What I Took Home from ChannelPro LIVE (Besides an Award)

I attended ChannelPro LIVE in Charlotte on April 8^th, and I left with more practical takeaways than I expected.  Every session, every conversation in the vendor hall, and every exchange with a fellow MSP owner felt grounded. The speakers were all active practitioners who clearly still live in the same world the rest of us do. That relevance makes a real difference.  

The talks that landed

The session lineup was strong across the board, but a few talks will stick with me.

MSP Pitch Competition: This was genuinely nerve-wracking to watch, in the best way. Three brave souls came up on stage and under time pressure and in front of judges, they pitched their cases from adopting better cybersecurity practices to switching procurement providers. The feedback was tough but deliberate, exposing how hard it is to influence non-technical decision-makers.

AI and Automation Talk: Unusually specific and practical. The two speakers opened the floor early, and it turned into a real conversation between MSP owners. ChannelPro's Jonathan Browning facilitated it well. It was one of the most relevant discussions I've encountered on these topics, precisely because it wasn't a presentation: it was a dialogue.

"Sticky by Design" Security Session: Centered around an uncomfortable truth that we need to surface what we do in ways our clients can see and feel. We tend to work quietly. “We work behind the screens.” That has a cost. The presenter closed the talk with a really useful 10-point handout that Neelesh and I are eagerly unpacking and putting into action.

Cost-Cutting Session: The cost-cutting session was the kind I want to see more of at every conference. The stat that landed: nearly 28% of MSP businesses aren't profitable. My take? That stat probably undercounts founders who aren’t paying themselves a fair wage. One audience member offered a line I immediately wrote down: "You cannot sell your way out of the red." The core message was to cut costs until you're profitable. Don't rely on revenue growth to fix a structural problem.  

Closing Keynote: The most rousing closing talk I've seen at any conference. The speaker connected mindset, performance, and mental health in a way that was honest. He went to some genuinely dark places at one point, but the spirit was ultimately energizing. I watched people in the audience nodding, gesturing, visibly moved. It earned every bit of that reaction. A line I captured: "You don't rise to your goals. You fall to your system."

Vendors worth knowing

I spent most of the vendor showcase time at three booths, and I have follow-up demos scheduled with two of them.

• FlexPoint pulled me in on accounts receivable optimization. Allen was such a genuinely engaging conversation partner that I ended up sitting down with him for a good while. If you're an MSP owner who hasn't thought strategically about your AR and collections process, it's worth a look. ‍
• ServiceQ.ai is doing something genuinely innovative with AI in service delivery. Gabe, who runs it, is one of those rare people who combines deep technical knowledge with contagious optimism. Talking to him makes you feel like the problems in front of you are solvable. That's a good feeling to leave a vendor conversation with. ‍
• T3 Tech Partners caught my attention first with some clever swag, but what they've built is a service delivery optimization platform that covers Google and M365 environments alongside policy and documentation. Kristin's passion for what they've built made the pitch easy to absorb, and I signed up for a trial right on the spot. Major kudos for Kristin for having a touchscreen system right there ready to launch me into their product.

An awarding moment

Net Friends was nominated by Rewst for a Partner in Excellence award. We were up against six strong nominees. And… we won!!!

Mike Siggins, who heads ChannelPro Network, invited me on stage for a conversation about our business, our vendor partnerships, and how we think about tools like Rewst and Cynomi as force multipliers for our team. The audience asked sharp questions about how we manage the costs of multiple vendor relationships, how we navigate vision alignment internally, and how we approach ownership culture within the company. I appreciated the directness, which doesn’t happen at larger event.

Why this conference feels different

ChannelPro LIVE is not a 500-person event where the speakers are out of reach and the sessions are polished presentations delivered at you. It's a room full of people who are leaning in, who haven't figured it all out, and who are genuinely there to learn and exchange experiences. The Q&A isn't performative. People there readily opened up about their struggles and challenges.

That culture comes from the top. Mike and Jonathan set a tone that is earnest, accessible, and substantive. It's rarer than it should be.

If you're an MSP owner who hasn't been to one of these, it's worth your time.