[Commercial]
Because we're adding a little something to this month's sales contest. As you all know, first prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Anybody want to see second prize?

Second prize is a set of steak knives.

[Uncle Marv]
Third prize is you're fired. All right let's see here. Are we live?

Can you guys hear me? This is the IT Business Podcast. We may have an equipment malfunction.

Hang on, folks.

[Commercial]
Because we're adding a little something to this month's sales contest. As you all know, first prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Anybody want to see second prize?

Second prize is a set of steak knives.

[Uncle Marv]
Third prize is you're fired. Hello, friends. Uncle Marv here with another episode of the IT Business Podcast.

This is not Memorex. Had a little technical issue here, but we are back. And today is a very special day.

There is going to be some big news in the channel on our live show this evening. I have some exclusive announcements that I'm going to go over. But today, right now, is another very exclusive announcement.

This is the start of Pitch It season 2024. And I've got my man, Sean Lardo, hanging out in the green room. And we are going to chat all about that.

So let me get him going here. Mr. Lardo, how are you?

[Sean Lardo]
I'm fantastic. I really appreciate the opening video more than you realize. I'm so glad you had technical difficulties so I could watch it twice.

It got me excited.

[Uncle Marv]
Nice, nice. Of course, it's a little off because, you know, second place is not the place that gets the steak knives. It's actually third place.

And we'll get to that a little bit later. So let me catch the listeners up to speed. Today is actually May 1st.

Yesterday, April 30th, was the last day that people could apply to be a part of Pitch It this year. So let me just ask right out of the box, how's it looking?

[Sean Lardo]
You know, we had more applicants this year than last year and every previous year. So that's, first off, fantastic. And, you know, with the emergence of AI, everybody was, we were concerned going into the year that it'd be all AI people trying to apply.

But we still got the same diverse group of vendors that applied from every business need there is, which is great. And there's some very strong, there are people that I've seen in channel already that are actually applying that I thought never would apply. So if anything, it tells me that the program is stronger than I even thought, which is exciting.

And yeah, we're going to have a, it's going to be a really good year, actually.

[Uncle Marv]
All right. So yeah, AI is big. I wonder how many of them used AI in their application process?

[Sean Lardo]
That's, you know what? I should ask that question. When we consider, I should probably reach out and be like, we're determined on you being part of the program, I sure not.

How much AI did you use?

[Uncle Marv]
How original is your content?

[Sean Lardo]
Agreed. I think it's, it's, it's good to see though, because, well, okay. So you've been here long enough and you know more of is that cybersecurity was king for the last few years.

And then AI kind of became the, the cool new, you know, coolest kid on the block all of a sudden. So if you put pecking order, it goes AI, cybersecurity, and then everything else, right. But realistically speaking though, it's all a practicality of, of, of what you're doing as a, as a solution, you know, as, as sexy as AI is doesn't mean it's actually usable for what you're trying to accomplish.

[Uncle Marv]
That is true. That is true.

[Sean Lardo]
So, so yeah, no, we, we, but like I said, more applications than ever, but we're, we are going to only accept the 26 best ones from the group of applicants. The next several days will be the hard days for my team, because this is when we sit down and literally scrutinize the hell out of every applicant. You know, like I said, pitch, it's important for us because it is a way to find all the innovators, right.

But not just for the sake of innovation, because all innovation doesn't mean good innovation, right. Or, or useful innovation. But you know, it's kind of like using a butter knife on a steak, right.

You need a steak knife for that, which is why it's important for third place to win that. But, you know, we, when we look at this, it's about, you know, how many vendors does a vendor support the MSPs in the way we need them to, you know, are they able to work, play well, work and play well with other vendors? Because integrations are extremely important, connecting the dots for these MSPs.

And you know, cause you're an MSP, every, every MSP uses no less than five technologies to do business. You know, no less than if not 25, in some cases or 30. So you need to be able to make sure there's a, there, there is business continuity and there's seamless integrations and as best as possible, of course, because some just don't, we know that.

But if you can't play well together, then there's no use for that in the MSP space for it, you know?

[Uncle Marv]
Yeah. And I was, you said, I was just looking at my stack the other day thinking it might be a time for a change because I've got some stuff I'm interested in, but sometimes they overlap. Sometimes it's like, technology's changed.

