MSP Initiative Live with Amelia Paro from Kaseya

[00:00:00] and welcome to another edition of the MSP Initiative podcast. Today is August 20th. We're just at the tail end of summer. I know a bunch of people actually have kids that are already back to school depending on where you're at. And so if you're one of those people, you know, Godspeed. I'll enjoy the last few weeks here or a couple weeks before we get to the other side of September 1st.

[00:00:26] While you guys are doing the School Buzz gig. In the meantime, MSP Initiative.com. That's where you're going to find all the stuff that we do here, including links to all the recordings of these podcasts, as well as YouTube and, you know, all the other services that we, you know, we post this on. So make sure to like, download, subscribe, all the good stuff. You know what to do.

[00:00:50] So housekeeping you should get out of the way at the beginning of these. The channel sports tour is back again. So if you head to MSP Initiative.com on the channel sports tour, we have the three regions of dates. What does that mean? We have the first NFL game around the corner in like 17 days in Australia, Melbourne, Australia, the 49ers and the Rams. Looking forward to that.

[00:01:16] We also have the Eagles and the Jags at Tottenham Stadium in London in October. Those are the two international games for the NFL that we're hosting MSPs at. And the rest of the games are here in the U.S. domestically, right? Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Tampa, New Jersey, New York, whatever you call that giant stadium over there.

[00:01:39] MetLife, not a great stadium, but hey, don't be upset. They could have built a better one, but you would think you're, you know, the mileage varies here, right? Anyway, all of those dates are posted. Put yourself on the wait lists at MSP Initiative.com. They're all posted. Dates, times, all that good stuff. If you do get added, you'll get a tailgate. You're usually pregame, all inclusive and a ticket to the game.

[00:02:05] It's pretty good for the NFL. I don't know how you lose, but now just hanging out with a bunch of people from the sandbox talking shop. So that is the Channel Sports Tour. It's our second year doing that. Last year was awesome, so we're bringing it back again for this year. And then, before we know it, we'll be through the fall pretty fast. It goes super fast. We'll be in November, and we'll fall right into this with our guests for today.

[00:02:31] But the Kaseya Connect APAC in Sydney is in November. It's a pretty good event last year. There's over 1,000 people there expecting around that or more. We'll talk about it on this podcast this year in November. So if you're headed to Sydney or you're in Sydney and you're just going to stop by, we are continuing the MSP Community Block Party in conjunction with the great folks at Kaseya Connect.

[00:02:59] If you were able to join us in prior years for DattoCon in Miami or even this past year, not long ago, I think it was like almost May, late April in Vegas, we had awesome parties here in the States. And if you were in Prague or Dublin in Europe, thank you for coming and joining us out at DattoCon. But last one for the year for us, Block Parties, is going to be in Sydney.

[00:03:24] So we're bringing it to you. Two events in Australia in like 90 days. We've got the NFL game in Melbourne and the MS Community Block Party in Sydney. So all of that's MSPinitiative.com. Go check it out. Again, Design for MSPs. Just put your name on the list. You got nothing to lose. Don't cost you anything. So that's a win. So that's all my housekeeping. I guess if you did join us at an earlier block party this year, all the videos and albums for those parties are online.

[00:03:53] So feel free to go reminisce and find yourself there. And yeah, it's all there for your enjoyment there. All right. First time on the podcast, I believe, I think so, we bring Amelia Parrow from Kaseya onto the show for the first time. How are you doing today, Amelia? I am doing great. It is a Thursday. So, right? Yes, it's Thursday today. Yeah. So, yeah, it's like all those summer days jamming together.

[00:04:23] But Amelia lives in the desert. So, you know, all that sun gets to you. I don't know. You know, I was going to say, you know, which city I didn't hear in that channel tour you were talking about. I didn't hear Phoenix. You got something against Phoenix? No, it doesn't mean that I won't be going to Phoenix because the Eagles and the Cardinals play at, you know, at Glendale there.

[00:04:47] I try and, you know, black out that 2022 Super Bowl, you know, with sod gate and like the slippery slide, you know, grass, you know, during, you know, the homes, you know, all that jazz. But, yeah, no, I might be going to that personally. But the Channel Sports Tour, not headed to Phoenix this year. Closest we get to you is SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles there. Yeah. Yeah, I've actually been to that stadium. It's not so. Yeah. Well, all right. Nice when it's not super hot outside.

[00:05:17] Yes, which I guess is probably why you're not coming to Phoenix. But that's all right. I think you're missing out. Hold on, hold on. Let's just be safe and be clear. Cardinal Stadium is air conditioned. Okay. Let's be, let's be, let's be safe here. Totally air conditioned. SoFi is not completely enclosed. I don't know if people know this. So it has a roof, but the end zones are open air. So if it's really hot outside, it's really hot inside.

[00:05:47] Yeah. So again, you should really consider doing, making Phoenix a stop. You know what? Anybody ever comes to it? Maybe we can, maybe we can get some interest out of your area. I know there's a ton of MSPs in that area. Maybe we can, you know, pull the audience, see if we can sneak one in there. But that's not until I think December, beginning of December. And that's a great time to be in Phoenix. Great time. We are definitely winning in the winter.

