Building on a successful pre-conference MSP peer group session last March at Channel Partners Conference and Expo, MSP-Ignite will hold three peer groups at the MSP Summit Sept. 15-17 in Orlando, Fla. MSP-Ignite CEO Steve Alexander will conduct a three-hour collaborative workshop Monday, titled “From Survival to Scale: Building Sustainable MSP Growth Through Peer Intelligence.” The workshop will help MSP leaders move beyond surface-level networking to engage in transformative peer-driven problem-solving.

MSP-Ignite will follow with one-hour peer group sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first session is for leaders of MSPs with up to 25 employees called “Built for Growth or Built to Break: Lessons in Scaling the Right Way.” The Wednesday session is for larger MSPs (50+ employees), “Scaling Culture at Scale: How Growing MSPs Can Keep Their Edge.”

MSP Peer Groups are open to all attendees but each session is limited to 20 participants to give all a chance to be heard. You can opt-in when registering for the MSP Summit to express interest.

I spoke with Alexander about how the sessions can help MSPs.

MSP Summit: Start by giving us a little bit about your background, and the history of MSP-Ignite – what did you set out to do when you started it?

Alexander: I started a local Business Advisory Group over 20 years ago. It was not industry specific at all. While running my second MSP I became frustrated with the industry offerings. They were all either tied to a vendor, serving somewhat conflicting agendas or seemed focused on upselling additional consulting services. I knew there was value in true peer-to-peer guidance in a structured format supported by vetted subject matter experts.

Steve Alexander

Your two shorter sessions at MSP Summit are each for different sized MSPs. What are the distinct challenges faced by larger (50-plus person) MSPs compared to smaller (5-25 person) companies?

Alexander: There are growth plateaus at various stages of growth. We can get into the weeds on this question pretty easily. At a high level, smaller companies tend to battle resource challenges related to trying to keep up with growth goals. The larger companies tend to have to focus on operational scaling and training for mid-level managers. Both face business development challenges, but the scale can be widely different.

The larger companies typically have to focus on maintaining the culture that got them to where they are. In many cases, the less-than-25 employee company is developing sales processes and marketing for the first time.

What are the most common scaling challenges you're seeing MSPs struggle with in 2025 that your sessions specifically address?

Alexander: Scaling challenges are different for MSPs of different sizes and operational maturity levels. The biggest challenge is ensuring that all departments are delivering on the same level.

Why do you limit the number of participants in each session to 20, and how do you decide which MSPs will be accepted?

Alexander: These sessions are designed to give the participants an opportunity to quickly collaborate on a common challenge. To provide each participant with an opportunity to be heard, we must keep the groups relatively small. While our formal Peer Groups are smaller and provide time to dive deep into challenges and strategic goals we do want these sessions to provide value to each attendee.

Once we receive the list of those signed up for the sessions, we do a bit of research to make sure that we have a proper mix of MSP owners and executives.

How do you find MSPs benefit most from MSP-Ignite peer groups?

Alexander: Our only mission is the success of our members and those who attend our sessions. The foundation of what we do is built on a deep understanding of the financials of each company we work with, the strategic goals of the companies we work with, and a shared mission of accountability and guidance that only a family can provide.

Why have you decided to partner with MSP Summit?

Alexander: Our partnership with Informa and Channel Partners has solidified over the past year. MSP Summit is a unique celebration of MSP Success. A number of our members are celebrating their first time on the MSP 501 list and we wanted to be sure to join them while continuing to empower MSP growth and success.