‘I see this as a positive shot in the arm for American business and technology entrepreneurs like myself who are going to build the next generation of AI-powered businesses that will fuel American economic growth in the 21st century,’ said Future Tech Enterprise CEO Bob Venero.

Solution provider supporters of Donald Trump said his election as the 47th president of the United States will provide the economic foundation for continued success of entrepreneurial channel businesses.

“Donald Trump at his core is a businessman who understands what it takes to make a business successful in this country,” said Bob Venero, CEO of Future Tech Enterprise, No. 76 on the Solution Provider 500, which he started in the basement of his house in 1996. “I see this as a positive shot in the arm for American business and technology entrepreneurs like myself who are going to build the next generation of AI-powered businesses that will fuel American economic growth in the 21st century.”

Venero said that business leaders need to look beyond political rhetoric and division and focus on economic opportunity for all Americans with an eye toward continuing to drive technology leadership.

“Technology is the economic driver of both the national and global economy,” said Venero. “It drives tens of billions of dollars into the global economy that is tied to creating jobs. Tech entrepreneurs, including the hundreds of thousands of solution providers in this country, need to continue to be agile enough to drive that growth. We need to adapt and grow based on the ever-changing technology landscape, supporting AI and emerging technologies and always looking to the next big technology wave.”

Trump was projected to become the 47th president early Wednesday after a victory in the state of Wisconsin putting him over the 270 electoral votes needed to win the hotly contested race against Vice President Kamala Harris. As of press time, Trump had 277 electoral votes compared to 224 for Harris, according to the Associated Press.

“Trump provided hope and a path forward for tech entrepreneurs,” said a solution provider executive who has built a number of successful companies, reacting to the election results early Wednesday morning. The executive asked for anonymity to speak candidly about the presidential race and to not alienate customers, colleagues and employees with differing viewpoints. “This should result in more tech jobs and economic prosperity. It is going to provide an economic engine to all those individuals—whether they are a tradesman, a councilman or college graduate—to follow their dreams. Ninety-five percent of our workforce is employed by entrepreneurs who followed their dreams and took that leap of faith.”

Which candidate was better for the channel in the eyes of solution providers mostly came down to how much weight solution providers put on Trump’s and Harris’ tax policies.

Corey Kirkendoll, CEO of Plano, Texas-based 5K Technical Services—an honoree on CRN’s 2024 MSP 500—told CRN Tuesday ahead of the election results that the expected tax relief from a Trump administration would help his business.

That said, both candidates presented “unique opportunities and challenges” for the channel, Kirkendoll said, noting that the best road ahead for MSPs is to “stay informed, agile and client-focused.”

Multiple solution providers told CRN that they hope Trump’s return to the White House will result in lower taxes.

Some parts of Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 are set to expire after 2025 if Congress doesn’t step in. Those include a qualified business income (QBI) deduction of up to 20 percent for pass-through businesses, such as sole proprietors, partnerships and S-corporations.

A 100 percent bonus depreciation provision allowing for deduction of particular capital investments will lower to 50 percent in 2025 and is set to phase out by 2027.

Trump wants to keep the bonus depreciation provision and allow research and development tax breaks in the year the business incurs the expenses instead of amortizing the cost over a period of years, according to an October report from Kiplinger.

During his presidency, Trump’s tax cuts lowered the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. He has proposed lowering the rate to 15 percent for C corporations that make products in the U.S., according to the Kiplinger report. Harris had proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent.

Dawn Sizer, CEO of 3rd Element Consulting, a Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based solution provider, said ahead of the election that she also hopes for lower taxes but envisions gridlock as political divide in the country creates obstacles to meeting campaign promises. “Appeasing one demographic completely displeases another,” Sizer said.

Like the rest of the country, solution providers contacted by CRN were deeply divided on which candidate would be best for businesses.

Kathy Durfee, CEO of Lakewood Ranch, Fla.-based solution provider TechHouse, ahead of the results said she believed Harris’ platform would be better for small businesses.

Harris had proposed increasing the startup tax deduction from $5,000 to $50,000, according to Bankrate, which put the average cost of starting a business at $40,000. The deduction is for new small businesses that have turned a profit within the fiscal year. The U.S. vice president had also given a goal of reaching 25 million new startup applications.

The Democratic nominee had also suggested offering one million loans “to Black entrepreneurs and others who have historically faced barriers,” with up to $20,000 forgivable.

Solution provider executives offered mixed views on Trump’s plan to increase tariffs.

Trump has touted tariffs as a way to increase fairness for U.S. manufacturers that can’t beat overseas competitors on price and as a way to potentially encourage more production in the U.S.

The head of a Utah-based solution provider CEO who spoke with CRN on condition of anonymity said that Trump’s proposed tariffs were one of the biggest concerns he had in this election. He fears “the impact those much higher prices are going to have on small businesses and their ability to afford the hardware they need,” he said. “This will have a ripple effect across the industry.”

An October report by the Consumer Technology Association said that Trump proposals for a 10 percent or 20 percent tariff on all imports and a 60 percent tariff on all imports from China could lead to a 46 percent increase in the price of laptops and tablets and a 26 percent increase in the price of smartphones.

The CEO of one California-based solution provider told CRN on condition of anonymity that she approved of Trump’s manufacturing reshoring efforts during his first term and trusts that he will be successful in that effort in a second term.

A vice president at a Texas-based solution provider told CRN on condition of anonymity that tariffs could spur more buying in the short term to avoid price hikes once the tariffs take effect. “Depending on what is said, that can make some pretty dramatic impacts on the supply chain,” he said.

Should Trump pursue tariffs, there is a possibility that he offsets the higher cost from tariffs through grants or tax breaks, the solution provider VP added.

“A huge majority of our stuff comes from overseas,” he said. “Depending on how [the proposed] tariffs work, I think that’ll cause some strain in the whole ecosystem, anything from all of the parts and components that go into it, all the way through the supply chain, to the end users consuming.”

Jason Wright, the CEO of Avatar Managed Services, Houston Texas, who acquired the business in 2020 and has since increased the workforce from four to 16, said he feels “blessed” to be in a business poised for strong economic growth no matter who was elected president.

“We are helping our customers drive revenue growth and be more efficient in the AI era,” he said. “We are poised for growth because of the big impact technology has on productivity. I wasn’t waiting with bated breath to see who would win because I see strong economic growth ahead for us no matter who is in the White House. However, from my standpoint, the Trump victory is good news for businesses of all kinds and the capital markets.”

Steven Burke contributed to this story.