I've had this stack now three, four years. Let me see what else is out there. Let me talk to my current vendors and see what innovations that they may not have told me about.

So always time to, to do that. Let's do this before we get too far along. Let's explain to people that might be seeing this video or listening by audio and for the first time they're hearing, what's this PitchIT thing these guys are talking about that.

So please give us a quick description of that.

[Sean Lardo]
Absolutely. So well, first people need to understand that this is the only program of its sort in our space. It is the only total full-fledged program.

I think you need to understand that because there's a lot of time and investment from everybody involved, not just from the ConnectWise side or IT Nation side, but from the vendors that are involved. Now, what PitchIT is, it is a shark tank like competition, right? But it's an accelerated incubator.

As I mentioned before, we're looking for the best of the best of the innovators. Now, these aren't people with concepts. These are actual vendors.

These are actual solutions that have customers actively using it and they must be able to do. The main thing is supporting the MSP community, right? The second is that we look for them that they have to have the ability to integrate into ConnectWise to be able to hopefully make it easier for the MSPs.

Now, there's a 16-week accelerated incubator program that I mentioned, and they go through a series of trainings with practitioners in the space, everybody from Jay McBain to Heather Margolis to you name it, even internal people, Arlen Sorensen and whatnot, right, that are all every single week these vendors are required to be on these workshops to learn everything from mergers and acquisitions to technology development to road mapping to sales and marketing to public speaking.

Our goal is to make sure that they get enough out of these trainings and then also doing the podcast and the live stream of people like you, Marv, to help them work on their speak, their pitch, everything. The goal is to fine-tune them because over the 16 weeks they're learning this, but they eventually have to compete to become one of three finalists. So as I mentioned before, 26 vendors will be in, but at the end of August, they're going to do a live pitch session with the channel program at Solomon's Group to where MSPs are voting for who they like, and they also have to do an investor pitch for executives within ConnectWise before that.

So they're literally pitching for them to be accepted as one of the top three finalists. Now, once they do this, and whoever the three are, those three will compete live at IT Nation Connect in November on stage, and you saw last year, six, 700 people were in that room watching, and they are competing for, you mentioned earlier too, first place, $70,000, second place, $30,000, and third place, steak knives.

[Uncle Marv]
So the steak knives are coming back.

[Sean Lardo]
They are coming back. They were actually a hit.

[Uncle Marv]
Now, let's talk about this real quick. So the 16 weeks, yes, it's a competition, but it appears that this is turning more into business development. So helping vendors that, yes, they may be either brand new or they may have been around for a few years, but they're looking for that next level.

How is it that you can scale as a vendor in this ecosystem? So it feels not only are you coaching them on how to present, but you're teaching them all the ins and outs of being a vendor in this space. Am I correct on that?

[Sean Lardo]
You're absolutely correct. When I came from the startup vendor world, and I would sponsor IT Nation, and I would sponsor these things, the space is pretty massive when it comes to shows, when it comes to just growth in general, and knowing where to go, what to do, how to do it was a struggle for some of us. And when you're bootstrapped and you can only make X amount of investments, where you put your money is important, right?

Where you put your time is important. So it's teaching them how to speak, what they do, of course, how to narrow, how to refine their messaging. But not just that, it's about them also understanding how to navigate the space in the appropriate manner to find success.

Because how many vendors have you seen that have come and gone quickly? They come in like a wrecking ball, right? And then all of a sudden, they're just gone.

And the reason being is they didn't know how to really navigate it right.

[Uncle Marv]
Well, a lot of them come in as disruptors. They look at the big dogs, the ones that have been around, and they say, we can do this better. Or they, and I'll say it this way too, a lot of them are MSPs that want to transition.

Now, we say it's to the dark side, but that's just how we are. But they come in and they want to do things better, which is fine. That's what we want in this industry.

We want to always be improving, but you're right. They come in, they think they can do it better, but they don't have a game plan or roadmap or any guidance. So this seems like a perfect thing for them to get that guidance.

