PitchIT Zach Kromkowski Senton

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_05]: Hey everyone, welcome back to this week's edition of MSP Business School

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER_05]: And we've got an exciting one for you as we continue on with the PitchIT series in preparation of connect wise is IT Nation PitchIT competition

[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_05]: We've got one of the finalists Zach Kromkowski from senty on joining us today

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_05]: And he's gonna tell you a little bit about how he's preparing for his pitch and what senty and does

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_05]: We've also got our friend Bobby Jacobs coming back from thread the folks that took us down

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_05]: Last year at the PitchIT competition, but Bobby's a great guy

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_05]: And he's gonna share some of the things he's doing to help Zach get ready

[00:00:37] [SPEAKER_05]: And as always as part of the PitchIT competition, we've got Shawn Lardo who's there to tell you everything connect wise

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_05]: So stay tuned. We've got a great one for you today

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_05]: Stuck with Shawn, but that's part of the deal man, you know, he's gotta be here too. So with that guys

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_05]: Thanks first welcome, you know, we've got on the call today for those of you listening audibly

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_05]: We've got Bobby Jacobs from thread. He was one of the finalists with myself last year in the PitchIT and they took it

[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_05]: Knocked us out man. It's tough

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_05]: Shawn of course is here Shawn Lardo who you know

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_05]: I've obviously is the czar of the PitchIT program and really runs with this thing and promotes it and gets these folks

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_05]: Visibility and then somebody knew I'm getting to meet today Zach Kromkowski from senty on

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_05]: He's gonna come on and tell you about his his run to the finals

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_05]: So with that Shawn, you know, let me throw it to you and why don't you tell the listeners that might not know a little bit

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_05]: About what PitchIT program is all about

[00:01:42] [SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely. I first want to address that you're stuck with me comment and know that

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_03]: Brian was so tired of being stuck with me

[00:01:49] [SPEAKER_03]: He's had to take second place after Bobby Jacobs in the finals last year

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_03]: So, you know just one of he was quick to get out. Thank you Bob

[00:01:56] [SPEAKER_05]: Nobody has been on MSP business school more than you buddy. So, you know the reality is there's lots of love

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_03]: I love it

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_03]: I you know, it's probably my favorite thing in the entire space is the fact that everybody banters together

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_03]: Because it's such a good it's like all friends. But anyway, I digress moving on

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_03]: PitchIT very simply put at you know, this is a shark tank like competition

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_03]: For start vendors we're looking for the best of the best to be involved. They support the MSP space, right?

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_03]: They integrate into connect wise

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_03]: They invest in in the community

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_03]: The goal was for you know, each year

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_03]: We've grown with better talent each year that come into this

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_03]: And these are the innovators and we start off with 26 vendors to start to season off

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_03]: We don't take it you can apply because I mean you make it

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_03]: You must be qualified and we do have a team that qualifies you to put to admit you into the program

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_03]: Go through 16 weeks of it at the end of 16 weeks

[00:02:50] [SPEAKER_03]: You guys we make everybody go through a pitch off

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_03]: For the preliminaries or we narrow down to the three finalists those three finalists compete live on stage at it nation connect

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_03]: Um, and you're all you know the first what the first thing you win is a finalist as you get free a free booth there

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_03]: Which is a great win

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Um, I love that part right?

[00:03:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, I mean it's worth its weight in gold because this it nation connect is the biggest conference of the year

[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_03]: It's the end of the year. It's a what you're able to cap it off

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_03]: So you get to the end of the year here you get this this booth

[00:03:21] [SPEAKER_03]: But then the next thing you're doing is getting ready to go on stage and talk in front of hopefully this year a thousand plus people

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_03]: It's we're working towards

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_03]: Um last year was over 600 in the audience which are all your MSPs some vendors

[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_03]: And you guys are all buying for the main prize of 70 000 grand prize

[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Which bobby jago's won because he took first that's right

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_03]: Um, just saying bobby, you know good job congrats brian took second like I said earlier

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_05]: We didn't get steak knives. So, you know it was it was good deck

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_04]: The money is a big deal, but shan you're selling yourself short like pitch it is about helping MSPs get to meet earlier stage vendors

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_04]: It's expensive as an early stage company to get to meet

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh and go to conferences and market and do all these things

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_04]: But MSPs if they don't get to meet these new vendors that are bringing incredible technology to market

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_04]: They're missing out on security opportunities

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_04]: ROI better service experience

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_04]: All these things that they spend a lot of time thinking about and so pitch it. I mean, it's it's really an incredible

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh service that the industry not the industry that it nation and connectwise do to be able to bring these

[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Really early stage vendors with incredible technology

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_04]: Um to market faster to meet all these MSPs

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_04]: So 70 k is cool 30 k is cool steak knives are cool

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_04]: What's way more valuable is getting to meet MSPs?

