Founded in 1997 in Sydney, 3rdmill began as a break-fix IT shop and has since evolved into a 30-person MSP specializing in financial services. Under the leadership of Natalia Scheidegger, the company has experienced significant growth by rethinking its go-to-market strategy and embracing a more customer-centric approach.
Scheidegger recently spoke with MSP Success about redefining her secret for success by breaking the standard mold by offering her perspective on growth mindset, emerging technologies like AI, and customer acquisition.
MSP Success: What is one key secret to your success over the past year or so?
Natalia Scheidegger: Over the last year, there has been a shift in the way we go to market. Instead of piling tools in our toolbox, packaging them up, and selling them, we focus our go-to-market strategy on the customer and what they want. This approach is more advice-led, more collaborative, and showcases how we provide value.
Before we led with IT support: pick your cyber package and then get your QBRs at the end. Now, we want to engage with the customer first, run workshops, talk about their needs, and then design a cyber roadmap. The same approach applies to AI. There is a gap in client knowledge, so there is a training piece at the beginning to fill [it]. But then we can co-create an AI roadmap alongside them.
MSP Success: What are some strategies you’re using to get new customers?
Natalia Scheidegger: A deep industry focus and referral networks within the industry are key to getting new customers. Industry expertise is inescapable now. It can be scary at first because you’ll fear you’re alienating customers not in the industry. But you have to trust in the service and partnership you offer for those customers.
Needing a deep industry focus is now truer than ever. Taking customers on the learning journey is very hard to do in industries you don’t have a deep understanding of. We work in financial services. We understand their IT requirements from a legislative perspective, the goals they need to hit, and their day-to-day systems and processes. So, we can come in and advise them on the right technology.
The second piece is the referral piece. Most industries have industry bodies, conferences, and peer groups, all making up their ecosystem. If you end up partnering with vendors in the ecosystem, you become a superpower alongside them. Getting referrals through them doesn’t have to be a formal program. It is a soft-touch networking approach. But you have to be there on the front line, shaking hands and meeting people at the industry conferences. That type of referral network pushes boundaries.
MSP Success: How is 3rdmill approaching AI, and where do you see the biggest opportunity for MSPs?
Natalia Scheidegger: We made many mistakes in the early days of AI conversations. We expected customers to share use cases and know how to use AI, but they often lacked the knowledge. The MSP’s job is to fill that knowledge gap first and then walk with the customer on that journey.
What that looks like for 3rdmill starts with data governance. So, we know where data sits, ensure it’s secure, and then layer AI on top. So, every member of the organization has a secure AI chat they can use day to day. They can leverage this tool as a training platform that gets clients to a point in the AI maturity curve where they can start to build their own agents.
Those conversations with customers have been successful. It’s not as “sexy” as some amazing AI automation tool I coded. But it’s real, and it’s secure, and customers feel comfortable taking those steps to get them where they need to be with AI.
MSP Success: What are your biggest challenges related to your growth?
Natalia Scheidegger: Cross-skilling and training the team, giving them that industry expertise. While techs might be aware of some of the systems across the board that companies use, it’s that full understanding of the industry that’s the challenge. It’s harder because it’s not cross-skilling on technical skills, but skill sets where you need a basic understanding of the industry. To consult and advise like a business analyst is to understand what customers are asking for and how we can piece together a solution.
MSP Success: What advice would you give other MSPs looking to grow and improve their business?
Natalia Scheidegger: The first piece of advice I would say is to work on yourself—work on your growth and learning. Read. Not just industry things, but push into that discomfort around the things you read and challenge your perspective. Have a voracious appetite for learning.
The second piece is a shift from working in the business to working on the business. Read Who Not How and 10x is Easier Than 2x, which teaches you to free up 80% of what you are doing that isn’t your superpower and push it down to others. Delegate and leverage within your team. A lot of people say, ‘Well, I can’t afford a marketing person.’ But who in your business could take some of that load from you? Posting and marketing might take 20% of their time, but this frees up your mind. Now, you’re not the one holding things back.
The final piece of advice is to be absolutely clear on your go-to-market. Who is your customer? What are you selling to them? Why is it better? Who are you saying no to?
Learn more about implementing AI tools and managing client expectations, check out Escaping AI Pilot Purgatory.