[Sean Lardo]
And I love that you mentioned MSPs that make the conversion, right? The fact of the matter is 70, 60% plus of these vendors were or are currently MSPs that are in the competition. I've had these conversations recently with a lot of them that are friends of mine over the years.

And I told them, they have to understand they've switched over to the dark side, like you said, but it went from when you're the MSP, you're being, you're being taken out. You're being treated, right? At these shows.

Now you're the one, you're the one footing the bill. Now you're the one doing the treating and you have to understand that simple little difference changes who you are in this space and what's going on. When you go to these shows, there's an expectation factor, right?

I expect as a vendor, if I talk to you as an MSP, you're actually shopping. That's why you're at the show, right? You're shopping for what you want.

So I need to make sure that I know we're going to have that conversation, right? And I should expect it from you because that's why you're there and that's why I'm there. But as the vendor, you expect that I'm going to do my best to build a relationship with you and treat you well, period.

I mean, it's a difference to do. Not that I have to go take you for drinks. You're not a pretty woman, but I mean, you're kind of close to Marv.

You are kind of pretty woman. But the fact that matters is our job and our responsibility to be the ones that are investing in the space to grow it and investing and making a better experience for MSPs. And those guys that convert, they have to learn that.

[Uncle Marv]
All right. So 16 weeks. And then of course, the ultimate goal is to be one of the three at IT Connect this November.

Again, in our favorite place, O-Town. Let's go back. Can we talk about last year?

So the top three, Thread, VCIO Toolbox, and NodeWare. I know I've talked to Thread since then. I actually am a partner with NodeWare.

I've not caught up with VCI Toolbox, but do you have a quick update on the three?

[Sean Lardo]
Absolutely. So I think actually probably in February, CRN put out an article. And I'll give you the link so you can put it in your notes wherever.

CJ Fairfield, which she's freaking awesome. CJ. Exactly.

That's what everybody says she is. She's pretty dope. She is.

She interviewed the three finalists from last year. And what we wanted to make sure we addressed was the importance of being part of a program like this or being involved in investing your time in something like this as a vendor. Because these vendors, they're taking time out of what they already planned for their projection for the year of how they're going to grow.

And they're realigning it to what we do. So they have to understand why they would even want to do it. And when she did the article, we were able to tally up that all three vendors grew to combine $3 million surplus of ARR.

So between the three vendors, they actually made $3 million in ARR while being in this program. They are doing quite well though. And this was one of the big things that ConnectWise wanted in 1981 out of this was we wanted these vendors to have staying power.

It's why we started to teach them the ins and outs and how to navigate and how to grow their business the right way to be scalable. Not just scalable as a product offering or a startup solution offering, but scalable as far as their investment and reinvestment into the space, right? So they can keep being there and still grow.

And all three have, as far as the first two finishers, they won money, right? They both reinvested their money into sponsorships, into IT Nation events. So they can still be there, which is big for us, right?

It's big for them. So they are, you'll see Thread and NodeWare both at IT Nation Secure next month. You'll also see Connect in November.

And both of them also sponsored Evolve. So they are actively engaged in the community, which is important for us because we want them to be there to answer the questions for the partners. We want them to further improve their integrations with us.

They also are part of our certified integrated program, all three. So they all did it. BCIO toolbox will be at the Chicago user group in Q3.

They're also sponsored IT Nation Connect in November. So there was no reason, they're a QBR company, so to speak. So Secure wasn't really relevant for them to be at.

But again, they all actively reinvested and they're all doing really well actually. I always have a post IT Nation Connect meeting with them, actually several, to talk about what's going on and how they did. And from Thread's perspective, it was the largest grossing appointment setting on a number they've ever had from any show.

And I know they translate that over to a lot of business for themselves. NodeWare, they haven't stopped. Like Matthew Koenig has not stopped since then.

[Uncle Marv]
That dude wouldn't stop regardless.

[Sean Lardo]
Agreed, agreed, agreed. BCIO toolbox, they saw an increase in revenue, tremendous increase in revenue. And the thing for them though is theirs is a little bit longer of a sales cycle because they're educating people on how to approach business conversations.

But they've already crushed and they've had 50 to 70% growth. So I'm happy to see that. And I talk to those guys at least, if not once a month, at least in some cases twice a month, three times a month even.