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, thank you bobby from now on bobby will do the talking to start off everyone of our episodes

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_03]: We need better than I am um, yeah, no, you're right. It is a big deal

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean early the early early event stages of vendors is difficult

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_03]: I think we all can attempt to we've all lived through it and

[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_03]: The struggles are typically like they don't know a vendor. You don't know where to invest

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_03]: You don't know what your money. Where should you market? Where should you talk to the hardest part is finding the right fishing holes?

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_03]: You know and you don't even know what they are sometimes and and how many vendors actually start off with a concept in mind

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_03]: But they think it's for one set type of

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_03]: MSP and then they realize holy crap. It's not it's actually applicable to the rest because you do learn quickly

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_03]: Mass market appeal is extremely important to some degree

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's the difference and then at that point you're you're back to square one trying to figure out

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_03]: Where the hell you should go?

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_03]: You know so

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Pitch I mean helps remove that barrier, right?

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_01]: You know it allowed us to identify the multiple use cases and whatnot because it is a barrier to really get exposure

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_01]: It's a barrier to these shows if you can ask any vendor most shows start at at least 10,000

[00:05:42] [SPEAKER_01]: But most of them that are really big right 20,000 plus right?

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_01]: I wouldn't be able to allocate that much at this stage like I don't want to that money needs to go other places

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_01]: But pitch it allowed us to get the exposure and build our virtual presence

[00:05:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Right doesn't cost anything to have a linked in free account

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_01]: You know probably should get the premium

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_01]: But it allowed us to build that virtual presence and identify things we would have had to figure out way later down the roadmap

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_05]: But your spot on with that zack, you know a lot of the vendors that were in the cohort that bobby and I were a part of

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_05]: Were you know bootstraps vendors still investing into product getting the product where it needed to be to really take it out

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_05]: To market in its full capacity and this gave a lot of exposure but also fostered a lot of partnerships

[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_05]: You know we uh, we've integrated with a couple of the platforms that were in our cohort or yeah

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_05]: I and guys like you in this cohort and and you know, we do a lot of co-marketing with folks

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_05]: I know bobby's been on a couple things with me and vice versa

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_05]: And it really becomes a nice little community and the nice part is we're all kind of at the same stage or at least similar stages

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_05]: And we all grow together as well

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, absolutely. You know what I I would I would definitely commend

[00:06:49] [SPEAKER_03]: You know from year one to year two to year three. It's become such a big ordeal

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_03]: It's gotten bigger and better and you know

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_03]: Zack owes it to you guys even

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_03]: Because year one was very good

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_03]: We got some people that were engaged and built not to this this really dynamic group

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_03]: And getting all the exposure and then year two you guys really blew it out of the water from year one even

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_03]: Um and the cross promotions and collaborations and now they got a chance to watch you guys

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_03]: You got a chance to watch year one year two year three watches year two could really work out and honestly

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_03]: It's fun. It's good because again back to I get to meet a lot of new friends and like

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_03]: You know and whoever really is lucky enough to get a chance to like spoon with bobby in public on picture

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_05]: So, you know

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_05]: That picture was something else. I think you might have to send me a copy so we can throw it in the show notes

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_05]: I'll

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Audio guys, uh, you don't need to go to youtube for that one. You you can bypass that scene

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_05]: But anyway, uh, you know bobby

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_05]: I want to turn to you for a moment and let's talk a little bit about your experience last year

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_05]: But first tell us a little bit about thread for any listener that might not know anything about thread today

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, thanks brian thread is a service experience platform

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_04]: So we help msp's meet their customers where they live in something like microsoft teams

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_04]: You know phone is the most expensive way to provide support email is a really bad way to provide support

[00:08:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Your end customers can chat with you from teams and it integrates into your ticketing system like connectwise

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_04]: You're going to see over a 30 decrease in time to resolution

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_04]: Not to mention our new ai triage

[00:08:25] [SPEAKER_04]: Tool that we just released and we actually said in our use of fun slides in pitch it last year

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_04]: That if we won pitch it we would use that money to build an auto dispatch tool

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_04]: And now we have so uh, yeah, thank you to connectwise and pitch it for helping us help msp's auto triage

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_04]: tickets better

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_05]: Oh man, and let's talk a little bit about what your experience was like running into the finals, you know

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm sure zacks over here saying to himself. All right. What am I getting myself into and what do I need to do?

