Once more unto the breach

Almost a year ago I wrote a post titled On Broken Promises that I closed out with a simple statement:

So I need to build something that will allow me to find purpose. I have an idea of what it can be. I'm still fleshing it out, but it's the first thing in some time that really excites me, and if successful it will allow me to leverage specific skills that I haven't really had a chance to use in many years. So I'm starting. I'll announce it here when I'm ready for the world to see. This time feels different.

It was a good plan! I am happy to say I failed at it! Maybe not in the way you might think though...

You see, I have taken that initial idea and broken it out into not one but two separate (yet intrinsically related) businesses that are going live, well, now. Both of them came about because I've been in the managed IT services space for almost 15 years now and there was always a nagging thought in the back of my mind that we can do this better. While I've been in leadership roles with significant authority and autonomy, it's been a long, long time since I've been fully in control and now, I will be again.

Without further ado, allow me to introduce Athencia and MSP Ascent to you.

Athencia is a modern managed IT and cybersecurity firm built for small to medium businesses that demand more security, smarter compliance, and seamless operations. During what turned out to be a fairly lengthy planning process I was able to take a step back and think about what I think the biggest pain points for SMB IT are, and then was able to assemble a suite of tooling - some purchased, some built in-house by yours truly - to support secure, smart offerings backed by scalable processes delivered by a small team of senior engineers that will help turn IT into a profit center instead of a cost center. You can read more about the background of the company, and where the hell the name came from, here.

If you're interested in keeping track of what we're doing at Athencia, signup for the Athencia Insights newsletter here.

MSP Ascent exists to help MSPs, Athencia included, by automating as much of the backend as possible and helping bring order to chaos. Of note here is that MSP Ascent is very much a nascent business, and while the only offering currently is fractional service delivery management and operations consulting, between now and the end of 2026, we'll be adding near-shore/rural-shore staffing for technical, administrative, and sales roles, go-to-market planning and consulting, and outsourced bookkeeping. All built specifically for MSPs.

In the spirit of licking my own ice cream, I'm also my own first customer of MSP Ascent, but the business is indeed being built to help solve a very real problem for many small MSPs: the founders are very technical. While this may not sound like a problem - this is actually a great thing for their clients - in order for the MSP to grow, the business side of the house needs just as much attention, and if you don't know what you're doing that gets expensive, fast. Basically, we're here to teach technical founders the business side of business and provide outsourced services that help them focus on what they know best without stunting the growth of their business.

If you're interested in learning more about what I'm doing, drop me a note via email or DM me on X.

It's a common refrain that owning and operating a small business is akin to chewing glass. Having done this before I can verify that's correct, if a little toned down compared to reality. In my opinion it's more like chewing glass while trying to skip across a lava flow while naked and being chased by wasps. That said, I'm doing it again.

I never could keep a real job...