GPS Community Café
One-on-one guidance with an experienced member of The IT Nation
What is the GPS Community Café?
Wouldn’t it be great to speak face-to-face with an MSP industry pioneer who has been in your shoes and understands your goals? We’ve got you! The GPS Community Café helps attendees gain a deeper understanding of navigating the IT Nation and find the tools and resources that will help drive their business forward.
Book an appointment with an IT Nation GPS Guide and ask any questions in this one-on-one experience specific to your professional goals.
Experience value from MSP industry pioneers
Choose your Guide
Review the Guides below and book a 20-minute meeting based on their industry experience and expertise and your goals.
Ask detailed questions
From strategy to operations – nothing is off the table! Build your confidence with 1:1 professional insights and feedback.
Maximize IT Nation resources
Meet the 2024 IT Nation Guides
Nathan Austin
I co-founded Mytech in 2000, started using ConnectWise, and joined IT Nation Evolve in 2006. My journey started in sales and marketing, leading solution engineering, O365 consulting, facilitating new product development, and by early 2025, I will be over all operations as COO of our four-locations. Mytech is now a $30M MSP.
Areas of expertise:
Sales, marketing, strategy, product development, culture, process, M&A
Karl Bickmore
I have over 24 years serving customers and leading an MSP with 3 locations and 50+ employees.
Areas of expertise:
M&A, sales, leadership, cybersecurity go-to-market, automation go-to-market, customer experience
Adam Bielanski
With over 22 years of experience in the IT and MSP sectors, I’ve founded, scaled, and successfully exited businesses, leveraging deep industry knowledge to drive innovation and growth.
Areas of expertise:
M&A, sales, operations
Kevin Blake
I have grown a PE-backed MSP organically and inorganically (completing 9 acquisitions) and have grown my MSP to almost 300 people.
Areas of expertise:
M&A, scaling a business, leadership training, mission/vision, strategy
Vicky Bruns
I entered into the MSP industry 10 years ago in business development and scaled up to leading account management teams as well as driving go-to-market channel strategies for startup and enterprise ISV partnerships at ConnectWise. Have sales and marketing needs to discuss? I'm your gal!
Areas of expertise:
Marketing, sales, channel strategy, operations
Ashley Cooper
Ashley Cooper is celebrating her 15th year of IT Nation participation—from starting as an MSP dispatcher and launching her own consulting practice, to holding many strategic and leadership roles at several successful channel vendors, she leverages data-driven insights to improve customer experience and product adoption while fostering community engagement.
Areas of expertise:
ConnectWise PSA, third-party integrations, operations, data strategy, community, educational resources
Ed Correia
A recognized leader with nearly 25 years of experience running an award-winning managed service provider business.
Areas of expertise:
Marketing, sales, offerings, pricing, finance
Kara Knight
With over 20 years of experience in operations, integration, and strategy, I thrive on sharing my experience and knowledge to help visionaries and CEO's execute their vision, grow teams of highly efficient people, and increase the success of their business.
Areas of expertise:
Operations, People Management & Mentorship, Culture, Vision to Integration Strategy, Efficiency & Prioritization
Tony Miller
I owned a midsize MSP. I successfully merged four MSPs, engaged private equity, and exited. Over the years, I've had many roles, from tech guy to manager to VP of Operations to CIO of a large MSP.
Areas of expertise:
Operations, M&A, integrations, technical security
Lisa Mitchell
I've been in the CEO role for 37 years at Progressive and I have worn a number of different hats during that time ranging from Sales, Operations, Compliance, and Cybersecurity.
Areas of expertise:
M&A, cybersecurity, compliance, sales, operations
Nick Moran
29 year MSP owner, exited in 2022.
Areas of expertise:
M&A, business ownership & OML, operations, Service Leadership
David Mulvey
I operated ANP in Philadelphia for 39 years as a Cisco Systems Gold partner and MSP before holding a successful private equity auction and selling ANP in August of 2023.
Areas of expertise:
Sale to private equity, prepare your business for sale, IT Nation Evolve peer group member, choosing an investment banker to represent you during the sale, choosing an M&A attorney to represent you.
Steve Riat
I have over 25 years of experience in the industry and am a student of the game (And loving every minute of it).
Areas of expertise:
Sales, sales process, building a sales team, sales management, marketing
James Riley
I have over 30 years of experience working in Managed Services from the front lines to MSP ownership and leadership.