[00:08:55] [SPEAKER_05]: So maybe if you got some words of wisdom on how you prepped up because obviously you guys took home the big prize

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_05]: Uh, you know, maybe that'll help

[00:09:01] [SPEAKER_05]: You know him and any listeners that are thinking about being part of pitch it next year

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I think one thing that shaw and his team and community are really good at is helping

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_04]: uh vendors

[00:09:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Explain their products better which again does benefit the msp because if there's a really cool tool out there

[00:09:21] [SPEAKER_04]: That's going to provide a great roi

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_04]: But the vendor's not explaining it right or they're saying it in a way that resonates with them and their prior experience

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_04]: But not the way an msp actually works

[00:09:31] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh, then the msp is not going to know how to evaluate it. They're not going to think about roi the right way

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_04]: And so, you know when we I've mentioned this uh before but we lost every competition

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_04]: We did before pitch it when we did the like pitch it 30 second pitches 60 second pitches

[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_04]: We lost everyone because we were not able to describe our values succinctly

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_04]: By the time the the time would run out and we'd be like oh by the way we do this this and this

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_04]: And this is what we do matters

[00:09:59] [SPEAKER_04]: and so

[00:09:59] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah helping vendors like you know

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_04]: Zach and I met the other day and made a way through the call

[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_04]: I was like Zach you have not said anything compelling to me yet

[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_04]: Like I don't get what you're talking about but I listened to to be fair

[00:10:11] [SPEAKER_04]: I listened to Zach's pitch and I was like that pitch is very compelling like you got into the finals for a reason

[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_04]: but it's like

[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_04]: There's so many words that we can say as vendors that like don't actually mean anything to the end user

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_04]: But are like important to us because we spent all this time building our products

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, so helping us get that out

[00:10:30] [SPEAKER_04]: So we only say the valuable things is uh, I think that's the most important thing that happens through pitch it

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_03]: I have to say this and I told Dak this I always needed to Bobby

[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_03]: I was so happy to Dak and but we it's a random pick on who's the head coach

[00:10:44] [SPEAKER_03]: I was so happy that you got him

[00:10:47] [SPEAKER_03]: because

[00:10:47] [SPEAKER_03]: I was like

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_03]: compelling pitch like you said Bobby a complete train wreck everywhere

[00:10:53] [SPEAKER_03]: without staying on track

[00:10:54] [SPEAKER_03]: and that is that and we and Zach I'm very

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_02]: That's a strength Sean

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_02]: There ain't no rails on this train all the board

[00:11:03] [SPEAKER_03]: Take away his superpower

[00:11:04] [SPEAKER_03]: No, and all I said to Zach was

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_03]: You need to be staying on track with your presentation

[00:11:11] [SPEAKER_03]: I said and Bobby is very good with the process of a presentation

[00:11:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Once Bobby nailed down what he's going to do. He is like clockwork

[00:11:19] [SPEAKER_03]: You know exactly what's gonna happen with him because he indoctrinated where Zach is like score

[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_03]: for

[00:11:25] [SPEAKER_03]: Wow

[00:11:26] [SPEAKER_03]: You know until it's a match made in heaven for a string to a weakness because yeah, Zach

[00:11:31] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, we know you're very lively and you're a good personality for which so is Bobby right and that's perfect in that realm

[00:11:38] [SPEAKER_03]: Just it's more of a maturity aspect

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_03]: And I think that that so I was extremely illustrative extremely happy with the pairing

[00:11:45] [SPEAKER_01]: That's awesome to hear and I mean we're I'm excited to have Bobby as a coach

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Right, we've already had a few sessions and talking about the importance of structure planning and whatnot

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_01]: So him already seeing the battle royale pitch on channel program and what they're doing with pitch it as well

[00:11:58] [SPEAKER_01]: was super helpful for him to get a baseline of

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_01]: See what I did there baseline

[00:12:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Of what I am

[00:12:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Um, so that was really exciting and Bobby what you said with the technical verbiage. There's so many words

[00:12:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Baseline for example, I love that word baseline may not mean the same thing to everybody and

[00:12:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Figuring out the right things to say between Sean and his dad like holy crap

[00:12:20] [SPEAKER_01]: There's so much business value and business outcomes Zach stop saying that say this

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_01]: You know, it's annoying but they're there they're there to help right?

