Mark Clayman is a serial entrepreneur, with expertise in growing existing businesses and taking them to the next level. With three scaled businesses under his belt, Clayman took the helm at Netrio in 2024, when it joined forces with SUCCESS Computer Consulting, and later, PCA Technology Group. In 2025, Netrio acquired New York City-based Agio, a leading MSP to the financial services sector.
In this Q&A with Robin Robins, founder of MSP Success and TMT, Clayman offers an inside look at Netrio’s differentiators and operating processes, including his roadmap to a successful acquisition.
Note: The interview below has been edited for length and clarity. For the full conversation, watch the video above.
Robin Robins: So, tell me about Netrio. How did you get started?
Mark Clayman: Netrio is a combination of three smaller MSPs. A little over a year ago, there was a private equity firm that started working with founder-owners of companies anywhere from 10 to 30 years in business. The PE firm wanted to bring together three companies to build a platform, and then think about how they can differentiate themselves in the market. They were looking for a management team to help bring these organizations together and ultimately think about the strategy going forward, both from an organic growth and an M&A standpoint.
Robins: The MSPs you acquired are in three very distinct locations. Your goal is to build a platform that services all of North America, right? Tell me about that strategy. Why those three?
Clayman: All three companies do somewhat similar things. Some of them have differences in their service line, so there’s lots of good synergies [between the three]. Ultimately, our goal is to service as many different IT functions for our customers as possible.
The three different groups have two very distinct go-to-market strategies. PCA and SUCCESS are local to western New York and Minneapolis, [respectively]. They have direct selling markets and only focus on those regions.
Nettrio is a little different. They do have that aspect of their go-to-market strategy in terms of the northern Dallas community. [However], they also sell through an agent market, where they have partners within North America that are looking to partner with a service provider. Our go-to-market strategy [there] is much more of a channel-focused market opportunity.
So, two very different selling models. Going forward, we’d like to find additional regions where we can have that local presence and sell direct, and continue to expand our channel go-to-market strategy as well.
Robins: When you say, “channel,” are you talking about [forming] strategic partnerships, where somebody is bringing you into their customers?
Clayman: Yes. I would say that there’s two ends of the spectrum in the channel market—there’s the partner and channel community that has a relationship with customers, but not really any other services, and partners that do offer IT services.
[The first kind] is almost an advisor for [their client], and they might recommend a few different MSPs [the client] could work with when they need a new solution. [That’s when] they’ll bring us into the conversation and we’ll stick with that advisor [throughout] the relationship. Hopefully, we’ll go through renewals [together] and add-on services. The customer benefits from both organizations’ services, we [benefit] commercially with the new customer, and the advisor gets a commission from us.
Then there are partners who do have IT services. They’re helping a customer think about architecture, strategy, and roadmap, but they might not have the managed services capabilities that we have. I’d say there’s a much better operational relationship on a day-to-day, month-to-month basis that we form with that type of partner. It just depends on the partner’s go-to-market strategy and the services they have to offer.
To MSPs that might only be in one specific region or a smaller market, I’d say that it’s natural to think about the IT partners that are engaged with customers, or advisors that might be looking for an MSP [to partner with]. But I wouldn’t look past any type of advisor, [such as] a tax, financial, or legal advisor that works with a lot of small businesses. Those could be good partners as well; they [can refer you] when they’re having conversations with their customers.
Robins: You still have the same customer acquisition challenges as the smaller guys, when it comes to developing trust and converting. How do you differentiate yourself?
Clayman: In terms of differentiation, I think about it in a few different ways. One is that scale does matter. If we’re working with a customer that might be thinking about another MSP [that’s smaller], [our competitor] doesn’t have 24/7 [service]. If they lose one person, they lose a tenth of their talent. So, breadth and scale are very important; that’s something we’ve been building.
Another [differentiator] is from a profitability standpoint. As we get larger, we have the ability to reinvest in our talent and toolset more. We’re now able to take advantage of different technologies and platforms that 90% of our customer base would never think about doing because they don’t have the skill set to evaluate it and they might not have the financial resources to invest in it.
The third piece is thinking differently about the way we deliver services. A lot of people are talking about how AI needs to start becoming a real and tangible thing for MSPs. I think you [should be] introducing it first into the delivery of your organization, to not only automate common tasks, but also expand margins and build more profitability. Then, you can reinvest back into it. We firmly believe that investing into becoming a better delivery organization improves the end-user experience. It improves the value proposition that the end user is getting from us, and it helps differentiate us going forward.
Robins: You have a strong background in merging companies. What are the phases and critical milestones of an acquisition, and how long should it take?
Clayman: Well, before you even get there, you need to understand the people and the culture [of the MSP you’re acquiring]. At the end of the day, the MSP business is a people business. You’re building relationships. So, you need to make sure that you are aligned with the company in terms of the culture of the business, how they operate, and how they think about the customer relationship. That is the most important.
On day one, it’s best if you’ve already laid out how you’re thinking about integrating the organization. There are really two kinds of approaches—there are companies who acquire MSPs and let them run as their own brands, and companies that [integrate new acquisitions into one brand]. I don’t want to say that approach is good or bad, but for the size of organization that Netrio is today, getting everyone to think about one brand and one strategy is most effective from an organizational standpoint.
[As far as how long it takes], I’d say that you can get a lot done organizationally within six to nine months. As for when it really gets cranking, it could take a year or maybe even a bit longer. There are a couple different things that can get in the way [of a smooth integration]. Process is one of them. If you leave different systems out there, people will tend to go back to what they’ve done before. Regionality is another one. Getting people to move around, share resources outside of regional barriers, and think about the broader organization takes a lot of reminding.
Robins: Any final thoughts you’d like to share with other MSPs out there?
Clayman: The MSP industry is a really fun space. It truly is a people business. First and foremost, when you’re working with a customer, you’ve got to make sure you’re aligned with them in terms of what you can bring to the table. If the customer is not excited about partnering with you, and ultimately, you’re not excited either, walk away from that opportunity. Focus on the companies that want to do business with you, that want to invest in technology and a partnership. Because MSPs want to feel good about the work that we’re doing—we all want to make sure that we’re helping our customers grow.
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