In this episode, Vera and Lenka are joined by Melissa Hockenberry, owner of First Things First Training and Consulting. Melissa brings over thirty years of industry insight to her work.

She’s spent two decades in the MSP space and an impressive eighteen plus years at Autotask and Datto. Melissa is passionate about helping MSPs strengthen relationships, retain customers, and unlock sustainable revenue, all while staying true to her values.

Melissa shares a fun fact about herself and how she got into the tech industry. She explains why it’s important for her to create connections, what she did when her job role was eliminated and the human side of an M&A.

She explains the benefit of having a mirror partner to support you in your work, one thing she loves about the industry and one thing she’d change. Melissa and Vera talk about lack of representation and how to encourage young people to try new things.

Mentioned in This Episode

• First Things First Training and Consultancy
• PSA tool: Autotask
• Cybersecurity software: Datto
• MSP conference: DattoCon
• Emily Glass
• Andrew Wallace
• MSP conference: MSP Geek Con
• PSA and RMM: Connectwise
• Book: John Acuff: Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average, and Do Work That Matters
• Community software: Khoros
• Paul Green's MSP Marketing Edge

In this episode of Wired for Connection, Lenka and Vera are joined by Isobelle Coventry. She leads MA and Expansion Efforts at Evergreen Services Group acrossthe UK and Ireland, spending her time building relationship within the MSP community, helping business owners navigate what can be often a deeply personal transition.

Her background in private equity gives her a sharp eye for business, but it's her people-first mindset that truly sets her apart. She's passionate about legacy and growth and finding the next great MSP partner.

Isobelle shares a fun fact about herself, what she does and how she found herself working in the MSP space. She tells Vera and Lenka what it was like when she was new in the industry and how she found passion for her work.

Isobelle explains why she thinks it’s important to have people to provide support and encouragement, why she tries to be a positive person and how she uses that positivity to lead from the heart.

Lenka and Vera ask Isobelle to share a high point and a low moment from her career, her favourite part of being in the IT industry and one thing she would change about it if she could.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Evergreen Services Group
• MSP event: IT Nation Connect
• M&A Advisor at Evergreen: Craig Fulton
• IT certifications and training: CompTIA
• MSP community: GTIA

In this interview, Lenka and Vera are joined by Andrew Wallace. He leads the team at Smileback, which is now part of ConnectWise. He’s an IT Nation Evolve facilitator and SME and helps drive the broader product management practice at ConnectWise.

Andrew shares what he enjoys doing outside of work, how he fell into tech by accident and his journey in the tech industry, as well as how his studies in philosophy and journalism helped him to better understand customer needs.

He talks openly about why you should be in the room where the conversation is happening and his experiences of being a privileged male at a round table for women in tech.

He and Vera discuss approaches to leadership, and both share early experiences with bad managers who’ve shaped how they lead. They also discuss supporting staff struggling with confidence and why you should celebrate small wins.

Andrew reveals both a high point and a low point in his tech career, what he loves and hates about the industry and how MSPs can drive change to improve equality and inclusivity.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Smileback
• IT Nation Evolve
• Athletes for Africa
• Dattocon
• ConnectWise

In this episode of Wired for Connection, Vera and Lenka talk to Amanda Stewart. She’s the managing director and CTO of Illuminate, an Edinburgh-based MSP with a big heart and even bigger mission.

Amanda is also a trailblazer in encouraging young women into tech and she recently became chair of the Advancing Women in IT group of GTIA.

Amanda shares her journey in the tech space and some of the early challenges she faced as a woman in IT. She discusses peer groups, the managers who inspired her and the ones who taught her what not to do.

Lenka and Vera ask Amanda to share one challenge and one success as a business owner, how to manage stress and the benefits of being part of a peer group, as well as finding mentors as you progress.

Amanda gives her tips on how to manage stress and why she thinks women struggle to value their own skills and experience. She shares the best part about working in IT and the one thing she’d change in the industry.

As someone passionate about encouraging young women into tech, Amanda has some advice on how parents and MSP owners can do that, and fun ways to get younger children to engage with STEM subjects too.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Illuminate IT
• Environmental business certification: BCorp
• MSP community group: GTIA (formerly CompTIA)
• Senior Director, Regional Groups at GTIA: Estelle Johannes
• Book: Caroline Criado-Perez: Invisible Women: the Sunday Times number one bestseller exposing the gender bias women face every day
• Book series: Rebel Girls Dream Big Box Set
• Volunteer mentors: STEM Ambassadors

Welcome to episode one of Wired for Connection! This is a TubbTalk spinoff show, hosted by Operations Manager Lenka Koppova and Vera Tucci, the co-founder and CEO of T-Consulting, an MSP and COMIT.

Vera is a passionate advocate for diversity, inclusion, and authentic leadership in the IT and MSP space. Inspired by a conversation she had with Lenka and Team Tubb’s Kareena Barat, Vera agreed to be the co-host of this new show.

Wired for Connection isn't just a podcast; it's a mission. It creates a space for every perspective and voice in tech. And every guest can share their unfiltered and unapologetic story and take on the industry. Lenka and Vera will champion those voices that too often have been left out and unheard.

Vera shares her experiences as a female leader in the tech space and Lenka discusses how she's found things as someone new to the industry.

The co-hosts share their hopes and aims for Wired for Connection, the types of guests they're looking for, and why everyone can and should have a seat at the table.

Mentioned in This Episode

• T-Consulting
• Cloud marketplace: Pax8
• IT conference: Pax8 Beyond
• IT peer group: IT Nation