From Surviving to Thriving
How The 20 Helped Chris and Brandi Couse Scale New Heights
Seven years. That’s how long Chris Couse, founder of MashGrape Technologies, got by. With just one technician on the payroll and some behind-the-scenes help from his wife, Brandi, Chris kept his managed service provider (MSP) business afloat. But then something no one could have predicted rocked the boat…
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down. Brandi lost her job and decided to join MashGrape full-time. The family business’s very survival depended on it. But despite her and Chris’s best efforts, they found themselves working at a frenzied pace just to keep their heads above water. Like many businesses during that difficult time, they needed help.
A Real Solution
Chris and Brandi saw a glimmer of hope during an online IT conference that year, where MSP veteran, Tim Conkle, pitched The 20 – a collaborative MSP ‘co-op’ dedicated to giving small and medium-sized MSPs the tools and resources to compete with much larger companies. A US-based 24/7 support desk, a community of MSPs that share knowledge (and even labor), elegant documentation and standardization across the board – it sounded great. But was it for real?
After talking to some other MSPs in the group and going over our business model in more depth, Chris and Brandi decided that The 20 was definitely for real – and potentially the key to not only saving MashGrape, but helping it grow and scale like never before.
Taking Care of Business
For the Couses, the scariest part of the transition was handing over their clients to The 20’s support desk. Like a lot of small and medium-sized MSPs, MashGrape took its client relationships very seriously. Would our technicians go above and beyond to ensure every single one of MashGrape’s clients felt truly cared for?
The answer turned out to be a resounding “Yes!” Not only did our technical team take expert care of Chris and Brandi’s clients; our reliable support also empowered MashGrape to take on clients that were previously too large to handle. As promised, scaling operations with The 20 was a breeze.
“When it was just me, we would have been afraid to approach a client with 5000 endpoints, but now we are fearless because we have The 20 in our pocket.” – Chris Couse
Incredibly enough, the unprecedented growth MashGrape experienced after joining The 20 required making only one new hire. Chris and Brandi discovered that growth doesn’t necessitate building a large in-house team of techs – not when you have our world-class support desk taking on the bulk of your ticket load.
A Bevy of Benefits
It wasn’t just The 20’s support desk that transformed MashGrape from a struggling MSP into a thriving one. We offer our MSP members a host of resources, including specialized groups, or ‘platoons,’ a streamlined onboarding process, and in-person events to bolster camaraderie and foster innovation.
The MashGrape team benefited especially from The 20’s annual VISION conference, a larger-than-life event that attracts hundreds of MSPs from all over North America. And at VISION ’23, MashGrape won the “Most Engaged MSP” award, a testament to their tireless efforts and enthusiastic participation in our community.
Since joining The 20, MashGrape has doubled in size, and the Couses expect to continue doubling their business every two years.. Their confidence is a powerful reminder: when you have the right tools and processes, a supportive community, and a rock-solid commitment to client success, growth becomes the norm.
Grow Your MSP with The 20!
Questions about growing your MSP? Let’s Talk!