chose to strategically partner with The 20 in early 2019.

Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?

There were many factors, but here are the most influential:

A. The ability to scale with confidence.
B. The extra knowledge, cooperation, and human resources.
C. The ability to deliver the MID model which aligned with our company mission of delivering “IT Sanity” to our clients and staff.

Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.

Since joining, the biggest impact has really been internally — thinking about making documentation and processes clear, concise, and accurate.

What do you like most about being a member of The 20?

The helpful members; so many great resources in the group to share with.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?

Be willing to grow and adapt in your mindset and processes.

What are your biggest business challenges?

Breaking through the mindset of the prospect’s belief that IT should be like calling a plumber and that break/fix is a smart way to run a business.

What are your areas of focus for 2020?

For 2020 our core areas of focus are cloud migrations and new client acquisition.

What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?

Find your uniques, define and sharpen your core processes, and then build systems around those processes that allow you to scale up or down on demand.

What book are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading The Compound Effect.

Favorite blogs / podcasts

Krebs on Security and Darran Daily.

Interested in becoming a member like JS Computek? Click here for more information!

Meet Lou Ernst, Senior Sales Development Representative

Today we turn the spotlight on Lou Ernst. Lou quickly became a tremendous asset to the team at The 20.

What do you do here at The 20?

I am a Senior SDR here at The 20. My job is to discover, create, qualify and reach out to potential clients for our MSPs in the Marketing Program. My goal is to educate companies of all the benefits to having a managed IT department and putting them in touch with the right MSPs.

Describe The 20 in three words…

Fun, Innovative and the Best!

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

I wanted to be an astronaut!

What’s the most challenging thing about your job? 

The most challenging aspect of my job is probably handling potential clients in every single industry.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? 

My greatest achievement thus far is playing college football at Tarleton State University.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success? 

I’d say the most important qualities necessary for success is having integrity, patience and optimism.

What do you like most about The 20? 

I love my co-workers and just the environment in general. Every day is different, and there’s just no substitute for that.

What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies? 

I love to camp and play golf!

Where are you going on your next vacation?

I’ll be heading to Costa Rica.

What’s your top life hack?

I’d say my top life hack is to simply have more fun, and stress less. Slow down and be thankful!

Interested in working with Lou at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.

Meet Michael Wayland, Managing Director of Byte-Werx!

Tell us a little about your MSP…

We’re Byte-Werx, an MSP out of Houston, Texas. We started business in March of 2013. Originally we were a web design and development company. After years of trying to be both, I realized I wanted to laser-focus on being an MSP. So, in January of 2017, I bought out my partners and made it happen! Since then we’ve had amazing growth and found success with CPAs, law firms, and a variety of other clientele from several industries.

How long have you been a member of The 20?

We joined the 20 in June of 2017 — we’re looking forward to our 3rd anniversary coming up!

Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?

As a small local shop, I wanted to be able to offer my clients 24/7 service, assistance when we were unavailable, and best-in-class software that being in a big group provides.

Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.

The biggest change is the community and drive to always make ourselves better. It has allowed me to learn and implement best-in-industry policies and procedures as well as letting me focus on growing my business.

What do you like most about being a member of The 20?

The outstanding community. We are a member of several industry groups and none of them feel like The 20. The relationships we’ve built here have been some of the most beneficial in my career and I know there are several members that would be willing to drop what they’re doing and fly out to my aid if I really needed it.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?

It doesn’t matter how big or small you are, you need to run your business like it’s a business and not a job. This means building process and procedures that scale, documentation, and being ready to hit the gas to grow when you’re ready.

What are your biggest business challenges?

One of our biggest challenges is getting our message out to new businesses who may have never heard of us. Lead generation has never come naturally to me but we’re starting to see a lot of promising returns on our investments now.

What are your areas of focus for 2020?

For 2020 our primary focus will be on business workflows and implementing a modern workplace to our new and existing clients. With the jarring COVID-19 events, it is clear that all businesses need to be able to pick up and work anywhere at anytime and we truly believe that is the future of work.

What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?

As an MSP our real value-add and profit driver is automation and efficiencies. You can’t roll a truck for every problem or do one-off remote log-ins. To scale you need to create a flexible and complete stack so you can focus on learning and perfecting your procedures.

What book are you currently reading?

I’m currently digesting Getting Naked and would highly recommend it. It shows how being completely honest with your clients will win you loyalty and allow you to grow your business. I will always recommend The Checklist Manifesto for any MSP just getting started on getting their process and procedures in order.