[00:06:15] First, first, actually, I'm sure it doesn't surprise you at all. My cell phone background is the Eagle schedule. So that game is on December 6th. Yeah. Yeah. It doesn't surprise me that the schedule is your cell phone background. Not your wife, your kids. No, the important things in life. Gotta know. These are like, you gotta have a quick glance, fast decision making here. Mm-hmm.

[00:06:44] So for people who have never run into you, never met you, it would be great if you could do a quick, you know, time machine down memory lane, just your background so people can like, you know, piece together like where you came into the sandbox and how do we get to present day? Yes, absolutely. So for those who don't know who I am, Amelia Perro, hi, director of sponsorships at Kaseya.

[00:07:10] And good Lord, my journey into where I am now is very six degrees of Kevin Bacon is probably the best way to describe it. Um, I actually came from the MSP space and before that I was doing like before the housing, uh, the dot-com bubble burst, I was doing like a Wolf of Wall Street, um, cold calling,

[00:07:38] uh, for big tech companies like Lenovo and Microsoft and SAP and Oracle. Um, so I've been in the tech space for a very long time. Um, but yeah, so came from an MSP and I joined the dark side, joined the vendor side with, uh, ID agent back in, uh, Ooh, uh, 20, beginning, 2019.

[00:08:08] Yeah. So, um, and from there, uh, it was sort of a whirlwind of acquisition with Kaseya. They acquired us and I was on the road for Kaseya pitching ID agent and whatever else they happened to acquire that year. I think I was at one, I would do ID agent, IT blue unit trends.

[00:08:36] Uh, God, I can't even remember. So the whole, the whole product portfolio, uh, for a couple of years did that. And then I started running our regional events, the connect locals and did 13 months of that did 88 events and 13 months was like, okay. Um, I think I'm good. That was fun.

[00:09:02] Um, and the sponsorship role, uh, at Kaseya opened up and I, uh, quickly jumped into that as soon as I could, because 88 events in 13 months was a lot, but learned a lot. Um, no. So, you know, again, very six degrees of, of Kevin Bacon. Um, and I honestly believe what makes this job the most fun for me is because of all the

[00:09:29] time, all those years that I spent on the road, going to other channel events for ID agent, uh, for, you know, they could say a product flavor of the month, um, and spending all the time in building relationships and friendships with the other vendors in the space. Many of which I, you know, consider, uh, good friends across the channel.

[00:09:53] So, you know, um, I came from the MSP side, so I can put my MSP hat on when I need to. And, um, I, you know, have a lot of relationships with other vendors and I can put myself into the vendor, uh, the shoes of the vendors. So I believe that makes me uniquely qualified for the job that I'm in now, because one of

[00:10:18] the things that I've really come to appreciate is that any events has, it really has two customers, right? It's the MSPs attending and the vendors investing in being there. Uh, and honestly, if either side isn't getting value, then that, that model breaks. So, you know, that's a 88 events in 13 months. I'm going to save that one in my head. It's a lot. That's a lot. That's a lot of airline miles. Um, yeah, my liver still remembers that. I'm sure it does.

[00:10:47] Like, like, you know, when you cut a tree and it has the one, um, so I feel like this is a never ending topic. It's one that I heard way back in the early two thousands when I entered sandbox and it still seems like, you know, it went hard through the 20, 2000s, 2010s COVID, you know, kind of throw a wrench into things. Um, now we're on the other side of that. And before you know, we'll be in the 2030s.

[00:11:13] I know that sounds crazy, but, uh, the event conversation of there's so many of them, everybody's running one. Uh, there's, you know, like these people who are just event goers, it seems are on one side and the few events that you circle on the calendar to actually leave your business. If you're on the other side, like how do you choose? Um, so let me just throw a couple of balls up in the air and see what your opinion is on

[00:11:42] on the other side of this. Do you believe, uh, August 20th, 2026, there are still too many events in the sandbox and an annual basis.

[00:12:34] You with me, Amelia? All right. I got you now. You're on mute though. There you go. You got, can you hear me? I can hear you. Awesome. All right. We got, we got, we had our quick. We're just going to start this, uh, with fire and brimstone. Here we go. Awesome. All right. First question. We're going to rewind. Yeah. Do you think that today, August 20th, 2026, there are too many channel events still to decide from in, in like an annual basis?

[00:13:03] If I put my MSP hat back on? Yes. Yeah, I do. Uh, I, I would not be able to attend. All of them and, and actually do, uh, run a business. So for those MSPs that are attending many of these events, my hat is off to you. You, you are winning at the game apparently. Cause I don't know that I would be able to do it.

[00:13:26] Um, but on the event side, I can, you know, I, I wouldn't, I would never want to discourage having an event. There's a, there's value in having an event if it's, if it's done with the right intent. Right. So for example, uh, if someone were putting my MSP hat back on, if someone were to ask me, why, why would you want to attend connect, say connect APAC, right?

[00:13:55] That's the one that's coming up in November. Um, and look, the answer isn't just because, cause say it has good breakouts, which they do right. Granted, but as an MSP wearing my MSP hat, I can get an, I can get an, uh, product education online. Uh, I travel especially internationally, right? Because connect gives me access that I can't easily replicate from behind my desk.

[00:14:22] Um, like for example, I want to know what other MSPs are doing, right? Um, running an MSP, it can be strangely isolating. Um, so I want to sit next to someone running a 5 million or a 20 million or a 50 million MSP and ask, how are you pricing this? Are your customers actually buying AI services? How are you handling security? Uh, what did you screw up that I can avoid? Like that's incredibly valuable.