[00:12:29] [SPEAKER_01]: We want that and any entrepreneur listening any potential pitch it nominee coming out, right?

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Take that feedback and own it right that's as an entrepreneur

[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_01]: You should be want to be told you're wrong my first pitch I did at msp geek for what it was a three minute pitch or something

[00:12:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Sean um, john was just like yeah, man

[00:12:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Do you said something about lullabies? But you're trying to give advice and and it's stuck with me

[00:12:52] [SPEAKER_01]: I I don't know but it showed me that I need to just be a little bit more on on the rails in some scenarios

[00:12:59] [SPEAKER_03]: Well think about it. Yeah, you're right like well

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_03]: So one thing that you learn and actually

[00:13:03] [SPEAKER_03]: I'll bobby's a great example even because when we when bobby first showed me his presentation

[00:13:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Early in the season where it was at the end of the season was almost a 180 to a degree a lot of the same content

[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_03]: Just restructured reformatted retold as far as the way the text went that was it

[00:13:22] [SPEAKER_03]: But it was it became because it's about storytelling

[00:13:25] [SPEAKER_03]: That's what it's all about if you can't tell a story

[00:13:28] [SPEAKER_03]: And you only have a few minutes to tell the story to impress the judges

[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_03]: You can't be cumbersome in the wrong thing

[00:13:34] [SPEAKER_03]: Then you get you get pigeonholed and strung up on

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_03]: One thing in the week and you go down this line in the weeds where you don't get the really covered a total value

[00:13:42] [SPEAKER_03]: Do you want from being this holistic platform to one individual tool or or are you doing to identify if you're a service or a platform?

[00:13:50] [SPEAKER_03]: You know and those simple things that get matter because I need to know and

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_03]: Using bobby is the example is great because he was he was good. He knew what he was talking about

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_03]: He just he from his it from the each week to week

[00:14:02] [SPEAKER_03]: He kept reformatting and reformulating what he was doing until he came up with something he could and he believed in his own story

[00:14:07] [SPEAKER_03]: He could talk about

[00:14:09] [SPEAKER_05]: I guarantee bobby you got the same thing that I have

[00:14:12] [SPEAKER_05]: Which was a master slide deck that you're pulling things from there's probably 30 different slides

[00:14:17] [SPEAKER_05]: It's at some point where in every pitch along the way

[00:14:19] [SPEAKER_05]: Before you got down to like the six or eight that you used in the actual finals, right?

[00:14:24] [SPEAKER_05]: and a lot of that

[00:14:25] [SPEAKER_05]: Go ahead

[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, I was going to say I think the slide that we started with initially it was like the msp market is x big and this many

[00:14:32] [SPEAKER_04]: Team's users exist across the world and it's like one no one cares to everyone here already knows that because we're all in the

[00:14:40] [SPEAKER_04]: Industry so getting to where like what is the pain that we actually start with that took me a while

[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, yeah, that was actually that was absolutely one of the biggest conversations that bobby and I had was that because

[00:14:51] [SPEAKER_03]: A lot of value but it only starts with what you're paying your solving for is and yes, and you feel like it's common sense

[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_03]: You feel like everybody should know what this does what pain it solves for but it doesn't matter

[00:15:02] [SPEAKER_03]: If you if you can't physically say it

[00:15:05] [SPEAKER_03]: It's a much like saying you have you know, it's the cure for cancer

[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_03]: But you don't say that it's the cure for cancer. You say I have this medication

[00:15:12] [SPEAKER_05]: So, you know while we're on this subject here, let's turn to zack and let's learn a little bit more about sentient

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_05]: And maybe you can tell us the pain you're solving for

[00:15:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean highest level. We're turning those red marks on your scans green

[00:15:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Right, whether that's a real pen test an automated pen test

[00:15:30] [SPEAKER_01]: vulnerability scan all of those red marks that you have today that take manual remediation

[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_01]: sentient has a learning mode and a button to change well over 1500 different policies, so

[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_01]: What that means is we are actually hardening and performing the remediation on workstations servers and browsers

[00:15:50] [SPEAKER_01]: To best practice standards whether the standard is cis center for internet security or comp to a trust mark

[00:15:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Or if it's a regulatory standard like pc i hipa sock 2

[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_01]: sentient outlines this all in a single pane of glass

[00:16:04] [SPEAKER_01]: To handle not only the enforcement not only the reporting not only the monitor the remediation the change tracking

[00:16:10] [SPEAKER_01]: sentient does all this in a single click

[00:16:15] [SPEAKER_05]: Good, so I mean, you know now we're getting a little sense of what you do

[00:16:19] [SPEAKER_05]: And and the problem that you're solving is you're turning things back to green

[00:16:22] [SPEAKER_05]: But let's get into like who is your end user? Is it usually a technical person? Who cares about your product?

