MSP Channel Distribution

MSP channel distribution is a go-to-market pattern where a vendor reaches small and midsized businesses through managed service providers that already operate customer IT environments. In How Danny Jenkins Bootstrapped ThreatLocker From $150K Debt to $200M, ThreatLocker used MSPs to reach many small-business endpoints more efficiently than direct selling would have allowed.

Key Claims

• Danny Jenkins says direct selling to small businesses was inefficient, while MSPs could represent thousands of endpoints despite being small companies themselves.
• MSPs functioned as technical buyers and distribution partners because they already managed IT for customers without full internal IT teams.
• The channel helped ThreatLocker pursue a broad zero trust mission before the company had the size and credibility needed for many enterprise buyers.
• MSP adoption accelerated after the July 2021 Kaseya incident, when demand rose faster than ThreatLocker’s infrastructure could easily absorb.
• The episode treats MSP as one important vertical rather than a complete pivot; Jenkins says later new business became mostly enterprise.

Connections

• ThreatLocker, Danny Jenkins, and Kaseya - company, founder, and incident context.
• Distribution Led Product Building - broader SaaS pattern where acquisition systems shape company strategy.
• Category Creation - MSPs helped educate the market and spread the zero trust message.
• Customer Pull - demand surge after a visible security incident.