[00:14:52] Uh, and, and, you know, the best education in a conference, it isn't necessarily what's on the agenda. It's sitting next to you at dinner or at breakfast or in the lobby bar as so many of us like to frequent. Um, and then there's other components, right? To, there's, there's access to, um, you know, uh, leadership, say a leadership, the people actually building the products that I am using as an MSP, right?

[00:15:21] Understanding, uh, where the platform is going, where we're to say is the things that say is investing in what's changing, what should I prepare for? And then outside of that, it's seeing the broader technology ecosystem in one place. Right. And this is actually where your, your, where, where it becomes part of the true value of, of community, right?

[00:15:50] Um, as an MSP. And I, I remember, right? Like we'd go to a conference, um, and I wouldn't want to just go to a conference to, to see 75 variations of the host. Uh, right. I want, I want, uh, security companies. I want AI companies. I want CRM companies. I want VoIP companies. I want, you know, hard, hardware, uh, uh, cloud insurance, finance, whatever. Right.

[00:16:19] And yes, they're, you know, uh, they're speaking as Kaseya, right? There's sometimes companies that overlap, but as an MSP, I want to the community, right? I'm building my MSP stack. It's, it's not about Kaseya. So, you know, there's so much value to, to events and doing it right. Discovering the things that I didn't know that I needed, right?

[00:16:46] That, that, that one thing where you walk into an event and you're like, I need to figure out how to improve my margins. And then you leave thinking, holy crap. I need to completely rethink how we're approaching AI or, or I need a vendor. I've never heard of that solves a problem. That's been driving my technicians crazy for two years. Serendipity has been business value, right?

[00:17:13] So again, I'm an MSP. Why would I want to go? Why would I come back every year? Um, because my business isn't standing still. My, my problems this year aren't necessarily my, my problems next year. Technology changes, threats change, customer expectations change all the time. Uh, vendors change, um, you know, even Kaseya changes and my, my, my peers' businesses

[00:17:40] change, um, but at these community focused events and these big ecosystem events, right? Where this is what we were trying to deliver, uh, the relationships compounds. And that's, you know, that professional community, uh, that, that to me is really, you know, as an MSP thinking back about when I was an MSP and wearing that MSP hat.

[00:18:10] That's why I would attempt, why I would fly. Maybe had another blip there. We'll give her a second to, uh, re-sync here.

[00:18:52] Okay. We got you again. Last thing we heard is what? That I'm having some serious technical difficulties. So. All right. We'll get, we'll try it one more time. The last thing we heard was why I would fly. Right. And then we lost you. Yeah. Why, why, why would, uh, why would spend 15 hours on, on 15 or more hours, depending on where you're flying from, uh, on an airplane. It's, it isn't because it's the content alone of an event.

[00:19:19] It's the, the relationships that have compounded. It's the, the ecosystem. It's the community. Uh, and so. I, I agree with that. I, I've had hundreds. I actually lost track of how many episodes we've had here on this podcast, maybe over a thousand. But, um, the theme I've gotten from many is that, um, this sandbox MSP industry is heavily

[00:19:46] relationship based on every side, whether it's MSP to MSP, MSP to vendor, vendor to vendor. Um, it's why we see a lot of cross section with a lot of people who were on the MSP side, create a product to fill a gap and end up now on the other side of the equation, right? On the vendor side. And for those people, uh, I have a lot of, um, you know, empathy for, right? I've lived that journey myself. I know how hard it is.

[00:20:17] Um, as much as, you know, an MSP could get a low cost or even free ticket at times to go to some of these events, that is not the case when you cross the aisle, uh, and decide to show up and start offering something new. And so the experience from both sides of that could be drastically different depending on where you are in the journey, right?

[00:20:40] What do you tell the people who, um, have decided to make an investment and go across the aisle and go from MSP consumer to vendor who supplies services to MSPs? Um, you know, I, I would challenge, first of all, I, I, I think expanding your, um, your,

[00:21:07] your, your reach, your, uh, your exposure, your relationships. Uh, I commend you for that, right? Uh, whether it's an MSP that's, that's flying across the ocean to attend an Australian event for the first time or a vendor, um, uh, attending an Australian event for the, the first time, you know, you're, you're putting yourself, your business, your, your business proposition, right?

[00:21:37] Maybe what you think is going to be valuable in a certain market isn't, or is it, you know, isn't valuable, not isn't valuable, but there's a, there's a different value spin to it. And being able to experience that is, is hugely beneficial for the growth of your business, right? Understanding and experiencing the things that maybe you didn't think about, because

[00:21:59] you don't know what you don't know is, I mean, that, that in, in terms of, um, your business growth is, you know, can propel you significantly. So a lot has been said on, um, bank for your buck, uh, return on investment is the juice worth the squeeze. I got so many cliches. Um, obviously not every vendor is the same and not every MSP.

[00:22:29] MSP is the same, right? Like Kaseya specifically has a vendor program that's tiered, right? There's different levels depending on how big you are. Same could be said for the vendors, right? There's different spendability, if that's a word, you know, or, or budgetability, uh, depending on where you are in the journey, right? Um, a lot's been made of, are the bigger events too expensive for a smaller startup guy to even

[00:22:58] participate. Do you find that still be the case or, you know, what are, what are the options for those people? Um, I, I, I appreciate that. Um, because Kaseya Connect is one of the larger, uh, events in the channel that our sponsorship prices are at a different tier than some of the smaller ones. I, you know, I, I don't take that for granted at all.

