Principle Networks
We worked with the leadership team of Principle Networks, a UK MSP. Together, we put their commercial growth system in place. This page shows what happened to the numbers afterwards. The co-CEO describes the results in his own words.
He helped us put in place the growth structure, commercial discipline and strategic thinking required to scale the business more effectively — and challenged us to think about growth as a system rather than a series of isolated activities.
A technically strong MSP whose growth depended on its founders.
Principle Networks is a UK managed service provider working in networking and cyber security. When the engagement began in 2023, the business had around £2.9m in annual revenue. It had real technical credibility and real customers. Its growth depended heavily on the founders being personally involved.
The work ran from 2023 to 2025. Michael Williamson delivered it personally, alongside the leadership team. The sessions happened inside the business. They included the people who would be responsible for the results afterwards. Nobody handed over a report at the end and left.
What we put in place.
Four things that did not exist in the business before. All four were still in use after the engagement ended.
Growth structure
In place of scattered activity
- The business gained one defined way to pursue growth. Before, separate initiatives ran in parallel and competed for the same attention.
Market positioning and go-to-market
What they sell, and to whom
- The business gained a sharper position in a crowded market. It also gained a go-to-market plan to reach that market. With that plan, the security specialism became worth building properly.
Commercial discipline
Everyday commercial habits
- The team agreed how deals are shaped and how offers are priced. The leadership team also agreed what it reviews when it looks at the revenue number.
Growth planning
Planning beyond the next quarter
- The leadership team agreed targets it could plan against. They included the EBITDA target, which the business hit a year early.
“Growth as a system rather than a series of isolated activities.”
Those words are the co-CEO’s. They sum up the whole engagement in eleven words. Most MSPs of this size put plenty of effort into growth. The problem is how that effort is organised. Separate efforts do not build on each other.
With a growth system, each quarter builds on the one before. The leadership team can see what is working. The business stops depending on the founders being in every conversation.
The changes lasted after the engagement ended.
The engagement ended in 2025. The results that followed matter more than the work during it. They show whether the business gained a lasting capability, or only a finished project.
- £1m EBITDA on £7.9m turnover. The leadership team had set that target two years earlier. The business reached it a full year ahead of plan.
- A strengthened leadership team, including a new CTO. The team has longer-term targets, with equity linked to them.
- An expanded vendor ecosystem. The business added vendors in cyber security, the specialism the positioning work identified.
- New routes to market, including an indirect services channel through larger resellers. A business can only attempt that kind of expansion once its commercial model is repeatable.
In the co-CEO’s words: many of the foundations established during that period remain part of how the business operates today.
What the co-CEO said.
His contribution went far beyond traditional marketing support. He helped us put in place the growth structure, commercial discipline and strategic thinking required to scale the business more effectively.
He brings structure, challenge and commercial insight, helping leadership teams move beyond founder-led growth towards a more scalable and repeatable growth model.
“I would have no hesitation in recommending Michael to MSPs, technology businesses and leadership teams looking to accelerate growth, improve commercial execution and build long-term enterprise value.”
Russell Crowley · Co-Chief Executive Officer, Principle Networks
Why this case matters to your AI practice.
Commercial capability, built inside an MSP
We went into a technically strong MSP and worked with its leadership team. We left behind a commercial system the business still runs. That is the difficult part for any organisation. The same part is difficult when you build an AI practice.
We built the system alongside the leadership team.
The commercial conversation now happens with executives
Since then, the commercial conversation has moved to different people. AI moved it from the IT director to the CEO, CFO and COO. That is why the commercial half of an AI practice now decides who leads the deal.
The same commercial discipline now has to work with more senior buyers.
Your business, in ninety minutes.
A Growth Review applies the same thinking to your MSP. It takes ninety minutes and costs nothing. We look at where your AI practice is constrained, and what removing that constraint is worth. Then we tell you honestly whether we are the right people to help.
Win the business case before you win the build.