MSP Unplugged

Before you plan 2027, score 2026. In the first chapter of our 4th Quarter Living series, Paco Lebron welcomes Rick Smith and Nancy Henriquez as co-hosts for the rest of 2026 and into 2027. Together they take inventory of the year: the wins, the plays they would not run again, how AI changed the way they work, and how each of them plans to unplug before the new year. Nancy shares what she is learning from her first acquisition, Rick talks about starting a new company from scratch, and Paco opens up about standardizing systems across an MSP roll-up. They cover: Why spending your first 30, 60, or 90 days on product learning instead of execution can slow you down How to plan without overplanning, and why perfectionism is a mask for procrastination Why profit is the heartbeat of your business and how cash flow makes or breaks you How Rick and Nancy are using AI this year, from research and admin help to an AI digital twin that checks processes against agreements Why getting more out of your existing client relationships beats always chasing new leads How to unplug, take time off, and build a business that does not own you Hosts: Paco Lebron, Rick Smith, Nancy Henriquez More episodes: https://mspunplugged.com/episodes/ Vendors, partner with us: https://mspunplugged.com/sponsor-with-us/ MSP Unplugged is the weekly podcast for growing MSP owners, under $1M with 10 or fewer techs.

In this episode of MSP Unplugged, Paco Lebron talks with Michael Assraf, Founder and CEO of Flamingo, about tool sprawl, the vendor tax, and how an open-source foundation plus AI agents can change the economics for growing MSPs. Michael has spent 20 years in tech, mostly in startups. At his previous company, Vicarius, a vulnerability remediation platform, most of the traction came from MSPs, and he saw them keep adding tools and losing margin. He and Paco cover: Why tool sprawl and add-on pricing keep eating into MSP margins How AI-driven roll-ups and rising tool prices are squeezing growing MSPs How OpenFrame hosts open-source tools as one platform, with AI agents Mingo (for techs) and Fae (for end users) Why moving AI from suggestions to real ticket reduction is a business process decision What a three-person MSP should expect when AI starts closing tickets How to start testing AI by building with tools like Claude Code, and why brokering AI projects for clients may be the future of the MSP Links: Flamingo: https://www.flamingo.run OpenFrame: https://www.flamingo.run/openframe OpenMSP community and vendor directory: https://www.openmsp.ai Michael Assraf on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelassraf/ MSP Unplugged: https://www.mspunplugged.com This episode is brought to you by Flamingo, makers of OpenFrame: one platform instead of eight tabs, with AI assistants Mingo and Fae that actually fix things with your approval. $1 per device per month. Try it free for 14 days, no card needed, at https://flamingo.run Chapters: 00:00 Intro and welcome 03:34 Michael Assraf's path to the MSP space 05:57 Tool sprawl and the vendor tax 08:06 From technician to business owner with AI 13:22 AI roll-ups and the margin squeeze 15:22 Open source, OpenFrame, Mingo and Fae 19:13 Moving AI from suggestions to ticket reduction 22:41 What a three-person MSP should expect 27:17 Rapid fire: AI myths, vibe coding, and AI projects More episodes: https://www.mspunplugged.com/episodes/ Vendors, partner with us: https://www.mspunplugged.com/sponsor-with-us/ MSP Unplugged is the weekly podcast for growing MSP owners, under $1M with 10 or fewer techs.

🎙️ In this episode of MSP Unplugged, we sit down with Ryan Walsh, Channel Chief and Chief Strategy Officer at Pax8, to talk about where small MSPs actually go next. Ryan has spent years helping partners clean up messy stacks, scale through the marketplace, and rethink what "managed services" even means as AI changes client expectations. This conversation is built for owners running lean shops — under $3M and under 20 employees — who need a practical path, not a enterprise slide deck. What You'll Learn: Why Pax8 frames the shift from MSP to Managed Infrastructure Provider (MIP) What AI actually changes for small MSPs (and what it doesn't) How to clean up a messy vendor stack without blowing up delivery Leadership and culture moves that help a small team adopt new  services How marketplace, partnerships, and product expansion can drive growth without a huge sales org Practical first steps for MSPs who feel behind on AI and strategy 👉 Resources & Links: Pax8: https://www.pax8.com Ryan Walsh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmwalsh1/ MSP Unplugged: https://www.mspunplugged.com What's one thing in your stack you'd rip out tomorrow if you could? Drop it in the comments. 🔥 Like, subscribe, and hit the bell for weekly real-talk MSP strategy. #MSP #Pax8 #RyanWalsh #AI #MSPStrategy #SmallMSP #MIP #Channel #MSPUnplugged

🎙️ In this episode of MSP Unplugged, we sit down with Nihil Morjaria, Chief Revenue Officer at usecure, to talk about human risk management — the biggest gap in most small MSP security stacks. usecure helps MSPs automate security awareness training, phishing simulations, dark web monitoring, and policy management so lean teams can reduce client risk and sell a measurable security service without adding headcount. What You'll Learn: Why traditional annual training no longer works How MSPs can automate human risk management across clients Using Human Risk Reports as a sales and prospecting tool How to package, price, and deliver awareness as recurring revenue Practical first steps for MSPs under $3M with small teams Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro & Welcome Nihil Morjaria [Add actual timestamps here] 👉 Resources & Links: usecure: https://www.usecure.io MSP Unplugged: https://www.mspunplugged.com If your clients keep clicking phishing emails — or you want a security service that's actually manageable — this episode is for you. Drop your biggest human-risk challenge in the comments. 🔥 Like, subscribe, and hit the bell for weekly MSP growth and security conversations. #MSP #Cybersecurity #HumanRiskManagement #usecure #SecurityAwareness #Phishing #SmallMSP #MSPUnplugged

🎙️ In this episode of MSP Unplugged, we talk with Cambrient AI about a different approach to email security: agentic AI that investigates every message instead of just scoring or filtering it. Cambrient was built for MSPs — multi-tenant, fast to deploy (no MX record changes), and designed to cut the "is this email safe?" ticket load that eats small-team margins. What You'll Learn: Why signature-based email tools still miss modern phishing and BEC How AI agents inspect links, redirects, attachments, and intent Why 5-minute, no-MX deployment matters for MSPs managing many tenants How self-service false-positive release and plain-English explanations reduce tickets How a lean MSP can add stronger email security without extra analysts 👉 Resources & Links: Cambrient AI: https://www.cambrient.ai MSP Unplugged: https://www.mspunplugged.com Armaan Chakrabarti Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armaan-chakrabarti-1659201b6/ If email tickets are eating your day, this one is worth the watch. What's your current email security stack? Tell us in the comments. 🔥 Like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more real-talk MSP security and operations content. #MSP #EmailSecurity #Phishing #BEC #AI #Cambrient #SmallMSP #Cybersecurity #MSPUnplugged