[00:23:26] Um, having said that, uh, we do offer, um, programs for startups and first time sponsors. So, um, because I'm just as invested as in, in, in, in bringing a vendor who's new to our ecosystem into our ecosystem as I am, uh, vendors who, who come back to us, right?

[00:23:51] It's again, going back to what makes a great community event. It's bringing in new perspectives, new innovation, new technology, new thought leadership, new blood, right? This, this is how we evolve. This is how we get better. This is how we, we operate smarter and, and, and grow quicker.

[00:24:17] And, and, uh, whether you're an MSP or a vendor, right? I, the ecosystem, again, you know, it's such a critical component to doing a channel event. Well, right. So you, you've talked about, are there too many events in, in the channel? Maybe possibly there's, there's sure is a lot. Uh, I think the better question is, is what is the intent of the event? What is the focus? What are we, what are we trying to do?

[00:24:47] Right? So, and if it's about community, it's about ecosystem, bringing in new vendors, new sponsors, and having a method by way we can do that, are offering startup packages, offering, um, um, we call them bite, bite-sized sponsorships where look, come, come as a sponsor vendor. You get a lanyard, right? Um, and come, come check it out. You won't, I mean, you can have some digital presence.

[00:25:16] Like there's, there's many different packages and offerings that, that we, that I have created, that I've worked with the team to, to put together, to, to bring, to ensure that we have a constant new flow of, of the startups that, you know, look at all the vendors that we have now, even the big ones, they started as a startup, right? So let's, let's bring them in. Let's bring in the new technology. Hang on one second. I have a puppy and she's eating something. She's not, stop it.

[00:25:46] You, I have a new toddler in my house. So. Okay. We've all, I think a lot of us have been there. Uh, congrats on the new dog. Um, so, so what I'm hearing from you is, as one of the larger event holders in the sandbox, you're not, you have not set the floor so high that somebody who's smaller or

[00:26:10] even brand new can't actually get in there affordably in their, you know, budget, right. And their size and, and at least be in the conversation. Yeah. Yeah. Because if they grow, then they're going to grow with us. Right. So trust me when I say I am invested in the growth of our sponsors. Awesome. So, so if you, so listen, you know, I hope, you know, a lot of people listening to this and a lot of MSPs listening to this guys, like I know we're in the age of AI.

[00:26:40] We haven't even gotten there yet. It's the first time we've said it on this episode. So you're welcome. But I know a lot of new vendors, please be careful. Don't just vibe code something and sell it as a product. Uh, have come up with something new. Okay. George's advice for whatever it's worth. There is a, there is a, a window, a lane, a door for you to cross the aisle and not melt down, you know, your bank account from, you know, so fast. You can't even figure out what happened.

[00:27:07] Um, and obviously getting on a plane and spending time on the road adds up. Right. I don't know if you want to do 88 events in 13 months as a new vendor. I digress, but. I wouldn't recommend it. Okay. But every day you're out of the office, the cost of your time, this is like this hidden metric that everybody forgets to calculate. It has a value to it. And I guess why, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I'm, I'm talking from my perspective.

[00:27:36] I guess why are the bigger events so popular is, uh, something that, um, Larry Meador said on a podcast, not, you know, a while back, you know, like, Hey, as a vendor, I want to go where my customer is or my prospective customer is. And if you can get a thousand or 2000 or 3000 or whatever that number is in one place, I can talk to more people in one shot than a smaller amount and having to go over, you

[00:28:06] know, many places, right? 88 times maybe, right? Like I can maybe get to that same amount of people in a one event, three day window that I could over 13 months of smaller events. Right. And like, there's a practicality there, right? Like there's, I don't think it's reasonable and I'll, I'll let you, you know, throw your angle at this, but I don't think it's reasonable that one person can talk to 3000 people in 33 days.

[00:28:31] I just practically, I just don't think that's, you know, a reasonable expectation, but look at the amount of people you can talk to and efforts free, right? You, as many people as you're willing to have that conversation with there in front of you. How many times can you get that in one place? Not that many times in a year. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, so it's definitely, um, the most bang for your buck.

[00:29:00] But again, you know, um, we, we have these programs for, for smaller sponsor, not smaller, different programs for different levels and different places where you are on the vendor journey. That's, that's what I want to say. Um, and, and it ties back to, for those MSPs of you that, that are out there listening, uh, it ties back to the attendee experience. Right.

[00:29:28] So again, um, I'm so fortunate and so blessed because I get to have an impact in what I do now on the attendee experience, remembering what it was like to be on the MSP side. And also knowing that the magic of a great channel event isn't, isn't necessarily just about what's happening on stage. It's the ecosystem you put in the room.

[00:29:52] And so the, the channel vendors that all the vendors in, in this great, amazing channel ecosystem and community that we operate in, uh, are, are really part of that magic, uh, and what's in the room. Right. So, so let's, let's go, let's go there. Attendee experience. Like what makes a good event attractive for an MSP to come? I'm sure a lot of it's content, but we'll get, you know, look, just give me a second.

[00:30:21] Uh, there's a lot. It's amazing. Just like peeking behind the curtain for five seconds, the amount of time investment that goes into creating a really good experience. Um, months and months and months, sometimes years. And like, I don't think people realize just how expensive it is to pull off these events. Like these larger events that probably I'm in the millions, right.

