MSP Exit Interview – Pete Matheson (Tekkers IT)

What was your MSP and when did you start it?  

Tekkers IT Solutions, in 2011. Started as I was working too much and getting paid too little. I felt the local SMBs were being underserved.

£1.2m Revenue. 16 Staff. Covering Hampshire & West Sussex.

Core services – MSP / IT Support + BCDR / VoIP / Connectivity (Your standard MSP)

Always focusing on making tomorrow 1% better than today. We had a unique approach to marketing which our local competitors attempted to follow 😉

Were you always planning on an exit and what was the driver to exit?

No. I never planned on selling until, I did!

I was starting to lose passion for what we were doing.

So we figured out what ‘our number’ was. Realised we didn’t know if it was worth that number until we tried to sell, and the first offer we had was above our number. So we went to sell!

How did you find your acquirer and what did the process look like?

I posted on an anonymous online forum via the Tech Tribe.
Later, we hired an outsourced FD to approach other local MSPs to see if they would also be interested.

Can you tell us a little about your exit?

The exit can be whatever you want it to be. When I realised my heart wasn’t in it anymore, I decided that my exit needed to be an immediate out. So we sold, and I was there as much as I was needed to support the new owners. But essentially I was out.

What was the main thing you learned about M&A going through the process?

The process was fine, a few hiccups along the way, but no real issues. My main mistake was not keeping our asset register up to date.

Knowing what you know today, what would you have done differently?

I would have planned my exit further out and paid more attention to my EBITDA.

Is there any advice or things to watch out for that you would like to share with fellow MSP Business owners?

Speak to other people who have been through the M&A process. There are things they’ll tell you that they otherwise won’t be allowed to say in public! I learnt a tonne from listening to advice from friends of mine who have been on both sides of acquisition.

What are you up to now and how can people find out more?

I’m now creating content to help other MSPs. Notabusinesscoach.com & youtube.com/notabusinesscoach

My other life is running a YouTube channel where I review Tech! petematheson.com and youtube.com/petematheson