I recently joined Craig Fulton, M&A Advisor at Evergreen for a visit that is literally an evergreen story with it’s story oif MSP M&A stability and longevity. This is a hot listen in a super hot area of the MSP ecosystem.
But first, a bit about Fulton.
“Passionate Leader * Driven Problem Solver * Inspiring Story Teller. As Advisor, Evergreen Services Group, Craig Fulton aims to help MSP’s succeed in growing their businesses and exceed their goals. He credits his 30 years in the technology sector,
including time spent as an engineer and ConnectWise leader, with helping him understand what IT service providers want and need to be successful.
A prior 16-year ConnectWise veteran, he held a number of positions during his tenure with the company, including Chief Product Officer and Chief Customer Officer. He also co-created ConnectWise CloudConsole and authored Path to Success, a best practices guide about how to run a successful IT service provider business. Before that, he worked for Accenture as a technology consultant and served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Craig is widely recognized for his contributions to the technology industry. He was named a Channel Partners Top Gun 51 channel executive in 2019, a 4x CRN Channel Chief, and a member of the MSPMentor 250 list in 2014. Craig also holds a number of patents related to business management technology. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of South Florida and an Executive Certificate from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.”
Now the good stuff.
Q: What is Evergreen?
A: (Fulton) We are a holding company and our mission is to be the best permanent home for businesses.
Q: Strategy Overview:
Our extreme decentralization approach is based on our acquire and hold it forever.
Q; So every acquisition is separate?
A: Yes – the entities keep their brand, their people, their customers, etc. They keep EVERYTHING and we are operators via our sister company Lyra.
Q: What is Lyra?
A: Lyra works with our businesses to help them grow and gives them what they need. Examples include vendor negotiations and talent acquisition Also pricing, packaging and managing sales.
Q: What is the competitive landscape in your ecosystem?
A: (listen to these comparisons in the podcast)
Q: Are you a Master MSP.
A: No – every community is different with different needs. The MSPs do things their way – there is no master playbook.
Q: What’s the secret sauce?
A: We love what makes these businesses unique.
Q: Give yourself a category title.
A: We are a serial acquirer.
Q: Thoughts on post-acquisition challenges.
A: Typically people are the toughest part. We feel being decentralized helps this and accelerates our pace. It’s harder than it looks!
Q: What about all ‘da new MSP M&A experts that have cropped up overnight?
A: (Harry and Craig enjoy some good banter about this starting around 4:30mins in the podcast. Craig is humble about his role and feels he’s earned in MBA in M&A. )
Q: Any final nuggets?
A: This owner’s journey and our approach is analogous to a house. You can talk to the agent or talk to the owner (more context in the podcast)