Areas of expertise:
Operations, culture, process/systems, work/life balance, client loyalty
Jay Ryerse
Most recently, I was a ConnectWise colleague leading our security sales business globally. Prior to ConnectWise, I owned and then sold my Atlanta-based MSP, and then founded CARVIR, the first MSSP for MSPs. CARVIR was acquired by Continuum and then ConnectWise. In my time at ConnectWise, I worked closely with the IT Nation Evolve program, launched the IT Nation Secure conference, and helped develop the ConnectWise Partner Program.
Areas of expertise
MSP, cybersecurity, M&A, tech stacks, AI, automation, sales, growth
Callen Sapien
I have scaled, solely integrated, and exited several SaaS and map companies and I enjoy talking about it.
Areas of expertise:
M&A, automation, scaling, strategy, operations
Dan Scott
I have 13 years of MSP experience in two European market-leading businesses, I never claim to have all the answers, but I have been privileged to learn from incredible people and am always happy to share!
Areas of expertise:
Leadership growth, customer experience, business scale ceilings, operations
Bill Stucklen
I got my start in tech doing support Doom, cut my technical chops through the .com bubble, learned about business pioneered early days of managed services, starting helping other MSPs with ConnectWise by founding Stack Advisors in 2011, and continue giving back to the next generation of MSPs through MSP+ with expertise in automation, culture, and collaboration.
Areas of expertise:
Operations, sales, culture, service delivery, automation, ecosystem
Matt Topper
I've had various technical and leadership roles at many MSPs since 2010 before becoming involved with multiple mergers and integration projects at large and larger MSPs.
Areas of expertise:
Cybersecurity, professional services, internal IT/operations, M&A technical integrations
Jude Travers-Frazier
I am a Unicorn - a subject matter expert, a data scientist and a technician - and have used my training and skillsets in building a successful MSP/MSSP by, in larg part, effectively leveraging the ConnectWise suite of products.
Areas of expertise:
Data analysis, security, automation, legal, ConnectWise Admin
Jennifer VanderWier
I ran a successful MSP practice for many years—before selling to private equity—that concentrated on highly regulated industries like Department of Defense contracting, Healthcare, Banking, and more, and I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge with others.
Areas of expertise:
1. I can advise on my journey selling my successful MSP to private equity
2. I am a CMMC expert happy to advise on how this ruling effects MSPs
3. I built a very successful security and compliance program and am happy to experience share
4. I have been in Evolve for over 14 years and can share how to maximize your experience
5. I am a risk assessor by training and can experience share on improving a compliance as a service program
Jamison West
I am a serial entrepreneur who has exited several businesses in the space. I am currently the CSO and co-founder of TimeZest and MSP+.
Areas of expertise:
Coaching, operational maturity, culture, M&A, leadership
Ann Westerheim
A lifelong technology enthusiast, I started my career in the semiconductor industry and started my IT consulting company 20 years ago.
Areas of expertise:
Cybersecurity, operations, marketing
Mike Williams
I LOVE the MSP industry and sharing my experiences. I was one of the first MCSEs in Maine, mortgaging my house to start my MSP, growing logically to $100M+, setting the market with the first PE investment, purchasing an M&A company with 120+ integrations, co-founding MSP+, co-founding a PE firm and buying a platform, and focusing on the importance of trust relationships and legacy.
Areas of expertise:
M&A, growth, operations, enterprise value creation, legacy
Mike Zornow
I've been with ConnectWise for 13 years specializing in UMM and integrations into our products.
Areas of expertise:
Integrations, extensibility, UMM, community
Join us at IT Nation Connect 2024 to schedule your one-on-one meeting
November 6 | Rosen Shingle Creek | Orlando
See more from The IT Nation
FAQ
Each one-on-one session is 20 minutes of concentrated conversation.
To give all attendees a chance to take advantage of this service, we ask that you select the only one Guide that you think best fits your needs.
Ask anything! Business planning, strategy, sales, marketing, hiring, operations, and more are all on the table!
Each IT Nation event is different. For IT Nation Connect 2024, you can schedule meetings from 9:00am-4:00pm on Wednesday, November 6.
Think about what you want to accomplish for yourself or your business while you’re onsite at an IT Nation event and let your Guide help you make an attack plan for the event and your business journey.
IT Nation Guide is what we call the guides and mentors in the GPS Community Cafe experience. They lead and light the way for MSPs in the community.