[00:30:48] In order to feed people, host people, you know, get a big room, make it look like it's not an empty warehouse, transport people where they need to go. Like this adds up pretty fast. It's not free. So let's say that. I'm guessing. I've never seen the final numbers. I never asked to, but I just knowing the little bit that I do, these things are. You've got a little bit of a taste of putting on events.

[00:31:17] So you've got, you have an idea. Yeah. They're, they're very expensive. All right. So how do you balance creating a great experience that people as an MSP say, you know what, this is worth three days out of my company to go see something versus maybe something else. And then like, how do you balance that with, man, it's, it's really expensive to make that really an awesome experience that people walk away from and say, oh, that was great.

[00:31:46] Uh, it's a, it's a perfectly, uh, um, refined recipe of, um, you know, thought leadership, product education, access to Kaseya leadership, uh, vendors in the expo hall, the, and the relationships that are built. Right. So it is, it, it's all of those pieces together, right?

[00:32:14] If you take one away, the recipe doesn't work. Right. Um, or if you, you, you just have, you can just focus on one, the recipe doesn't work. It's gotta be a balance of, of all of that, but I don't want to, you know, uh, it again, like, you know, the equal parts of what makes the event great, the people, the education, the learning, the parties. I mean, we can't forget the party. You're, you're a perfect example of that. Yeah.

[00:32:44] I've been doing the black parties now for how long, but you're also, um, with your, your other business, one stream, you've, you've been a sponsor at our events. So you're, I mean, you're a great case study right there. That wasn't, that wasn't where I was going. Appreciate what you were saying there. No, I mean, listen, uh, personally, uh, you know, as an M I had a, I had an MSP for the better part of 20 years. Uh, I've lived it.

[00:33:10] I went to hundreds of events as an attendee MSP learning from other MSPs. I mean, I learned more from those conversations than I felt like I learned from anything formal, not knocking anyone, just being honest. Um, that's what gave me the inspiration to create from the MSP, a solution for other MSPs across the aisle. Well, realize that that was not, uh, unfortunately, you know, feel the dreams. If you build it, they will come.

[00:33:41] Not exactly like that, but okay. You know, you want, yeah, you have a dream. You want to make it happen. All right, cool. And then realizing the community part of it. And I mean, community, right? Like, what does that actually mean? I don't know. I'm part of a lot of communities, but the managed services, IT services, small, medium business technology guys and girls community, right? Like it's not exactly, we work at Google or Microsoft or anything like that for sure.

[00:34:11] But there is definitely thousands of companies that deliver technology services to small and medium business. Now, I don't know. Everybody has a different quantification for what that means. Is it less than 500 employee end users, 200, 150? It's definitely not. I don't know how many people that show up at a channel event that we go to are dealing with tens of thousands of employee companies. I mean, I'm sure there are there, but that's not the majority.

[00:34:41] But our sandbox, I like to call it. Yeah, it's a fun place. It's a unique place. And so for me, back to a couple of the points that you were trying to make, like, I enjoy trying to figure out what is back, you made the point earlier. What's working for somebody a little bit bigger than me? What's working for somebody my size? What's working for somebody three times my size? If I can start working on something now that prevents a larger problem for me a couple of

[00:35:09] years from now, I wouldn't know that unless I lived it or I learned from somebody who did. Now, I can go through something formal and figure it out that way, but I don't know. For all the people who went through college or maybe even a professional degree post-college, textbook and reality almost never match up, right? Like, I've heard this all the time. I've lived this myself.

[00:35:35] Like, the theory behind it and reality, they don't look anything alike for whatever reason. Yeah. Yeah. But look, I mean, you guys, OneStream, MSP initiative, you guys don't just show up, put a logo somewhere and leave or just, you know, sit behind a table scrolling on your phones, right? You create community around where you are, what you're doing, your events, your booth,

[00:36:05] right? The relationships, and you're not looking to, you're not looking at Connect as one transaction. You've invested across Vegas, Europe, APAC, even the regional events that we're doing, right? And that's how the relationships compound. And I think that's really the core of kind of the message and the purpose and the intent. Yeah.

[00:36:35] So consistency, right? Like, usually relationships take time to build. That's just a human thing, right? And the more times we can build on top of the prior conversation and like progress the ideas, the better it gets because it's not just a drive-by. I'm a hot dog seller on the corner in New York City. Like, we're actually like, there's a mutual benefit, right? To whatever the topic is. That's the access part of these events, right?

[00:37:03] That's why these larger events continue as expensive as they are to put on. And like, I'm all for the backyard event too, right? I have, I would love to not have to be on planes 88 times a year like you. But again- I don't have to do that much anymore. But I mean, you might be on the road more than me now. In fact, are you on some deserted islands somewhere? Yeah. Camping out in the woods? The only way you can get away?

[00:37:33] Nice scenery, you know, that I'm at today. Yeah. Not in my normal, you know, office. But, you know, listen, I am not allergic to planes. That's for sure. Just like most other people that move around. And as much as the Zoom, Teams, YouTube, podcast, right? Like, we can do these all day long. I think they were super popular when nobody could go anywhere. But since then, and you know, let's not say those that time. But we all know what I'm talking about. It's behind us.

