How Vertical Focus Unlocks Premium MSP Pricing w/ Dave Cava

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In this episode of the $10 Million MSP Podcast, Brian Hoppe sits down with Dave Cava (co-founder of Proactive Technologies and now a partner at Encore Strategic) to unpack what actually separates MSPs that scale cleanly from the ones that stay stuck.

They get into the uncomfortable truth behind growth plateaus, why the “hub-and-spoke owner” model eventually breaks, and what it really takes to build a business that doesn’t depend on the owner to function. Dave also shares how vertical focus helped his team build a $10M MSP, how premium pricing becomes possible when MSPs stop selling commodity IT, and why the best companies treat hiring like building an army, not plugging a leak.

If you’re trying to grow past the messy middle, this conversation will challenge how you think about leadership, org structure, and what the owner’s role should be as the company gets bigger.

Episode Highlights

0:00 - Introduction

0:45 - The difference between MSPs that scale vs. ones that stall

2:38 - Big industry plateaus

6:06 - Dave’s background

15:08 - Diving deeper into the business and Dave’s sale

19:10 - Success and choosing a vertical

23:10 - Charging almost $400 per user

29:50 - Not ‘playing the same game’ as other MSPs

32:54 - MSP success relies on the skills of the leadership team

38:19 - The ‘people’ aspect of things for MSP growth

47:20 - Most MSP leaders are in uncharted territory

49:50 - Increasing retention and crafting an identity

54:21 - Scaling and shifting responsibilities away from smaller tasks

1:00:38 - Dave’s biggest mistake(s)

1:03:39 - Rapid fire round

1:10:59 - Wrap-up, where you can find Dave

Connect with Brian Hoppe

https://brianhoppe.com/

linkedin.com/in/brianhoppe

Like Our Guest? Check out more on Dave Cava

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-cava-peoplesharp/