Twins Talk Tech Leadership

Episode 47: Thread the Winning Pitch

We are excited to feature the PitchIT Finalists again this year. There were 27 companies that participated in the ConnectWise Accelerator program. Of these, 3 were selected to be Finalists and present their pitch live during ITNation. The PitchIT winner for 2023 was Thread, a platform empowering MSPs to deliver service right where the end user is; to help MSPs create ‘service magic. Bobby Jacobs, Head of Growth shares:His leadership journey.Service co-pilot and Ask co-pilot. Benefits of integrating Thread with PSA (Professional Services Automation) systems.Highlight the importance of the ConnectWise community.Being a Microsoft partner and case study.Experience being a PitchIT Finalist.One of their core values is 'be radical' and this showed itself at the Conference with their suits and co-pilot theme. Connect with Bobby on LinkedIn and visit getthread.com/ to learn more. While you are there, book a demo or click follow the provided link: getthread.com/meetings/bobby193/threadteamdemo

Episode 46: Voices of ITNation with Jimmy Hatzel and Costa Chatjiantoniou

CyberQP, Jimmy Hatzel:What does the elevator pitch sound like coming from Jimmy Hatzel, the VP of Revenue at CyberQP? CyberQP offers Access Management for MSPs including protecting customer admin accounts and automating their security stacks. We touch on their ‘Just-in-Time’ accounts and how CyberQP continues to put forth more QGuard feature enhancements. Did we mention that this has to be one of the absolute best companies when it comes to merch and booth design? Follow Jimmy on LinkedIn and visit Cyberqp.com to learn more about this amazing company. Costa Chatjiantoniou, Sherweb:Head of Sales, Sherweb Cloud Services, Konstantinos Chatjiantoniou aka Costa speaks to the importance of supporting their strategic partners and the ITNation community as a whole. We briefly touch on the new partnership with SentinelOne and gain insight into Sherweb’s enhanced offerings including their White Label help desk platform.Connect with Konstantinos (Costa) Chatjiantoniou on LinkedIn and learn more about this cloud services and solutions provider by visiting sherweb.com/

Episode 45: Voices of ITNation with Reed Warren and Michael Crean

Reed Warren, iT Valuations:Are you ready to determine your value? We welcome back Reed Warren, CEO of iT Valuations to get an update on his organization and about their involvement with ITNation. iT Valuations supports IT services and tech firms to value their businesses and to facilitate M&A activity - Mergers and acquisitions. Reed shares what you can expect in 2024, including the progress of their 'Valuations as a Service Program' and their 'Business Value Transformation Services Program'. To learn more about Reed or to have his team help you navigate an exit strategy or to obtain a true assessment and valuation of your organization, visit itvaluations.com/Michale Crean, Solutions Granted:Special update with Solutions Granted is that they have been acquired by SonicWall. SonicWall viewed this leading MSSP as a key piece for enhancing its managed detection and response offering and overall managed services support for MSPs.Some of the highlights from this conversation:Impact of his keynote message (Leadership is a Privilege)How Michael and his team show up to Conferences including their mindset, booth design and of course their team themed dress and apparel.To learn more about Michael and Solutions Granted, visit solutionsgranted.com/

Episode 44: ITNation with Victoria Bruns and Raffael Marty

ITNation 2023 was simply amazing. Capturing the magnitude of the Conference was not easy to do, but we aim to deliver. What makes this Community so special? Listen in as we bring to you interviews and highlights from this amazing event. In this episode, you will hear from Victoria Bruns, Manager, Marketplace and Vendor Solutions Specialist with ConnectWise. She, along with Will Dowling, served as the masters of ceremonies for the Conference. Vicky gives a breakdown of the Conference and what the 7,000 attendees can expect (4,500 in person and 2,500 virtual). With 170 exhibitors, we can only expect to see this Conference continue to grow. We also speak with Raffael Marty, EVP and General Manager, Cybersecurity with ConnectWise. ConnectWise is a leading platform of software & services built for Technology Service Providers. Raffy is also a speaker, author and highly sought after technology thought leader. Some of the highlights include:His leadership style and how he manages his time, including strategy and coaching. ConnectWise has a Cyber Research Unit (CRU) with a focus on researching threats.Announced a new partnership with MicrosoftTheir continued dedication to supporting EDRs with their SOC services.Learn what ConnectWise will be focusing on, including hyper automation, AI and their shared platform called AZIO.What he enjoys about public speaking.His experience as a target shooting coach for a National Sports Team in Switzerland.Follow and connect with Vicky, Raffy and their company ConnectWise on LinkedIn. You can also learn more about Raffy at https://raffy.ch/