[00:16:28] [SPEAKER_05]: Is it a business owner? Yeah somebody else?

[00:16:31] [SPEAKER_05]: You know, I could certainly give my take i'm where I think

[00:16:34] [SPEAKER_05]: But I'd like to hear from you. I think everyone in this room is going to have opinions

[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_01]: That's why that's why we're in this room together, right?

[00:16:39] [SPEAKER_01]: We're all outspoken and confident and and we have important things that we want to share because our words matter, right everyone

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_01]: yeah

[00:16:46] [SPEAKER_01]: So who who cares right engineers have never been not excited by what we do

[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Why would an engineer care? I'm telling them they can change well over

[00:16:55] [SPEAKER_01]: I think it's up to like 3000 policies across the os's

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_01]: 3000 policies without ever writing a script again

[00:17:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Not only that we can guarantee and prove that the setting actually changed to the state you want

[00:17:07] [SPEAKER_01]: So engineers have never not been excited, but let's talk about the business value the business outcome that shon and his dad always

[00:17:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Scream at me right so business owners the msp owner, right?

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm trying not to say Keith's name, but I absolutely love the guy so Keith Nelson is who i'm referencing here

[00:17:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Anyway, so why would a business owner care about hardening their workstation servers and browsers, right?

[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_01]: We want to to an extent

[00:17:31] [SPEAKER_01]: We do want to control the behavior and enforce a security culture at the end client, right?

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_01]: How do you do that? You can have a policy handbook and you have all your documents

[00:17:41] [SPEAKER_01]: You can checkmark that box, but if that policy is not being followed

[00:17:44] [SPEAKER_01]: What good is that written sentence?

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_01]: So with sentient by actually enforcing and remediating these policies for example like

[00:17:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Do not save password to the browser, right? You can write that down. Does that mean people are still going to do it?

[00:17:58] [SPEAKER_01]: It's pretty convenient, right sentient is going to apply a policy so that they literally can't right?

[00:18:04] [SPEAKER_01]: It's going to enforce that so it's going to force them to start to adopt a security culture

[00:18:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Not only that sentient does have relationships with um, dustin bolander and the insurance companies

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_01]: He's working with and data stream insurance. So we will actually have

[00:18:18] [SPEAKER_01]: cyber insurance recommendations

[00:18:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Via configurations within sentient so now you can attest and remediate technical policies that directly align to cyber insurance attestation

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_01]: So you're not only getting better premiums more business value more operational efficiency through standardizing all of your endpoints

[00:18:38] [SPEAKER_01]: You're all you're getting this all without the labor one click. This will change everything and you're done. That's it

[00:18:47] [SPEAKER_05]: And you know, that's an important part of it, right?

[00:18:49] [SPEAKER_05]: We I think we're all seeing cyber insurability being a little bit of a challenge and obviously the insurers looking for

[00:18:55] [SPEAKER_05]: Truth and lending when they're making claims payments and starting to do a lot more carve outs

[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_05]: And this ongoing evidence is one of the biggest challenges we see on the compliance side, right?

[00:19:04] [SPEAKER_05]: So you can see very easily where a business owner's looking at it as hey, I want to get my claim paid and be

[00:19:10] [SPEAKER_05]: I want my claim. I want my

[00:19:13] [SPEAKER_05]: Which we call it my premium to be lower, right? So, you know, there's definitely some use cases in the business world that you know

[00:19:19] [SPEAKER_05]: For my cheap seat over here Zach. I think you need to hit on

[00:19:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean let's talk really quick on that attestation from the insurance perspective

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_01]: So when I'm talking about settings, we'll take windows for example

[00:19:29] [SPEAKER_01]: You do this over gpo if you do this over in tune if you do this with power shell, right?

[00:19:33] [SPEAKER_01]: That all of those mediums are push only

[00:19:36] [SPEAKER_01]: None of them unless you write the extra power shell script

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_01]: But none of them naturally give you feedback if that policy actually changed successfully

[00:19:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Or if that policy stayed changed for multiple minutes multiple days forever, right?