Favorite blogs / podcasts

I listen to a lot of podcasts. Non MSP-related podcasts include FiveThirtyEight, EconTalk, and Planet Money. My favorite MSP/industry podcasts are: Frankly MSP, Security Now, and MSP Voice.

Interested in becoming a member like Byte-Werx? Click here for more information!

Meet Camden Parks, Talent Acquisition Manager

Today we turn the spotlight on Camden Parks. Camden quickly became a tremendous asset to the team at The 20.

What do you do here at The 20?

I am the Talent Acquisition Manager for all departments within the company. I basically find, qualify, and help the hiring managers hire all of our employees. I also focus on our retention and employee engagement efforts to keep our company culture at its best.

Describe The 20 in three words…

Innovative, progressive, and collaborative.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

A veterinarian. It wasn’t long before I realized that I wouldn’t be able to emotionally handle that type of work, so I chose to do something that would make me happy instead!

What’s the most challenging thing about your job? 

The most challenging aspect about my job is having to reject candidates that I build relationships with. First and foremost, I’m an advocate for my company, but I always become an advocate for my candidates along the way. Sometimes, it’s just not a great fit for one reason or another, and I have to remember that the goal is to always set up employees for success. Networking is huge for me, so even if I don’t have a good fit for a candidate now, I am known to call them later when I find something that would be a mutually beneficial fit.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? 

My greatest achievement at The 20 has been building the Talent Acquisition department from the ground up and watching the explosive growth we have experienced so far. We hired in 73 people last year alone, which is more than we had as a company when I started! To walk out onto the floor and see all the wonderful employees we have really warms my heart — I love when the connection between company and employee is a great fit.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success? 

Grit is the ability to persist in something you feel passionate about and persevere when you face obstacles. Someone once told me that motivation and determination alone will only take you so far, because they don’t last forever. Passion is what keeps you going when you feel like giving up. Grit combines passion, motivation, and determination for reaching long-term and meaningful goals.

What do you like most about The 20? 

The best part about working for The 20 is feeling like I have the ability to make such an impact for the company. I know that my work is meaningful and purposeful and I know that I’m valued for what I contribute. My manager, hiring managers, and coworkers help foster a collaborative, fun, and open-door culture which makes my work environment so enjoyable. We spend more waking hours at work than we do at home, so it’s nice to be able to say that at our home away from home, we really are The 20 Family.

What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies? 

One of my biggest passions in life is dog rescue. I work with a few different rescues in the DFW area, where I rescue, foster, and help transport dogs to different areas of the US. I have had 100+ dogs come through my home in the last couple of years — some with crazy medical issues, some seniors that have a hard time getting adopted, and some with behavioral issues. The best part is seeing each one get adopted into their forever home and getting updates from their families as time goes on.

Where are you going on your next vacation?

OBX, North Carolina to get my best friend married! After my bridesmaid duties end, I will be glued to the sand.

What’s your top life hack? 

Mix Downy Unstopables laundry beads (1/4 cup) with hot water (2 cups) and baking soda (2 tablespoons) in a spray bottle for a cheap and easy air refresher that’s safe for fabric! My couches and dogs’ beds always smell great. Having lots of dogs in and out of my house required me to get creative!

Interested in working with Camden at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.

Meet Allan Sivils, CEO of Sivils IT Consulting!

Tell us a little about your MSP…

Sivils IT Consulting is located in Virginia Beach, VA. We were established in 2014 after I spent 15 years managing enterprise IT operations. I wanted to create a niche business that focused strictly on partnering with our clients’ IT operations, and not selling software or hardware. We focus on building true partnerships with our clients that allow us to advocate for their business growth.

How long have you been a member of The 20?

We joined in December 2019!

Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?

A couple of reasons – The 20’s model is very similar to what we have been building since we started our business; to focus on being the best “Managed IT Department” for our clients. So, it made perfect sense from a partnership standpoint. Second, we have clients on both coasts, and being a part of The 20 gives us the resources that we need in order to serve clients across the United States. This allows us to scale faster, while not sacrificing the quality that our clients should expect. Lastly, the shared expertise of being a member alongside other top MSP’s allows us to work together to bring the best solutions to our clients.

Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.

We do not feel limited by how much we can scale our business by being a member of The 20.

What do you like most about being a member of The 20?

The network of being a member. Being part of such a large community has already helped us since joining in December operationally. We’ve been able to provide onsite resources to our clients that are thousands of miles away, and have these resources follow the same processes we do internally. We’ve been able to implement better technical solutions and processes that have helped us internally to service our clients.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?