Episode 43: Leadership Shifts for Greater Success Part 2

Leaders with a big-picture perspective are able to prioritize, optimize resources, produce efficiency and align teams to the overall vision and objectives of the organization. This is reflective of someone with a growth mindset. We enjoy speaking with influencers who are focused on the success and growth of their people and who understand the importance of empathy and listening beyond spoken words. Some of the highlights from Part 2 of our conversation with Entrepreneur, fractional Chief Revenue Officer, author and suicide prevention counselor Andrew Hahn include:How he approaches his role as a fractional CRO.Lessons from the game of Basketball for the business world.Tools, solutions and resources to support your leadership & sales teams.Awareness and perspective of 'being in the right place and right time and hiring amazing people.'FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) versus FOFO (Fear of Finding Out).The earlier Leadership Teams welcome 'truth', the sooner they can pivot and find success.Why he became a suicide prevention counselor and his philanthropic work. How this has helped him to better manage and understand people with different experiences.Connect with Andrew Han on LinkedIn and visit andrewhahn.carrd.co/ to learn more about his fractional CRO services

Episode 42: Leadership Shifts for Greater Success Part 1

Experience, conviction and the ability to make well informed decisions can mean the difference between propelling an organization forward or facing uncertainty and setbacks. The best leaders are constant learners and are agents of change. Entrepreneur, fractional Chief Revenue Officer, author and suicide prevention counselor Andrew Hahn shares his thoughts on leadership, being able to successfully scale businesses and why we need to keep pouring into and investing in talent. In Part 1 of this incredible conversation, you will hear Andrew’s insight into:How the foundation for success and being able to scale lies in building systems, strategy operations and hiring and developing talent.Why many sales professionals and account executives need to understand the mindset of the modern buyer and why a collaborative approach is far better. People buy primarily because of two reasons: Inspiration or desperation.How self-awareness and listening skills are vital to success.Hiring talent based on intrinsic characteristics including that of grit and the innate sense of curiosity.Benefits of having a sales playbook.Connect with Andrew Han on LinkedIn and visit andrewhahn.carrd.co/ to learn more about his fractional CRO services.

Episode 41: Win the Partner Journey

How can you ensure a successful partnership with one of the largest hyperscalers in the world? Investing in your partner journey is essential to growing your business. Understanding programs and available incentives are vital and key to finding success.It’s been a year since the Microsoft Partner Network became the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program. Author, speaker and founder of Venvito Consulting, Rob Fegan shares why he decided to become a resource for Partners looking for greater success with the tech giant. Highlights include:Rob’s leadership journey from being a Partner to becoming a champion for Partners.Keys to successfully navigating within Microsoft's complex ecosystem.What Microsoft is looking for from Partners.The 3 R's Framework of Revenue, Relevance and Relationships.The 3M Framework of Mindset, Messaging and Mechanics. If you want success as a partner, then understand the Cloud Partner Program, get your solution designations, show up in the marketplace and align with those who want nothing more than for your success like Rob and Venvito. Connect with Rob on LinkedIn and visit venvito.net, grab the Partner Score Sheet and get started on strengthening your success journey.

Episode 40: Go From Clicks to Clients

Buyers and purchasing agents are more educated, informed and prepared than ever before. They are better positioned to drive the best opportunities, products and services for the organizations that they represent. Sales professionals have to sharpen their skills and leverage technology and social media platforms to find great success. Sales leader, author and Sr. Partner Sales Manager at AWS, Matthew Rutter shares from his experience about the importance of mastering digital and social selling and how his new book can become a game-changer.We discuss:Discovering your digital brand.Listening skills and strategies to nurture strategic client relationships.Impact from mentors and coaches.Amplify your network and implement LinkedIn and Google to your advantage.Your tagline and exercise to define and refine your digital presence. Connect with Matt on LinkedIn and pick up his book, Clicks to Clients: Proven Sales Strategies for the Digital Era.

Episode 39: Bridge the Digital Divide

With October being Cyber Security Awareness Month, this is a great time to address some possible solutions to the digital divide? How can we move toward a more equitable future in technology? While many factors exacerbate the digital divide, there are steps that can be taken to reduce the gap and improve digital access for marginalized groups.Madinah Ali is the President & Co-Founder of SafePC Solutions, a leading Information Technology provider that is focused on application development, cloud computing, and IT security compliance. Madinah touches on the importance of leveraging technology and partnerships to break down barriers and close the existing digital divide. Some of those include Microsoft, Cyber Security Tech Accord, IAMCP and AppMeetup. We learn about the work being done with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the mentorship and support for more women in the tech space, and why cyber security should be an investment as employees are often on the front line of attacks and represent some of the greatest vulnerabilities. .They are currently working on cyber security resiliency, In partnership with the Cyber Security Tech Accord and Microsoft. They've launched a survey on this primarily focused on the higher education institutions, state and local government and healthcare.To learn more about Madinah and SafePC Solutions, visit safepcsolutionsusa.com/ and for the CMMC/NIST Framework Questionnaire, visit https://forms.office.com/r/f2F5qSLxKn

Special Replay: Unlock Data, Unlock Success

While we prepare for another technology conference and a series of exciting interviews, we wanted to treat you to a special replay of a popular episode. Dave Poole, Senior Consulting Director at Crushbank was this program's very first interview. A strategic partner for MSPs, CrushBank transforms IT support and unlocks your prized data — bringing order to the chaos of historical ticketing and other client information resources. Dave is also a consistent voice and advocate for the IAMCP community. To learn more about Dave and CrushBank, connect with him on LinkedIn and visit crushbank.com