[00:19:50] [SPEAKER_01]: You get none of that feedback because microsoft as a company can only push

[00:19:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Microsoft doesn't even know the state of these settings. They just push and

[00:19:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Trust us right trust but verify right where the verify part and where the trust part so like we not we don't trust

[00:20:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Microsoft at sentience. So everything I talked about from remediation from enforcement change tracking, right?

[00:20:12] [SPEAKER_01]: None of this uses power shell. None of this uses gpo. None of this uses in tune

[00:20:17] [SPEAKER_01]: This is our own

[00:20:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Engine that can guarantee the end perform attestation for your insurance forms for your auditing forms of the state of your technical policies

[00:20:29] [SPEAKER_03]: That's a lot. That's a lot of big words

[00:20:32] [SPEAKER_01]: A lot of words that I like to say that you and you and Keith would probably say why don't you say different words?

[00:20:38] [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, no, I'm the I'm being the guy that's the first time I'm hearing this is today

[00:20:41] [SPEAKER_05]: And I'm hearing two things your engineers love it because it saves them time

[00:20:46] [SPEAKER_05]: Their owners should love it because that saves them money

[00:20:49] [SPEAKER_05]: And in your uh end users should love it because you're reducing risk

[00:20:54] [SPEAKER_05]: And people only buy things for three reasons make money save money or reduce risk man. That's it

[00:20:59] [SPEAKER_01]: And that end client has better control over what their employees can and can't do right? They're also getting that security culture

[00:21:05] [SPEAKER_01]: I know I hinted at this but that end user not only gets the premiums they want they get the security they want

[00:21:10] [SPEAKER_01]: They're making sure that their employees can't access certain things via user rights assignments, right?

[00:21:16] [SPEAKER_01]: That's one area that we also manage, right? They make sure their employees only have access to the right areas, right?

[00:21:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Admins are actually treated like an admin account with still security policies associated, right?

[00:21:26] [SPEAKER_01]: So there's a lot to

[00:21:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Sentian, right? We're when I say 3000 policies like I can literally do a three hour episode with you, Brian

[00:21:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Like there's so much that we do it's super hard to drill down to the business outcome

[00:21:39] [SPEAKER_03]: There's no reason for a three hour episode. I'm telling you guys

[00:21:43] [SPEAKER_01]: I've done 56 episodes on gpo's and each one 60 minutes

[00:21:48] [SPEAKER_01]: And let me tell you that three people who come every week absolutely love it

[00:21:53] [SPEAKER_01]: One of which being my mom

[00:21:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Glad to see your mom watches these things too. Oh my god. My mom could actually pitch she did

[00:22:02] [SPEAKER_01]: I asked her to I was like, can you pitch what I do to me and I asked her this just yesterday and she nailed it

[00:22:07] [SPEAKER_01]: It was ridiculous

[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Have her back to you what we should have brought her on today and she could have pitched it to us and we could have

[00:22:13] [SPEAKER_03]: Decided we could have just

[00:22:15] [SPEAKER_05]: If she might need to step there on the stage instead of you buddy

[00:22:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Better at pitching security hardening than logging into stream yard in all honesty

[00:22:24] [SPEAKER_01]: And that's the wild thing because she's watched so many hours of content. Amen huge love my biggest fan. She's great

[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_05]: All right, well we're getting near the end of our time

[00:22:35] [SPEAKER_05]: But I want to make sure we cover off zack any other thoughts that you've got leading into this

[00:22:39] [SPEAKER_05]: What are you doing to prep?

[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_01]: What are you doing to get ready man? I bookmarked bobby's calendar link. I got Sean's phone number saved

[00:22:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Meeting with them as much as again, but no what what i'm doing, right?

[00:22:51] [SPEAKER_01]: So I am continuously holding my webinars to really become comfortable with my virtual presence, right?

[00:22:56] [SPEAKER_01]: I bought a new shirt this this one you're seeing right now

[00:22:59] [SPEAKER_01]: This is a brand new shirt, right? I'm starting to up my game so that I can be more confident in more attire

[00:23:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Right that matters these little things matter. I have a new hat, right?

[00:23:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Like this type of stuff

[00:23:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Matters because it's the way to build confidence and become more comfortable talking

[00:23:15] [SPEAKER_01]: So I do about six to seven webinars a month whether that's a webinar series on the settings that sentience supports to educate

[00:23:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Why it matters what risk it mitigates. I do that with the center for internet security

[00:23:27] [SPEAKER_01]: I do bring on a special guest every single week, but I also do vent joint vendor presentations

[00:23:32] [SPEAKER_01]: So I think the next one coming up is what with uh send mark the email security

[00:23:36] [SPEAKER_01]: so like I do joint vendor webinars I was on connect wise field day right so like

[00:23:42] [SPEAKER_01]: This is where we take two different technologies and we talk about how hardening relates to a different aspect or a different security layer

[00:23:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Right. So what am I doing to prep today original question a ton of webinars?

