Adam Bielanski, who ran an MSP early on in his career and is now the founder and CEO of MSP+, speaks at the HaloPSA Orbit conference about how to scale a business with purpose all while maintaining sustainable growth.

To run a successful MSP business, it’s crucial to foster sustainable growth through culture, innovation and strategic agility. That’s the message Adam Bielanski gave to MSPs during HaloPSA’s inaugural Orbit conference in the U.K. this week.

Bielanski, who ran an MSP early on in his career and is now the founder and CEO of Las Vegas-based consulting firm MSP+, spoke about how to scale a business with purpose all while maintaining sustainable growth. He reflected on the challenges he faced early in his career, including a health scare caused by the pressures of running his own business.

“I ended up having a heart attack because I was so stressed and anxious about earning the next dollar, getting the next client and running the business appropriately,” he said.

His experience became a turning point that led him to rethink how businesses should operate for long-term success without sacrificing personal well-being.

It all comes down to operational efficiency, culture and talent, he said.

[Related: Evergreen Services Group Exec To MSPs: ‘The Rise Of AI Is The New Frontier’]

Operational efficiency, driven by AI, is a key factor in staying competitive, he said, adding, “but you need to be very intentional with what you do and the tools you use.”

When it comes to hiring and retaining talent, he urged MSPs to focus on what he called the “three Cs”—competence, culture and commitment.

“Culture and core values are often used as a marketing term, but we take it a step further by defining specific behaviors that align with those values,” he said.

His organization not only outlines five core values but also backs them with 30 specific behaviors to create a clear guide for employees.

In addition, he said, it’s important to foster partnerships and alliances within the industry.

“MSP+ would have never been founded without strong relationships with competitors, what I call ‘alliances,’” he said.

Whether an MSP wants to grow through mergers and acquisitions or stay independent, he stressed that aligning growth strategies with a long-term vision is crucial.

“It’s OK if you have a lifestyle business, but you need to ensure your strategy aligns with your goals for sustainable success,” he said. “We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do. As leaders, we need to empower our teams and give them the framework to innovate and execute.”

Raja Pagadala, former managing director of London-based MSP The Final Step, which was acquired in 2023 by San Francisco-based holding company Evergreen Services Group, said he enjoyed listening to Bielanski’s talk and learning from his experiences.

“It was nice for him to be vulnerable and explain where he went wrong,” he said. “And now it’s great to see the success that he’s making of his current venture.”