The 20's second MSP SUMMIT of the year just wrapped up at the company's headquarters in Plano, Texas.

The SUMMIT, open to all MSPs, brought The 20's MSP community together with other driven business leaders for two-plus days of getting down to brass tacks. 

Pre-Day: 7 Figure MSP Takes the Wheel

The 20 hit the ground running on Tuesday with a special four-hour workshop led by Chris Wiser and Lindsey Badillo of 7 Figure MSP: "AI Lead Gen & Sales Engine: How to Get 50 Leads Per Month without Referrals, Ads or Expensive Outsourced Dialing."

If you are looking to solve your lead-gen problem, your sales problem or your growth problem, you do not have to master some magical and hopelessly complex set of skills. What you do need is structure, strategy and to quote Wiser himself, "ruthless consistency." It was a powerful message that got a lot of wheels turning in the room.

Day 1: M&A Is Here – Is Your MSP Ready?

The first full day of SUMMIT kicked off with a session from Tim Conkle, founder and CEO of The 20 and the architect behind its bold consolidation strategy — one that has allowed the company to roll up 39 MSPs (and counting) in under three years with minimal attrition and 60- to 90-day integrations.

"M&A Is One Piece of the Puzzle" drove home a very important point: M&A is not the endgame, but a means to a much more important end — wealth creation and management. Conkle's advice cut through the noise: Even if you are not looking to sell your MSP, preparing like you are puts your MSP on track for stronger growth, scale and valuation. M&A wisdom, he reminded us, is growth wisdom. Period. And ignoring the conversation? Not educating yourself on what is going on? It is a recipe for getting left behind — and fast.

The M&A-themed day continued with a sharp, no-nonsense presentation from Scott Renkes (Pinecrest Capital Partners), who left MSPs with a clear takeaway: sloppy books kill deals. Private equity is not just interested in your revenue and clients. They want to know about your systems, your data, your risks — your ability to prove the story behind the numbers. Want a good deal? Prepare.

Renkes handed the mic off to Steven Frank and Tony Vargas, whose session on Lansweeper‘s Technology Asset Intelligence reinforced the power of visibility — specifically, visibility into asset data. Frank and Vargas reminded attendees that it is not just about control; it is about laying a foundation for scaling smarter, faster and more profitably.

After lunch, Conkle returned to the stage alongside M&A expert Madhur Duggar for a fireside chat. They delved deep into why mergers between smaller MSPs often fail (you cannot create scale out of thin air) and Madhur shared some fascinating numbers about the ratio of SMBs to MSPs in the United States — and how it makes organic growth beyond $2 million a tricky proposition for MSPs. Conkle broke down the costs of an integration and expanded on how The 20's strategy takes the bulk of those out of the equation (prealignment for the win).

Bottom line for MSPs: The M&A landscape is shifting fast. In five years, the balance will have tilted toward buyers, making strong valuations harder for smaller MSPs with less operational maturity. Selling sooner lets you ride the wave — not get crushed by it. This isn’t to say you should rush into a deal — but ignoring market realities will not do you any favors.

Panel Time

Day 1 featured two M&A-focused panels moderated by industry leader and CMO of The 20, Crystal Conkle. "What It’s Really Like to Sell to The 20" brought together former MSP owners who sold their businesses, and "When M&A Meets Monday" featured employees from MSPs acquired by The 20.

Crystal led both panels through lively and engaging discussions. Here are a few snippets from those panels:

In "What It’s Really Like to Sell to The 20," the panelists shared one piece of advice with MSP owners who are thinking about selling their businesses:

• Kevin Peterson stressed the importance of knowing your numbers: "Numbers don't lie."
• Darren Fippin emphasized clarity of purpose: "Know your why."
• Gary Blawat echoed that sentiment: "You have to have a purpose."
• Lance Keltner kept it real: "Sell your a** off" — If you're not entering a transaction imminently. A year out from selling, Keltner doubled down on growth and significantly boosted his MSP's valuation.

The second panel, "When M&A Meets Monday," featured employees of organizations that have since been acquired by The 20: Madison Vestweber, Mia Demelo-Schmitt, Bradley Gaudioso and Robert Falco. These four panelists shared when they first felt "at home" post-acquisition. While their answers varied, one thing was clear: in-person connections mattered. Spending time face-to-face with The 20 team helped each of them feel truly part of things. Hearing about their experiences affirmed that investing in good people and a healthy company culture is worth it — and then some.

Day 2: Future, Here We Come

The second and final day of SUMMIT featured sessions on a variety of topics, but they all revolved around a common theme: getting MSPs ready for what's next.

Conkle got the day started with a session on MSP success — and he got real. Small and mid-sized MSPs are facing a litany of challenges, but also, some exciting (and unprecedented) opportunities. But with everything that's going on in our industry, MSPs can easily find themselves with fragmented focus, and Conkle reminded attendees to focus on one big goal, and organize their efforts accordingly.

Next up was Ken Pecot, COO and resident operations wizard. His talk on new processes, products and possibilities showed just how much work is going on behind the scenes at The 20 to bring its MSP community the best of the best of the best. Pecot has preached continuous improvement from his first day at The 20, and The 20's members are lucky to have him at the helm of operations. In an industry as fast-moving as ours, having someone like Pecot — someone who is constantly looking for ways to get better — is invaluable.

On day two, attendees also heard from Barrett Kingsriter, founder and senior managing director at Pinecrest Capital Partners. He provided a high-level view of the MSP M&A landscape before zooming in on what today's PE firms are really looking for. Kingsriter's core message could not be timelier: preparing for a transaction is preparing for growth — so even if you are not gearing up to sell your MSP, this M&A stuff needs to be on your radar.

Hannah Corral, The 20's vice president of HR, kept the ball rolling with a wonderfully clear and actionable presentation on the "people problem" — and how to solve it. Eric Anthony owned the stage with a sharp and engaging walkthrough of Egnyte‘s revamped partner program and powerful MSP-focused features. And Ken Nix, The 20's CISO, spoke with authority on a topic that MSPs simply cannot afford to ignore: compliance — and more importantly, how to make it a differentiator for your MSP business.

Attendees also heard from The 20's customer experience (CX) team, led by client champion and CXO of The 20, Ciera Cole. The team took the mic to spotlight the ongoing and evolving ways The 20 supports its MSP community — from co-selling and membership groups to its new Apple Pod and beyond.