[00:23:54] [SPEAKER_01]: I am doing as many in person speaking to opportunities as well. So the next one coming up corn con

[00:24:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Davenport, Iowa corn con. Is that not the coolest name ever? Oh my god

[00:24:06] [SPEAKER_01]: I told someone else about this and like have you heard of kernel con in Nebraska?

[00:24:10] [SPEAKER_01]: I freaking I love of this industry. How creative is that?

[00:24:16] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm thinking about this. So I'm speaking at that. Uh, shod you got something

[00:24:21] [SPEAKER_03]: I thought I was thinking about what the swag looks like for that

[00:24:24] [SPEAKER_03]: The swag for corn con. Is it corn with hay and are we looking mad?

[00:24:28] [SPEAKER_05]: Dude

[00:24:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh my god, like children to the corn con like all of everything you can go like

[00:24:33] [SPEAKER_03]: Malachi rules vote for malachi like I would do all those things

[00:24:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh my god, I can't wait. I wish I had the time

[00:24:41] [SPEAKER_01]: I wish I would have prepped up and made specialized stickers or something like

[00:24:44] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know what I could do, but I'd figure out something the hardest kernel driver. I don't know anyway

[00:24:50] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's that's really what i'm doing. I'm just practicing my speaking working with Sean bobby and my other

[00:24:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Champions um jason furgusson absolutely need to shot him out

[00:24:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Him and matt topper have also been really heavily involved in assisting and just guiding that presentation format

[00:25:06] [SPEAKER_01]: So realistically a lot of communication a lot of presentations and we'll see what happens on stage

[00:25:13] [SPEAKER_05]: All right, bobby any words of wisdom as his coach before we break today

[00:25:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I love it. I mean the people you're working with are great

[00:25:21] [SPEAKER_04]: I got to work with matt a lot when he was at

[00:25:24] [SPEAKER_04]: Iconic and I was at lion guard. So he's a great guy to have involved. Obviously

[00:25:27] [SPEAKER_04]: Heck wise now

[00:25:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I mean I think just being really succinct making people feel the pain is like one of the biggest things

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER_04]: That we've learned like no one cares about the the problems you solve and the solutions if they don't feel the pain themselves and know

[00:25:40] [SPEAKER_05]: Why it should be there so and feel a connection, right? That's a big and feel a connection

[00:25:45] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, so I think like zack. That's something that is really

[00:25:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Challenging for you guys as you have three thousand things you can change in three hours of content

[00:25:54] [SPEAKER_04]: Like how do you describe that quickly into one or two or three things?

[00:25:59] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh, we've got a lot a lot of work to do there like you guys provide a lot

[00:26:04] [SPEAKER_04]: But what is the like simple message around it? I don't know. I mean

[00:26:09] [SPEAKER_04]: You got into the finals because you have a good message around it

[00:26:11] [SPEAKER_04]: But I think we have a lot more to learn there which uh, which is exciting

[00:26:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, now I'm looking forward to having you as a coach and getting Sean's testimonial on you man

[00:26:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Looking forward to getting to know you even better

[00:26:21] [SPEAKER_03]: I told him bobby

[00:26:22] [SPEAKER_03]: I think bobby won't waste his time with you. You gotta be a you gotta be on point. You gotta look good

[00:26:27] [SPEAKER_03]: Like bobby won't bragging rights, man

[00:26:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Don't make any mistake about it if you lose bobby will feel bad like he didn't achieve something

[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_03]: He needs you to win so he can talk smack and say I did it again

[00:26:38] [SPEAKER_04]: Make sure I think we've got three winners in a row in our legacy. So it's on you zack

[00:26:44] [SPEAKER_05]: All right, I'm ready for it in the worst way bobby. Sorry, bud

[00:26:48] [SPEAKER_03]: You you do too. Oh my god. It's like a three feet already

[00:26:52] [SPEAKER_03]: You have james james james the cam to bobby my goodness zack

[00:26:59] [SPEAKER_01]: The legacy like let it begin. I'll be a coach next year right was that possible?