So again, they're willing to do things. They're willing to be part of things. And they've pushed the envelope, which is what I'm happy to see.

[Uncle Marv]
Nice, nice. Now we have, and I don't know how official our agreement is, but the podcast is working with you guys to do the vendor spotlights where we bring them onto the podcast. We'll highlight them, give them a little mini pitch opportunity that will also help them along the way.

And I believe, and I've got to go back and check with my business department to see, we were talking about not only being at IT Nation Connect in November, but also attending Secure in June.

[Sean Lardo]
Yes. Yes. If you're able to come, you do have access to that.

You are being invited. And also you will have space to create content as well there. And not just for the pitch, I think.

I think what's important about what you do, which is why I love working with you, is that you're communicating with the space and giving them your take on things and keeping them updated on what they should know. And you have your own voice. And that's what I love.

And you do a really good job with it. And that's why I, so the whole audience knows I came to you, you didn't come to me. So I think it's important because I appreciate what you do.

And I want you to come with your flavor of things so you can talk to your audience and give them information they want to know more about. So it's not just about pitching at Secure at all. It's more about, at Secure, it's about you talking about what's at Secure and people should expect whatever it is you do.

And you will have space to interview people there. And I will make sure you get people on to the interview that you want.

[Uncle Marv]
All right. I appreciate that. And like I said, I believe we're committed.

I just got to double check and see where we are because, you know, even though I run my MSP, I'm not always the boss of my own destination. So got to check that out. But folks, yeah, we are definitely going to be involved in doing that and having those interviews, being at the conferences and have already started scouring for this year's set of steak knives, checking out all the dollar stores in the area.

So it's going to be a little bit of work and investment.

[Sean Lardo]
Yeah. I really, you know, I really appreciate and applaud you for going the extra mile to travel to all the dollar stores. I know that that's a lot.

And, you know, thank you for putting yourself out there like that.

[Uncle Marv]
Hey, anything I can do to help. Now, one thing I want to ask you about and I didn't prep you for is that at the conference last year, I noticed that you guys have a little philanthropic, you know, piece that you guys do. I want to ask you about that.

Have you guys already decided what that is going to be this year? And how is that going to be tied into what we're doing?

[Sean Lardo]
So we have, we were doing canines for warriors again, which we did last year, because, well, I'm a veteran. So that's fantastic. That's right up my alley, but we're going to do it for the whole year.

Our goal, we haven't set the goal number yet, but we will provide a link for donations, but we want to, every $25,000 we raise, so we'll sponsor a dog for a warrior. You know, so we would ideally, we would like to be able to get at least two dogs sponsored this year. So that's 50 grand.

We have the whole year to do it. We are going to have, actually it's secure. We're going to have things going on there for this, like the dog treat making and stuff like that.

We are going to be hosting them on a couple of live streams from IT Nation and from ConnectWise to get them some more awareness. So there will be donations involved for them to get there. There's some other stuff we're working on.

We haven't fully fleshed it out yet, but that's, we have meetings next week on it, but that's going to be it. And every year we're always going to be doing something that's, that is for some sort of charitable, whatever it is, because we have the, we have the, we have the platform for it. We have a lot of people that are involved in us.

So why not get them to all do a good thing and be involved in something that's bigger than us, you know? So yeah, you'll hear moreover, actually we're doing a live stream on it next Friday on the 10th. All right.

So we can tune in for that. That's through ConnectWise. So I mean, but there are a lot more.

I want to say it's at, I will tell you exactly what time it is.

[Uncle Marv]
All right. And while he's looking that up again, folks, the 2024 PIDGET starts now. Applications are no longer being accepted.

The actual 26 participants will be notified within the next week. Correct?

[Sean Lardo]
Yes. They will know. Well, let me stand, I stand corrected.

May 14th at 1130 AM Eastern Standard Time is when we'll be doing the live stream with ConnectWise for the K9 for Warriors nonprofit.

[Uncle Marv]
Okay.

[Sean Lardo]
And what's going on there. Now, back to what your question is. Yes.