Relationships. Both within our MSP community, our vendors, and especially our clients.

What are your biggest business challenges?

Managing the ebb and flow of IT projects around our clients growth – while we do our best to ensure that we can schedule to meet expectations, sometimes the volume of projects needed at one time can be difficult to manage. Also, sometimes projects require a wide range of very specific expertise. Being a member of The 20, this is quickly becoming less of a challenge.

What are your areas of focus for 2020?

Microsoft Azure, Windows WVD and Nerdio. We see that these have a huge operational advantage and efficiency versus having workloads onsite. It also helps us scale our clients faster, while ensuring their business continues to have the highest availability for their operations.

What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?

Stay focused on the relationships I mentioned above and being the IT Department advocate. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the business, with a lot of us being engineers that get too focused on the details, leverage your fellow partners/vendors instead of trying to take the entire pie for yourself. Follow this up by a repeatable IT operational standard and processes that will be clear and focused for your team to support and, most importantly; stable, secure, and protected for your client.

What book are you currently reading?

I travel a lot, so by “reading…” that really means “audio book” for me. This would be Traction by Gino Wickman. I’m actually listening to it again! I will listen to audio books that I have enjoyed, multiple times —  that is — if I find the information extremely valuable.

Favorite blogs / podcasts

Honestly, I don’t have any. I spend so much time investigating, reviewing, testing, and reading about various IT solutions and methods. I guess I would say, I read “the internet.”

Interested in becoming a member? Click here for more information!

Meet Lee Mash, Business Development Manager

Today we turn the spotlight on Lee Mash. Lee has quickly become a tremendous asset to the Sales team and The 20.

What do you do here at The 20?

I’m the Business Development Manager, which means I’m in charge of member recruitment. I search for potential MSPs to see if they’re the right fit to join The 20. 

Describe The 20 in three words…

Revolutionary, Teamwork, Unique.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

I wanted to be an astronaut.

What’s the most challenging thing about your job? 

Finding MSPs that REALLY are open to change. Change is difficult, and most people say they’re committed to change — but when it comes down to it, they don’t want to leave their comfort zone. Stepping out of your comfort zone is the only way you’ll grow and excel.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? 

Finishing my training and being accepted into the Elite Nahal infantry brigade of Israeli Defense Forces was my greatest life achievement. Our beret march was around 100 miles and I carried almost 100 pounds of gear. Climbing up Masada in full combat gear; carrying the stretcher while watching the sunrise and knowing I finished this trek was breathtaking. A task that I originally thought was impossible, became possible and that’s when I realized YOU can be the greatest barrier to your own success.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success? 

Self-discipline.

What do you like most about The 20? 

The 20 gives every MSP the chance to grow, no matter their size or where they’re at in their business plan. If they have the will and motivation to grow, The 20 enables them to unlock their true potential.

What do you like to do in your spare time? / What are your hobbies? 

In my spare time I enjoy working out, playing ice hockey, hanging out with friends, reading, laying on the beach and traveling.

Where are you going on your next vacation?

I am going to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan in May!

What’s your top life hack? 

Wake up before sunrise and you’ll be exponentially more productive! I guarantee it!

Interested in working with Lee at The 20? We’re hiring! Check out our Careers page for more info.

Meet Mark Elliott, CEO of 3i International!

Tell us a little about your MSP…

3i International is located in Houston, TX. We have 25 employees and have provided expert IT services since the year 2000. We are awesome at security and managed services, and our mission is to help people be their best by making technology easy and secure. We have a great team and have a lot of fun every day!

How long have you been a member of The 20?

3i International joined The 20 in December of 2018.

Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?

Great question, this is a two-part answer for us. First, we were looking to move upmarket to larger clients and wanted a way to deliver services on a national level where we did not lose control of our customer or have degradation in support by hiring one-off boots on the ground. Secondly, we were having challenges scaling the business, and it kept leading to service delivery issues. Before The 20, we had a great company with talented engineers, and our clients loved our support and personal touch. At our size, we did not have separate teams for the helpdesk and onsite engineers. Every engineer had a seat in the call center, and when needed, they would be sent onsite. This methodology worked well as long as we did not grow. Every time we had major projects or a large new client onboarding, we would have to move resources from the call center to install equipment or onboard new seats. As soon as we reallocated resources from our call center, the level of service that our clients had become accustomed to would fall. We would then move some resources from the field back to call center only to have project deliver suffer. We found our company stuck on a staffing teeter-totter with happy and then unhappy clients. The 20 gave us the ability to truly separate our call center from the onsite and project team, which has been a Godsend. We now have happy clients all the time, not just in between waves of growth.

Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.

We are closing more new MRR deals every month with the 20 offering and pitch. Our pipeline has grown with higher monthly recurring opportunities than we had before. The 20’s footprint has allowed us to focus on larger companies with multiple locations in different cities. We have found a real need here as an internal IT department with 500 employees cannot successfully support 20 locations with a couple of engineers. Our customer satisfaction with project delivery is through the roof. The 20’s call center handles the majority of our tickets, so we were able to shift our team around and create a dedicated team focused solely on project delivery. During our growth, we can now provide great support from the call center, our local onsite team, and the project team.

What do you like most about being a member of The 20?

The community is awesome, from weekly accountability calls with other members, the ability to message nationally on Microsoft Teams to find an answer to a tough question, the comradery at quarterly training meetings. It just a strong group of like-minded individuals with 1000’s of years of experience all fighting to make a difference in the lives of their customers and their families. The services The 20 provides encompass most of what an IT company needs to succeed. It is a great offering of tools at a fair price. We were concerned about what our customers would say about the changes, but our customer satisfaction continues to increase since becoming a member.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?

I don’t. I think this question could be answered ten different ways by ten people, and no one would be wrong. You might hear answers like grit, ambition, courage, commitment, willpower, drive, integrity, and on and on, you get my point. So why is it that sometimes you see individuals with these traits fall short of their full potential? I have been at this game for 25 years now, and I know that I possess all of the traits I just listed above. I am moderately successful, debt-free, and can retire comfortably in a few more years. By national standards, I’m in the top 1%, but by no means do I have a yacht or private aircraft. My journey to this point has been a dog fight in a highly competitive market. So, I think great success takes more than character traits as they are table steaks in today’s business climate. I feel to blow it out of the water truly you have to be first, better, or different. I feel the opportunity The 20 has afforded my company compliments my character traits by creating a differentiation that allows me to reach my full potential.

What are your biggest business challenges?

Last year we spent time identifying our weaknesses and threats. Now, last year’s challenges are this year’s opportunities as we have prioritized what we will be fixing and implementing during this calendar year. This year we are working on increasing outbound lead generation to 50 leads per month, implementing an employee training program around culture and function, standardizing our QBR methodology, and executing on a new inbound digital marketing strategy.

What are your areas of focus for 2020?

We are an EOS company, so we will continue to implement and improve our use of the traction tools set. From a top-line perspective, we are focused on growing monthly recurring revenue in the healthcare, legal, AEC, manufacturing, and energy verticals.

What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?

Identify what’s holding you back, and if you’re willing to fix it, find a business coach or organization with the skill set to help you solve your challenges and hold you accountable. Don’t be afraid to partner with The 20. It is one of the best decisions we have made for our business and the people we support.

What book are you currently reading?

I recently just finished setting my personal goals for 2020, which includes a list of 36 books. Here are the three that I am currently reading in January:

1. The Big Leap – Gay Hendricks. This book is about removing upper limiting beliefs in your personal and business life that keep you from reaching your full potential.
2. The Road Less Stupid – Keith Cunningham. I am reading this book for the second time. Incredible lessons that are easily digestible like fatherly advice.
3. The First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter – Michael Watkins

Favorite blogs / podcasts

Chris Voss – The Negotiation Edge
Guy Raz – How I Built This

Interested in becoming a member? Click here for more information!

Can you believe 2020 is here? It’s a brand new decade!

It’s a great time to reflect on on the lessons learned last year, and to set intentions for what we wish to create for the rest of the year! These are the tops MSP lessons learned by our members in 2019. Check them out!

Meet Travis Street, President and CEO of Complete Technology Solutions!

Tell us a little about your MSP…

Complete Technology Solutions (CTS) was founded in 2001 in Muncie, Indiana. I ‘accidentally’ started the company when I was finishing my bachelor’s degree at Ball State University. I was working at Staples at the time and a customer (an elderly lady in her 70s) asked if I would come to her house and setup a computer I sold her. I didn’t see the value of my skills at the time so I traded my labor for a home-cooked meal lol. After I was finished with my work, she gave me a $20 tip and asked if she could give my number out to some of her friends. I didn’t realize how connected she was in the community. The next week I had 10 elderly ladies calling me for computer help! And that was how CTS was started. Since our humble beginning as a one-man break/fix shop, CTS has evolved and grown over the years to a fully-managed IT department service with over 50 staff members, and offering nationwide IT support and consulting services exclusively to the multifamily industry.