[00:27:07] [SPEAKER_03]: All right, all right, Sean you got any closing words of wisdom on your end listen, uh, it's simple man

[00:27:14] [SPEAKER_03]: Uh follow the value add we already talked about for about the pain points for the msp

[00:27:19] [SPEAKER_03]: That are and vendors that are watching this stuff pay attention invest in the community the way that you all do in it

[00:27:26] [SPEAKER_03]: MSPs you're always you always want to look for the best products to talk to

[00:27:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Talk to these guys

[00:27:30] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean there you guys are all the best of the best that came out of this

[00:27:33] [SPEAKER_03]: The whole startup world right now and if you don't do it now if they come to you later

[00:27:37] [SPEAKER_03]: You'll be much bigger and more expensive and be unwilling to bend the rules for them

[00:27:41] [SPEAKER_03]: So, I mean that's what the fact of life once you become once you go down your path of what you guys deliver

[00:27:45] [SPEAKER_03]: That's what you deliver, you know, so why not be part of helping to innovate?

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I can't stress it enough and don't forget to be around for

[00:27:53] [SPEAKER_03]: The finals on November 6th at 3 p.m. Eastern

[00:27:56] [SPEAKER_03]: and Orlando

[00:28:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely closed out with to um like Sean the whole

[00:28:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Evangelize and get in early with those startups like that is how good technology

[00:28:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Especially if it's an early stage vendor like myself who really only works with msp's right?

[00:28:14] [SPEAKER_01]: If you don't invest into the stage of our company today, we won't be able to stick around right?

[00:28:19] [SPEAKER_01]: So yes, there's obviously you may not be an early adopter

[00:28:22] [SPEAKER_01]: You may not be an innovator on that bell curve

[00:28:24] [SPEAKER_01]: But at the end of the day if you find a technology you like and the only reason you're not using it

[00:28:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Is because they haven't been around for 10 years or they don't have enough revenue to make you comfortable

[00:28:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Like they're never gonna get there without your support. So

[00:28:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Break barriers go to these competitions learn about the industry and work with the ones who want to be here and

[00:28:44] [SPEAKER_01]: We want to be here

[00:28:46] [SPEAKER_05]: All right guys well that's well said

[00:28:50] [SPEAKER_05]: Zach best of luck to you taking the spirit. This is man as a fellow coach. I hope you you know, you do second best

[00:28:59] [SPEAKER_05]: Wow

[00:29:03] [SPEAKER_05]: No, it's seriously best to you

[00:29:05] [SPEAKER_05]: You know getting here is is one battle

[00:29:07] [SPEAKER_05]: You know get but once you get here

[00:29:09] [SPEAKER_05]: There's a lot of good that comes out of it as well and kudos to you to making it this far

[00:29:14] [SPEAKER_05]: Sean and bobby always great to see you guys Sean. I'll see you again

[00:29:17] [SPEAKER_05]: We've got two more. Uh, we've got two more of the finalists joining us before we're done with this round

[00:29:23] [SPEAKER_04]: And before we log off wanted to say thanks for all the good work

[00:29:26] [SPEAKER_04]: You do putting this podcast on and all the work that goes into it to give us this platform

[00:29:31] [SPEAKER_04]: If you haven't checked out vci a toolbox and you're listening to this podcast you're crazy

[00:29:35] [SPEAKER_05]: Go check it out. Thanks. Bobby. I appreciate the kind words man

[00:29:38] [SPEAKER_05]: Bobby

[00:29:40] [SPEAKER_03]: Bobby's become the best at totally giving out all the props man. He literally is I'm so proud of you son

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER_05]: Good stuff

[00:29:50] [SPEAKER_05]: Oh man for me, it's a labor love man

[00:29:52] [SPEAKER_05]: I love this part of it because this allows me to talk to all of you and get to meet new people today

[00:29:56] [SPEAKER_05]: I got to meet Zach and I look forward to having more conversations with them

[00:30:00] [SPEAKER_00]: partners man looking forward to what we do together

[00:30:02] [SPEAKER_05]: That's it

[00:30:03] [SPEAKER_05]: So again listeners

[00:30:04] [SPEAKER_05]: You know you can get this podcast anywhere you download your podcast or you can watch it up on youtube hit the bell and subscribe

[00:30:10] [SPEAKER_05]: Guys, thank you so much. Zach seriously a best of luck to you. I did you know, I really appreciate it

[00:30:16] [SPEAKER_05]: Great, and we will see you again next week

[00:30:19] [SPEAKER_02]: Wow