The, the contestants, the people that applied will know by this week, end of week, actually, if they've been, if they made it and made the cut to the program, we will make an, we will make our formal announcement to the public next end of next week, early the following week, depending on what happens. So you will know either by May 9th or by May 14th, who's in it. We will make a public announcement that's official of all 26 vendors that make it.

And then over the next couple of weeks after that is when you'll start seeing content rolling out with people like you and other and Ray Rossini and actually your good friend, Derek Anthony.

[Uncle Marv]
Oh, the big dogs. You're calling in the big guns to, to do this.

[Sean Lardo]
Everybody's involved.

[Uncle Marv]
Yeah. So Sean, thank you very much. And I know that you, you know, are where, where are you at?

Are you at the, are you at the mothership there?

[Sean Lardo]
Cranberry Pittsburgh. We're the old continuum office. Oh, that's, we still have that office is one of our, it's one of our many headquarters and that's where I am right now.

[Uncle Marv]
All right.

[Sean Lardo]
I live in Pittsburgh.

[Uncle Marv]
So, yep. And I see you, you didn't put the on air sign up so the people behind you would, would treat this with a little bit of respect there.

[Sean Lardo]
They don't care. They don't care about me. They're like, this guy's annoying.

[Uncle Marv]
They're like, Oh, it's the IT business thing. Don't worry about it.

[Sean Lardo]
No, they're like, Oh, it's Sean.

[Uncle Marv]
Yeah. All right, sir. All right.

So there you have it. We are ready to go. And Oh, I should probably ask you this because so my swag season will actually start June 1st.

So as part of the development process, are you talking to these vendors about upping their swag game?

[Sean Lardo]
No, but that's a good, we should, that's a great idea. I mean, we talk about it, but it's very passively of course. Um, because, well, you know what, what's difficult about that back to being bootstrapped.

I don't want to tell them to buy a robot, but yeah, no, I think, uh, that's, that's a good conversation to have is about swag.

[Uncle Marv]
So it might not be something they can do in the beginning, but it is something that as they, you know, go along and get that exposure and get the funding. Cause listen, you don't have to be a winner to get funding. Even last year proved you had a couple of people that got some serious, uh, investment, uh, opportunities and stuff.

So the money would get there. And all I got to say is, look, if you're going to have swag, have it be good swag.

[Sean Lardo]
I would agree with that. I, I, I concur. And also to add to what you just said, yes, you don't be wanting to make money.

As a matter of fact, every one of our contestants reap benefits on growth in general, adding more clients, getting more awareness and everything else, generate more leads of the, of a lot of them though, a lot of them received funding, several received funding, several were acquired. So, you know, I'd say they're doing pretty good and you're right though. They should be preparing for the future of know where they want to take their messaging and also how they're presenting themselves with swag and banners and whatever else they do.

You know, it's kind of an, it's a very important thing. Um, yeah. So if maybe it's a conversation that we need a t-shirt vendor that'll support pitch in vendors.

[Uncle Marv]
Maybe I'll help with that. And, uh, see, I'm trying to help you guys out, give you some ideas, get some more vendors involved. All right, folks, there you have it.

Sean Lardo. Uh, are you running, are you ready to start getting your nickname running here? Sean Lardo, the summer man, summer man.

[Sean Lardo]
I think, I think Larry Meador had something else that he said you should use. I forget what it was. You're going to have to ask him based off summer.

[Uncle Marv]
We'll tell Uncle Larry to give Uncle Marv a shout out.

[Sean Lardo]
We'll figure it out and get, uh, I'll text him after this and tell him that he needs to tell you what it is because I forget what the hell he said it was. But yeah, I, I'm very much okay with any nickname you give me within reason.

[Uncle Marv]
Within reason. Okay. We'll work on it.

So uncle Laird reach out, buddy. Let's get this taken care of. All right, folks, that's it.

We just wanted to get a little kickoff, uh, live stream here. 2024 pitch it is underway. The contestants will be announced next week and we'll start having the vendor spotlights on the IT business podcast and whatever else we can come up with, uh, in our agreement with Sean, the summer man lotto, right?

I'll let you get back to it. Uh, we'll let our listeners get back to work. Uh, folks, thanks a lot.

And, uh, check out the ID business podcast, uh, anytime in your favorite pod catcher or live on your social medias. We'll talk to you soon.