How long have you been a member of The 20?

We joined The 20 in the spring of 2018.

Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?

Prior to joining, our company had hit a revenue ceiling for over 5 years that we could not overcome. At the time we did not have a vertical focus. And although we had been working with multifamily companies for close to 15 years, we still supported other local businesses and were competing with many IT companies locally. I wanted to change our direction and offer a service with a vertical focus that was unique and would give us a competitive advantage. I accidentally discovered The 20 while attending a ChannelPro conference in Dallas. After a ‘colorful’ keynote speech by Tim Conkle, I immediately recognized The 20 model was the way to succeed and allow CTS to scale up and grow. I signed up the next day! It was the best business decision I have ever made.

Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.

The biggest change in our business since we joined is that we are now 100% vertically-focused. The tools and nationwide footprint of the 20 has given us the freedom to focus on our multifamily specialty and deliver superior all-inclusive service and support to our clients for a predictable, flat monthly fee.

What do you like most about being a member of The 20?

The best thing about The 20 is the camaraderie between the partners. Every member is a great resource and has unique talents and skills they share with the group as a whole.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?

In order to succeed, you gotta put in the work. Hard work, discipline, and determination.

What are your biggest business challenges?

I think I speak for most of the companies out there in saying sales and marketing is always a challenge for an IT company. One of the biggest advantages of joining The 20 is that they became my marketing and sales department and handle it all. This way I can focus on business development and on our vertical.

What are your areas of focus for 2020?

We are focused 100% on multifamily and student housing moving forward. This is a vertical we have been working with for over 15 years and have a wealth of experience. We truly understand the unique needs of property management and development companies which allows us to provide superior service and consulting services to this market.

What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?

Focus on at least 2 or 3 vertical markets and tailor your service delivery around them.

What book are you currently reading?

I switch between business development books and science fiction books. Currently I’m reading Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman, and Bears Discover Fire and Other Stories by Terry Bison (one of my favorite science fiction writers).

Favorite blogs / podcasts

Multifamily Matter Radio Show. I love listening to this show to stay on top of the latest trend and information in the multifamily industry.

Interested in becoming a member? Click here for more information!

MSP Spotlight: Meet Bill Whelden, President and CEO of Rx-IT

Tell us a little about your MSP…

Rx-IT started in 1999 with one client; just barely large enough for me to make a go of it. That was a 35-seat law firm — they owned me and they knew it. It was a really good feeling to get enough clients so they didn’t own me anymore. I was highly motivated! It was a better feeling bringing on the first hire so I didn’t have to do everything for everyone all the time. Up until then, I used to joke that my girlfriends name was ‘Palm Treo.’

How long have you been a member of The 20?

We’ve been in The 20 just over 3 years now.

Why did your MSP originally look to partner with The 20?

I went to some channel event back in early 2016. As I recall, someone invited me to a party. There was a man there. He talked and cussed a lot. Some called him ‘MSP Holy Man’ others called him ‘IT Prophet.’ He said to me, ‘Come, eat, be at peace and drink Tito’s.’ The next morning I woke on the sofa in the lobby of the hotel. I had a signed contract with The 20 and a one dollar bill stapled to my shirt collar.

Seriously, we spent a good number of years bumping our heads on the ceiling, we just couldn’t grow past a certain point. I was getting tired, really tired; burned out you might say. We were looking for a way to scale and grow the business. We knew we needed a good help desk but we also knew that peer guidance and a wider knowledge base were just as important. When we found The 20, it seemed to fit like a comfortable shoe.

Tell us about the biggest change in your business since joining The 20.

We’ve almost tripled our revenue in just over 36 months!

What do you like most about being a member of The 20?

The community. There are many communities within the channel but nothing quite like this.

What do you think is the most important quality necessary for success?

Motivation.

What are your biggest business challenges?

Our biggest challenge right now is learning how to better prioritize and keep what’s truly important in front and center. It’s amazing to me that I will find myself mindlessly organizing my sock drawer when there are so many other things to do, so many opportunities in front of us. Motivation and organization are things we always strive to keep in focus.

What are your areas of focus for 2019?

Profitability and growth.

What advice would you share with an MSP looking to scale their business?

Partner with The 20!

What book are you currently reading?

I am re-reading How to Stop Worrying and Start Living for the umpteenth time.

Favorite blogs / podcasts

My favorite blog is ‘The Negotiation Edge’ by The Black Swan Group

Interested in becoming a Partner? Click here for more information!