Based on my recent conversation on with Mike Williams, founder of Winxnet, one of the MSPs that merged to form Logically—one of the industry’s first PE-backed MSP platform—and now CEO of Enterprise Value Partners. Having helped build one of the earliest platform success stories in the MSP industry, Mike shared practical lessons from nearly a decade of acquisitions, integrations and platform building. This article captures the ideas that resonated most with me.

Here are some of my favorite takeaways from my podcast with Mike:

1. Consolidation is inevitable. Embrace it.

You’re either going to become an acquirer… or be acquired. The winners won’t fight consolidation—they’ll use it to create enterprise value.

2. Know your Deal; Know your PE partner even better

Don’t just diligence the deal — diligence your PE partner and its portfolio. Negotiate your budget before close because they will hold you to it and bad things will happen when you don’t make budget

3. Let go of the Dopamine Addiction of Chaos

The day after closing, you have a job. Accept it. Many founders miss the adrenaline of being the hero. Mike calls it the “dopamine addiction of chaos.” You have to let it go.

4. If your processes lives inside Wendy’s head… you don’t have a process. Wendy has it and will take it with her

Know your process, document your process, operationalize your process

5. Integration doesn’t start after closing—it starts before Quality of Earnings is finished

✔ Build an Integration Management Office.

✔ Don’t ask engineers to run integration — they already have a day job.

✔ Create a pre-close checklist of Agreements, Products, KPIs: Agreements, Products, KPIs, Upsell Plan

✔ Have a Communication and Change Management Plan

6. You won’t please everyone – amplify your protractors, let go of your detractors

15% of your acquired staff will love the exit. They are your Promoters. Amplify the Promoters. 15% of will hate the exit. They are your Detractors. Get rid of them if you want to keep your clients

7. When it comes to Integration – Sales is King. Yes, you heard that right 

80% of the integration playbook is operational. 20% is sales. Focus on the 20%. Because sales pays for everything else.

8. Why FlexPath is working

Trust already existed. Everyone checked their egos at the door. Leadership roles were chosen based on what was best for the platform—not individual ambition. Once valuation was settled, everyone focused on growth.

9. MSPs aren’t going anywhere – they have a trust relationship with SMBs 

MSPs aren’t disappearing but they will need to evolve away from Service Desk to becoming AI and Automation partners and not everyone will get in the race.

10. MSPs that exit must make integration cheaper 

Standardize contracts and reporting. Simplify and document processes. Rationalize tech-stacks. Standardize reporting. Don’t let integration costs keep you from exiting if that’s what you want.

11. If you want to develop a Leadership team, take that long vacation. 

They can’t become leaders unless you let them. Take that vacation because your team needs it. Mike did, again and again and it changed his life.

12. MSPs want to exit but can’t find partners – We need incubation platforms

This industry needs incubators with real expertise in sales, lead generation, tech-stack optimization, legal, tax, valuation, M&A, and integration to help founders build the next generation of platforms.