#53 – From the Trenches: Copiers, Community Banks & a $19M MSP Exit (Milton Bartley – ImageQuest)

From Army mechanized infantry to copier sales to a $19M MSP exit, Milton Bartley has lived several careers in one. In this episode, he joins Josh Peterson to unpack how ImageQuest grew from a small copier dealership into a security-focused MSP with fewer than 100 clients, a deep niche in community banks, and a successful sale to Evergreen Services Group / Lyra Technology Group.

 

Milton explains how military discipline, sales fundamentals, and a relentless focus on serving the right clients well shaped ImageQuest’s trajectory—and why he believes the best MSPs are truly service organizations that happen to use technology, not the other way around. He also breaks down three types of private equity and what MSP owners should understand before they think about selling.

🎙 What We Cover in This Episode

 

• Milton’s journey from the U.S. Army to copier sales and into IT

• Launching ImageQuest in 2007 and discovering managed network services

• Why copier dealers often out-sell MSPs—and what MSPs can learn from them

• How Paul Dippel’s “pick a lane” advice changed ImageQuest’s strategy

• Building a service-driven, not purely tech-driven, organization

• Growing to ~$19M with under 100 clients through focus and referrals

• Specializing in community banks and becoming experts for regulators and auditors

• Deciding it was time to sell and the role of capital gains tax in the timing

• The three types of private equity and why “buy & hold” made sense for ImageQuest

• Life after the sale with Evergreen / Lyra and what stayed the same for staff and clients

• The one thing Milton would do earlier if he could: niche down faster

👤 Guest Links

 

Guest LinkedIn: (add Milton’s LinkedIn URL here)

Company Website: https://imagequest.com

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