GE 248: How Fred Voccola Grew Kaseya’s Revenue from $85M to $275M in 2.5 Years by Focusing on Customers and Employees (podcast)

Hey everyone, in today’s episode I share the mic with Fred Voccola, CEO of Kaseya, an IT Management and Monitoring Solution software company.

Tune in to hear Fred discuss how he took Kaseya from $85M to $275M in revenue, why managing your network is so critical, and why he considers intellectual curiosity to be such a great skill set.

Download podcast transcript [PDF] here: How Fred Voccola Grew Kaseya’s Revenue from $85M to $275M in 2.5 Years by Focusing on Customers and Employees TRANSCRIPT

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• [00:45] Before we jump into today’s interview, please leave a review and rating and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast!
• [01:26] Fred got into the software industry in college. He loves being part of something that disrupts lives and industries.
• [02:15] He has worked with Nolea and Yodle, both of which he sold.
• [02:49] Fred likes to get involved with a business when the owners want to cash out or when it is at the turning point where the company will either grow or fail.
• [04:05] Fred has been with Kaseya for two and a half years.
• [04:15] When he came on board, the company was at $75 or $85 Million. He hopes that by 2018, they will have reached $275 Million.
• [05:20] Kaseya is growing at the rate of 35-50% per year.
• [05:40] Maintaining the entrepreneurial focus and being able to make pivots is important to keeping a company’s revenue on the rise.
• [06:40] You need systems to quantify data besides customer feedback.
• [08:24] When people are looking for a CEO to help them scale a business, you need to know what your company’s needs are.
• [09:00] If you have to struggle to make payroll, it gives you a special appreciation for the hustle it takes to keep a business afloat.
• [09:20] Yoki Sloanum was one of Fred’s mentors when he was Fred’s boss at Identify Software.
• [09:34] Surrounding yourself with the right people is a skill and having a good mentor is a part of that.
• [10:10] Managing a network is so critical, because it will help you find the people that will make you successful.
• [11:10] “People are pretty cool” – Fred Voccola
• [11:27] Being intellectually curious is a great skill set.
• [12:10] When you are genuinely interested in people, it is easier to keep in contact with them. Build your network this way.
• [13:15] Find a process to make sure that your network continues to be curated.
• [13:52] Fred is old fashioned, in that he likes to pick up the phone and call people, regardless of what he needs from them.
• [15:30] Fred stays top of mind by staying in touch with the people in his network, which he thinks is easy, because he considers a lot of his contacts friends (or at least interesting people).
• [15:45] The holidays are a great time to reach out to your network.
• [15:59] He blocks out two hours every week to connect and check in with his contacts.
• [16:26] Always ask for help, which is something most people are uncomfortable doing.
• [17:50] Kaseya provides IT infrastructure management solutions to small to midsize businesses.
• [18:00] This means that Kaseya works with companies that have one employee to thousands.
• [18:20] A small biz is one that doesn’t have any IT people, whereas midsize companies have a team of IT employees.
• [18:55] Kaseya customers are managed service providers (companies that provide IT services to other companies).
• [20:13] Kaseya’s software proactively identifies and remediates any security issues, infrastructure issues, and network backups.
• [21:05] Kaseya is riding one of the biggest technology waves that exists.
• [21:56] When Fred goes to the dentist, he gets an appointment reminder with info for service coupons.
• [22:22] This is notable, because it means that the Dentist has someone doing their IT work.
• [22:56] For every dollar you pay Kaseya, you should be getting at least $20 back in a managed service.
• [23:55] Kaseya is generating $4 billion in managed services.
• [24:24] One of the MSPs working with Kaseya, focuses on providing IT solutions to dental offices. They run IT for 5000 dental offices.
• [25:30] Everything from their pricing model to their processes is all created with the aim of providing 20x in value of what the customers are paying.
• [26:42] The tech needs of small to midsize companies are increasing in terms of volume and complexity.
• [27:09] MSPs are always looking for ways to meet the ever increasing needs of their clients.
• [29:00] Two key things any business needs to focus one: understanding your customer and building a company culture around the needs of that customer. The other is making sure you assemble a team of people who are capable of achieving this.
• [29:50] Fred brought a team of people with him when he came to Kaseya (about 20 people).
• [30:25] Bringing these people with him allowed him to hit the ground running and shaved a year off of the time it would have otherwise taken them to reach their goals.
• [31:09] Unfortunately, this means that certain people were replaced or displaced when he took over Kaseya.
• [32:55] The good news is, only four people were let go, while others were moved into positions that were more in line with their skill sets.
• [33:26] Fred prefers a culture were performance is the most important trait.
• [33:50] Performance trumps everything else (age, career status, etc.)
• [35:15] It’s great to create a culture where people are trying to excel and don’t make it hard for people to self-select out of high-pressure positions or challenges.
• [37:25] Fred doesn’t like to use the word “fair” in terms of giving people chances. The only “fair” thing is what is fair to the company.
• [37:39] If someone doesn’t have the right skills for a role, you are only screwing them over by keeping them in that position.
• [39:00] Either find that person a better position or phase them out. This should all be done within three months, otherwise, you are taking too long.
• [39:20] Fred recommends The Wheel of Time series, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and Leadership and Self-Deception.

Resources From This Interview:

• Kaseya
• Yodle
• Identity Software
• Must-read books:
  • The Wheel of Time series
  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
  • Leadership and Self-Deception
  • The Five Temptations of a CEO
• fred.voccola@kaseya.com

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