[00:38:02] Like, as much as the topic of the day, the AI this and the chat GPT that and the new search results this. Like, I still find all the more value in the actual real conversation between human beings than I do from any results I get from any tool. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I don't think the channel benefits from us operating in, like, separate universes, right?

[00:38:29] So, you know, when I was at ChannelCon, I was talking to a vendor and I was talking to them about, you know, the potential opportunities of being a sponsor at one of our events and the ecosystem and the community and all that. And I'm bringing this up to make a point going back to the community.

[00:38:53] This vendor was under the impression that because their product and services, there was some competitive overlap with Kaseya that they wouldn't be allowed to sponsor. And I was like, nope, you are allowed. Welcome. Absolutely. Again. Has that, did the position change, though? Like, I don't know. Like, I get it. Different people, they step into the sandbox. They take a role. And then, like, there's, like, a change in direction, right?

[00:39:22] This happens at all the big companies, right? Microsoft, for example. They partner programs one way. New person comes in. Boop. 180 the other way. I've seen this now many times. So, like, when you say open. Yeah. Like, really open. Like, if you have, you said there's, like, I don't know, 50 products, 50 companies, acquisitions, whatever, right? Like. Oh, God. I don't want to. I can't remember. Okay. Okay. So many, right? Dozens. Dozens, right?

[00:39:50] If there is an overlap, like a direct, hey, like, you have something that competes with me. Am I still allowed to do this? Is the answer really yes here? Yeah, it is. It is. We have an open ecosystem. We do. We do. And quite frankly, let me tell you. Because we have so many products, I think we would compete. If we excluded competitors from sponsoring at our events, I don't know that we would have any sponsors.

[00:40:20] So you're Walmart. Oh, come on now. I mean, they have everything. And it's all super low price. No, I'm just kidding. But anyway. Okay. Okay. Noted. So it is. So it's open. Open ecosystem. And because it's about providing attendee value and experience of the value of their experience.

[00:40:43] And why are our MSP customers come back year over year or fly to Europe or fly to Australia, right? They're not flying across the country to get a three-day timeshare presentation. They're coming because it is that the recipe of the expo hall, the ecosystem, the contents, the parties, the access to leadership, the thought leadership, right?

[00:41:12] The knowledge, the growing that happens as a result of that. It's all of those things together. Okay. You can't build community and continue to grow community if you're going to exclude. Okay. That's fair. So let me ask you this. As an MSP, how does the people that help put the event together decide what MSP gets put on what panel, what MSP presents in what session?

[00:41:39] Like, there's a lot of content on a lot of tracks, right? So, like, how does an MSP raise their hand and say, hey, I got something that's been super helpful to my business. I would love to share that. That is a great question. And a little outside of my wheelhouse, however, we do have our global partner program team run by Dan Tomacheski and Greg Jones is a part of that.

[00:42:07] They, if I had to point an MSP in a direction, it would be, you know, getting them in contact with the global partner program, right? If they've got experience on AI that is valuable to share with the rest of the community, that's, you know, something that we would be interested in.

[00:42:37] But how the exact process of who we select, I don't know. That's fair. And I guess the other person in that mix, since you got an Australia event around the corner is what? Sean Witherton? Yep. Witherton? Okay. So he's like, he is the partner program guy, right? Down there. Got it. All right. So there's a point person in each region, people.

[00:43:00] So if you are, if you're an MSP and you have like, not saying you're selling anything here, just saying you're an MSP in the community and you found a way that has helped your business. And you want to see if that applies to some of the content that's being presented on these, you know, these events. Raise your hand. Raise your hand. Reach out to these guys online. Thousand percent. We love it when MSPs want to talk and share their experience.

[00:43:28] I mean, it's one of those things where it's like, don't take it from us. Listen to your peer. So as an MSP, you know, before I got too deep into selling stuff to MSPs, I did a lot of that. Right. I sat on a lot of panels and I did. I shared a lot of things that quite frankly, you know, it's like, hey, hit a brick wall, hit a brick wall, hit a brick wall. Found an answer. Right. Like paying it forward. Right.

[00:43:56] I wish people had been as open earlier in my journey. And so I think that's kind of one of the benefits to the community aspect. Right. If you think you're in a castle with the moat around you and you're like, everybody's a competitor to you as a services provider. I don't think that's a reality. I don't think that's the right way to view what today is. Right. I don't know how long you've been in it. And maybe that's something you've been thinking for a long time.

[00:44:26] But we're not in 2002. We're in 2026. It's a little bit different now. And there is a lot of people that are doing what you're doing. Right. And so why not learn from the people collectively on the path, the path that they found worked? See, it's a lot less expensive and a lot less time to figure it out that way. Yeah, absolutely.

[00:44:50] And if MSPs viewed every other MSP as like a hardline competitor, I can't, I'm not going to talk to you. I'm not going to engage with you because you're a competitor. You're an MSP too. What value is there in that? Right. I mean, look, I'm an MSP. You're an MSP. We both offer maybe the same services, but maybe I lean a little bit more heavy on the project side.

[00:45:18] And maybe my neighbor here is a little more on the technical support side. Right. We can still be neighbors and have different specialties and different customers. Maybe even the same customer that would use my neighbor for the tier one, tier two, tier three support and use me for the project stuff. Same thing in the expo hall. I've seen that. Let me pause you right there.

