After seeing a recent presentation from Dave Cava on the topic of Scaling Your MSP Business to Maturity, we knew our community would find that his experiences hit home, so we asked him to speak with us in a webinar session. As the co-Founder and COO of a New York-based firm that specializes in managed services for alternative investment firms, Dave offers real-life advice on the phases of MSP Business Maturity. With Dave's insights, you'll not only understand where your business is currently at in the process, but you'll also walk away with actionable advice for the next steps in your journey. The discussion originally appeared as a live webinar and answered questions such as: - What needs to happen for an MSP to grow from infancy to healthy, full-blown adulthood? - How do your team and your service offering need to evolve to stay on track as you grow? - and so much more! * Get free access to the complete webinar recording at: http://info.brightgauge.com/stages-of-msp-maturity-webinar

1. The
Stages
of
MSP
Maturity
Dave
Cava
Owner/COO,
Proac;ve
Technologies

2. Introducing
Proac;ve
Technologies
• Located
in
Midtown
Manha@an
• Founded
in
2007
• Managed
Services
first
and
foremost
• Focused
on
Financial
Services
ver;cal
– Very
demanding
clientele
– We
service
“The
1%”
• 30+
People
• $5M+
in
revenue

3. Balancing
the
4
Pillars
of
the
Business
• Sales
and
Marke;ng
• Service
Delivery
(Process)
• Finance
and
Administra;on
• Human
Resources
(People)
Any
;me
there
is
an
imbalance
the
ability
of
the
business
to
progress
will
suffer.
They
must
grow
TOGETHER.

4. Stages
of
Business
Maturity
• Toddler
Time
– All
about
the
owner(s)
– Strong
reliance
on
key
people
– Processes
non-­‐existent
or
very
immature

5. Stages
of
Business
Maturity
• Scaling
Up
– Middle
management
introduced
– Responsibili;es
transferring
from
individuals
to
groups
– Processes
are
gebng
defined

6. Stages
of
Business
Maturity
• Killing
It
– Strong
Execu;ve
Team
and
Board
of
Directors
– Work
accomplished
by
groups
of
“experts”
– Daily
opera;ons
func;on
by
effec;ve
processes

7. Your
Mission
For
Today:
• Should
you
choose
to
accept
it…
– Iden;fy
where
your
company
is
at
on
the
roadmap
to
maturity
– Iden;fy
a
few
a
few
“next
steps”
for
progressing
forward
• They
should
be
concrete
• They
should
be
realis;cally
a@ainable

8. Sales
and
Marke;ng
Strategy
Toddler
Time
• Credibility
comes
from
vendors
used
• Owner’s
connec;ons
/
reputa;on
is
key
• Sales
by
owner
via
referrals
Scaling
Up
• Beginning
to
establish
a
corporate
brand
• Lead
genera;on
and
sales
processes
are
immature
but
ramping
up
• Other
resources
(besides
owner)
are
selling
Killing
It
• Corporate
iden;ty
well
established
• Majority
of
leads
are
self-­‐generated
• Well
oiled
sales
team
selling
using
defined
processes
and
tracking
systems

9. Payment
Cycle
and
Cash
Flow
Toddler
Time
• Cash
lags
far
behind
service
• Cash
flow
is
lousy,
but
need
is
modest
Scaling
Up
• A/R
Days
Outstanding
improving
• Cash
flow
also
improving,
but
the
need
is
huge
and
is
a
threat
to
growth
Killing
It
• Cash
received
before
service
is
provided
• Cash
flow
is
fluid
• Banking
cash

10. Gross
Margin
on
Your
Support
Services
Toddler
Time
• Low
(Up
to
35%)
• Tough
to
reinvest
Scaling
Up
• Moderate
(35-­‐60%)
• Need
to
reinvest
eats
it
Killing
It
• High
(60%+)
• Oh
baby,
real
cheddar

11. Services
Sold
Toddler
Time
• Hourly
Billing
• Time
Blocks
• Monitoring
and
Maintenance
• Resold
Cloud
Scaling
Up
• Transi;oning
to
All
In
Managed
Services
and
Inclusive
Flat
Fees
• Lots
of
legacy
deals
and
excep;ons
• Some
resold
cloud,
some
in
house
cloud
Killing
It
• All
In
Managed
Services
and
Inclusive
Flat
Fees
• Staffing
• Offerings
include
in
house
cloud

12. Standardiza;on
of
Client
Environments
Toddler
Time
• Technology
standards
are
not
well
defined
across
client
base
• Clients
are
not
forced
to
adhere
to
minimum
standards
Scaling
Up
• Standards
have
developed
• Legacy
clients
need
not
comply,
excep;ons
are
made
regularly
for
new
clients
Killing
It
• Standards
are
fully
defined
and
are
enforced
with
rare
excep;on.
• “If
you
hire
us,
you
get
on
our
planorm”

13. Standardiza;on
of
Service
Processes
Toddler
Time
• Not
documented
• Dependence
on
individual
know
how,
not
corporate
standards
• No
real
"our
way
of
doing
things"
• QoS
depends
on
who
answers
the
phone
Scaling
Up
• Some
processes
are
documented,
but
procedures
s;ll
inconsistent
• Responsibility
more
on
groups
and
less
on
individuals
• QoS
is
improving
Killing
It
• Processes
and
escala;on
procedures
fully
defined
• Able
to
adjust
processes
with
agility
• QoS
is
excellent
and
consistent

14. Strategic
Planning
Mee;ngs
with
Clients
Toddler
Time
• Rare
to
Non-­‐Existent
Scaling
Up
• Regular
with
some
clients,
on
demand
or
non-­‐existent
with
others
Killing
It
• Done
on
a
regular
schedule
with
most
to
all
clients

15. The
Bossman
(CEO)
Toddler
Time
• What
CEO?
• HDIC
is
immersed
in
the
day
to
day
details
of
the
business
• “In
the
weeds”
Scaling
Up
• CEO
must
emerge
and
raise
up
leaders
to
run
lines
of
business
• The
"ba@le
to
delegate"
is
key
to
success
Killing
It
• Execu;ve
team
is
well
established
with
at
least
one
addi;onal
layer
of
management
below
them
• CEO
manages
execu;ves
and
sets
course
for
the
future

16. Technical
Staff
Toddler
Time
• Need
overqualified
generalists
to
deliver
service
well
• Same
people
doing
L1
to
L3
work
• No
real
resource
depth
Scaling
Up
• Increasing
role
defini;on
/
differen;a;on.
Specialists
replace
generalists
• Senior
engineers
doing
less
L1/2
• Resources
begin
to
overlap
Killing
It
• Roles
fully
defined.
Generalists
gone
• L1
work
done
well
by
L1
techs
• Not
overpaying
for
any
posi;on
• True
resource
depth

17. New
Hire
Assimila;on
Toddler
Time
• New
Hire
training
is
non-­‐
existent
or
"watch
him"
Scaling
Up
• There
is
an
evolving
New
Hire
training
process
that
includes
documenta;on
Killing
It
• New
hires
come
into
a
highly
defined
system
with
a
precise
roadmap
/
plan
for
gebng
up
to
speed