[00:45:47] That exact example where one MSP doesn't have all of the resources in-house and another MSP has something that they need help with and they work together on projects. I've seen that so many times. And, you know, it doesn't end badly if you structure it up front correctly. Right. Like you can set it up where there's a win-win. And I see that all the time. This isn't I'm a vendor selling to an MSP. This is MSP and MSP working together.

[00:46:16] There is a win there, guys. You just got to be open to the conversation. Keep going. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, the same can sort of be said in the expo hall, right? To vendor to vendor. Let's keep Kaseya out of it just for a minute. But we've got vendors that compete with each other in our expo hall. Right. But it's about, you know, there's going to be different needs at different times for the customer.

[00:46:41] And the customer can still use both vendors, maybe three vendors, maybe four vendors. If they all sort of do the same thing, but they have different specialties. Yeah, for sure. I mean, that's, again, awareness is the first challenge, right? Understanding what's available. If, you know, like you can spend time on the internet all you want. But, you know, something for real world validation of somebody who's already in the room, who's used it. Right. Like, that's the answer.

[00:47:10] You want to know that it works. Right. That would be perfect if every time it worked out that way. But, no, that's the, you know, all of these things are the value to leave your office, leave your business. Stop servicing your customer for a couple of days and go figure out what's happening and maybe what's next. Right. Right. So, like a little bit of visibility into the future is a really, you know, valuable thing. Can you put a dollar amount to it? Sure.

[00:47:40] What's the cost of your time out of the office? How long is it? How much is the airline ticket? The hotel room? The Uber? Yeah, you can put a price to a couple of days out of the office. But if you can figure out the next thing and be timely about it, that could be a major difference for you. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Right.

[00:47:58] Think about all the different, you know, different ways that that can multiply for, multiply the value for yourself as a business owner, for your customers, your employees. Right. Right.

[00:48:13] It's just it's ambitious MSPs are going to want to engage in these congregations of community and the knowledge of a community that can present opportunities for finding what the next thing is.

[00:48:34] Or, you know, so if you're considering expansion or maybe you're an MSP that has multinational customers or you want to develop partnerships in other parts of the world or acquisition opportunities. Right. Or, you know, just, hey, what what are what are MSPs on the other side of the world doing that we haven't figured out yet? Back to your point. Right. I will say this.

[00:49:05] There is. So much content. Just like I said, it's not reasonable from an expectation standpoint that you're going to be able to talk to 3000 people in three days as a single individual. I don't think it's reality. Good luck. If you can do it, let's get like a Guinness World Record thing in there or something. Right.

[00:49:53] If you're the marketing or sales or business development person in your company and you want to figure out what options are available to you. Are is there MDF programs that you can access? What's the guy next to you succeeding doing? Should I spend $10,000 a month in AdWords or should I go door to door and drop, you know, flyers old school? I don't know. But like what's working? Like there's room for that person. Right. Right.

[00:50:23] There's also room for I'm the check signer, business owner, decision maker. And I want to talk shop with other people who are in my chair to figure out like, is it profitable this year? Like what's going on? Am I doing things the right way? Should I apply for the R&D tax credit? Should I this year in my business? Should I borrow money? Should I take on investors? Should I consider merging with someone or whatever? Right.

[00:50:51] So many topics like that is there's there's a space for that, too. So like there's in between spaces. Right. But what I'm trying to say is even if you've been to a larger event before recently or maybe not, there's room for other people in your company to be in their own pocket with other people like them and learn the same way. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I'm just talking to you. I'm not I don't know. No offense, Amelia.

[00:51:21] I'm not working for you here. Well, you're not getting paid. So I'm just I'm just I'm just telling you as a guy that's been as an MSP to these events. This is what I saw. This is what I learned. Right. And so. I'm probably telling you what you've all heard, but it's you can take all the online video courses you want. You can do all the certificate programs you want. That's fine.

[00:51:49] And there's a there's a place for all of that. But I just want to know in reality what's going on from somebody else that's in it. I think that that's worth more than almost all of it. Or has gone through it and is on the other side. Right. 100%. I'm a 5 million MSP. How do I get to the next level? 100%. So I can't stress enough that if you're going to leave your business.

[00:52:18] One or two or, you know, a couple times a year, whatever it is, and you can say, hey, I'm not going to not go on my family vacation to go to your event. Cool. Not asking you to. But if you had to pick a couple of times out of the office to go to something, you know, you want to maximize your time and make sure that you can come back with something actionable, guys. Right. Like, hey, we all want to have a good time.

[00:52:45] We all want the show aspect, the lights and the, you know, the cool factor and all that. And trust me, that's going to be there most of the time. But if you can come back from these events with a, here's what I'd like to learn, checkbox and something actionable that you can come back with and say, I want to do the next, these three things I brought back from this event. I want to be able to action this in the next six months. I don't know. Pick a time period. That's the best way to attack these larger events.

[00:53:16] So, again, whatever it is, whoever's running it, right? If you come with, I need to learn these things, these are the problems I'm trying to solve for right now. That's the best way. Come with an agenda for yourself. That's the best way to handle these bigger events. But anyway. Yeah.

[00:53:32] And look, there are hundreds of people who have dedicated thousands of hours, not just at the event, but building up to this event.

[00:53:49] To tailor content and activities, the food, every part of this event from the moment before, before you even walk in the door, before you even arrive, that your experience is top notch. And do that and top it every single year, right?

[00:54:13] The hundreds of people that that is their entire job is to curate an event that is valuable enough to make it worth your while to fly across the notion or take three or four days away from your business, which is no small thing. And we know that. And we know that. And we don't discount the massive value of that.

[00:54:41] And so everything that we do to put on this program for MSPs, and our vendors and our sponsors are part of that, is this experience that drives value and is what you want it to be. So if you're attending, I mean, maximize it, right?

[00:55:02] Like the thousands of hours that have been put in with your, I mean, completely focused on what is going to give you the best event experience ever. That's, you know, that's not for nothing. There's. Well, no, if you're spending, and again, my opinion, millions of dollars to put on an event. Yeah, I would hope that there's a lot of people making sure that that money is being well spent.

[00:55:31] Millions of dollars, guys, right? Like, literally, I don't know how you couldn't spend that money to put on, you know, like thousands of people, just food for thousands of people, right? Like, remember one time I got a price at a hotel to run an event? They're like, hey, this Diet Coke is $8. I'm like, $8? For one? For one can? They're like, yeah. It's $25. And it's the eight ounce cans, right? It's $25. I was like, I'll buy a whole case. For the same price. Right.

[00:56:01] So, yeah, I can, I would expect that with that type of spending, there's a lot of, you know, dialing in, right? Of what, whatever it is. So, I got you. All right. So, Kaseya Sydney, or Kaseya Connect Apex in Sydney. It's in November. That's the next one. And then next year, I'm going from memory. There's Vegas again, probably at the end of April or right in the beginning of May, something like that last week of April, I think.

[00:56:27] And then there's the European event, which I think is shifting cities again. It was in Dublin, and then went to Prague, and I forget, it's somewhere else next year. So, Germany. Yes. So, that's going to be in June. June. Yep. Look at you. Amazing. Yes. Wow. Okay. Just, I'm thinking about 2027. It's crazy. So, that's going to be in June.

[00:56:51] So, these are the three major, larger, regional conferences that you hold. And we are moving from MGM Grand in Vegas to Mandalay Bay. So, we outgrew the MGM Grand. And we're very excited to be in this new venue.

[00:57:11] Lots of exciting opportunities to build new things in a new event space and really take it to the next level for an attendee experience. Awesome. So, those are the three that you should maybe put on your calendar and think about, hey, if I'm going to leave and go somewhere, should I go here? Well, those are three to consider. Out of the vast, I still think a lot. I had a lot of events in the calendar.

[00:57:41] There is. There is. But I don't, you know, I would never want to poo-poo on someone's event, right? I get it. I get it. There is. Yeah. We're all just trying to make our way in this little fish pond that we're, this little giant fish pond. Yeah. Well, I call it sandbox fish pond. It's all the same. All right. So, I would give you a URL. I don't have them handy. I don't know if you do.

[00:58:06] I would just say Google Kasei Connect APAC, Kasei Connect Vegas, and Kasei Connect Europe. And it would just pop up, probably. Yes. Yes. I actually, I can pop that in really quickly. Hopefully, my system doesn't crash while I do this. And then I'm going to go call my ISP. Internet, right? Needs to work. And let me tell you. Okay. So, in Phoenix, it's sort of a monopoly.

[00:58:34] I'm going to jump on a soapbox really quickly because it's the one thorn in my side. There's only one real ISP. And as you can see by how many times did I get dropped on this call? I have everything else basically shut down on my laptop. And so, needless to say, the service is not great, especially for the money that I am paying. Time for Starlink. Put up the dish. Oh, I'm good. You know what? That's it.

[00:59:03] I'm going to have to. I'm going to have to. It's. I mean, if it's good enough for the plane, it's good enough for Amelia's plane. Right. So, just go to kaseyaconnect.com. And from there, you'll be able to see dates for all of our global events and also for our regional Connect local events as well. Awesome. Okay. So, this session was absolutely 100% recorded. Like, they all are. So, you'll find that online.

[00:59:31] If you're someone who's an MSP, who's interested in going to one of these events, check out the website. If you're interested in providing an experience, content, or something, there's the three-point people. Rewind this session and find the programs, you know, person in each region, right? We gave you three names earlier on here. Drop them a line. Or you can reach out to me and I will point you in the right direction. I mean, I don't want to have to make people, you know, rewind just to get names. You can always reach out to me.

[01:00:01] I'm happy to connect you to the right person. Awesome. So, if you think you can provide some experience, value, and share with the crowd, raise your hand. Why not? I think that that's the whole point, in my opinion. So, pay it forward. And then, if you're on the third lane, right? The, hey, I want to, you know, sell something to someone. How to get people to actually see you.

[01:00:27] That's the lane where you want to contact Amelia as well and see if there is an option. And it sounds like there's options from zero to the sky, you know, that you can afford and budget for. And, like, take a flyer on something. This is your person, right? Yeah. Right. So, we cover all three lanes here. All right. Guys, I'm excited to see you guys on the road. Don't forget the Channel Sports Tour, mspinitiative.com. You'll find all the dates.

[01:00:54] Amelia, please do not melt before we get to you. No, I've been living in the desert too long. I'm sort of a desert rat, as they're called. I'm calling you a lizard. Okay. All right. Well, I don't know if you got blue blood, but all good. All right. Guys, catch you on the next one. Have a great one. Bye.