August 27, 2024 • 42 mins
What does it take to leverage strategic partnerships and innovative technology to drive business growth?
In this episode of IAMCP Profiles in Partnership, Anthony Carrano and Rudy Rodriguez sit down with Manish Bhardia, founder of ThinkAI, a data and AI consulting firm dedicated to empowering small and mid-sized businesses. Manish's journey offers a compelling look at the power of strategic networking and partnership in scaling a tech-focused business.
Throughout this insightful conversation, Anthony and Manish explore:
- Building Trust and Partnerships: Manish shares his journey with IAMCP, revealing how he leveraged the community to grow ThinkAI. Discover his strategies for building trust, showcasing use cases, and securing referrals that have been crucial to his success.
- Creating Complementary Partnerships: Manish provides valuable advice on assembling a team of partners with diverse expertise. Learn how this approach not only fills gaps but also amplifies business opportunities and drives mutual success.
- Innovative Solutions in AI: Dive into Manish's latest project, Aimey—a generative AI-powered project assistant. Hear about the inspiration behind Amy and how it aims to streamline project management with cutting-edge AI technology.
- The Power of IAMCP: Manish emphasizes the role of IAMCP in his growth strategy, highlighting how the network's resources and connections have been instrumental in advancing his business objectives.
This episode delves into the art of cultivating effective partnerships and harnessing technological innovations to transform business challenges into growth opportunities. Manish's insights will inspire you to rethink your approach to networking and technology adoption.
Listener Links / Resources:
International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners
Anthony Carrano: LinkedIn
Rudy Rodriguez: LinkedIn
Buy the book “AI Productivity Leap: Get 3x Business Growth and Unlock Efficiency with Generative AI”: Amazon
Partners:
Manish Bhardia LinkedIn with Think AI Corporation
Show Host:
www.ProfilesInPartnership.com, brought to you by Dunamis Marketing https://www.dunamismarketing.com/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Anthony Carrano (00:05):
Welcome to the IAMCP profiles and partnership,
a podcast that showcases howMicrosoft partners and IAMCP
members boost their business bycollaborating with other members
and partners. I'm your co host,Anthony Carrano. And in each
episode, I'll be talking to someof the most innovative and
successful partners in theMicrosoft ecosystem. The
(00:25):
International Association ofMicrosoft Channel Partners,
otherwise known as IAMCP, is acommunity of Microsoft partners
who help each other grow andthrive. Members can find and
connect with other partnerslocally and globally and access
exclusive resources andopportunities.
Whether you're looking for newcustomers, new markets, or new
solutions, IAMCP can help youachieve your goals. We'll hear
(00:48):
their stories, learn from theirexperiences, and discover the
best practices and strategiesthey use to increase customer
loyalty and grow revenues.Whether you're a new partner or
an established one, you'll findvaluable insights and
inspiration in this podcast. Wehope you enjoy this podcast and
find it useful and inspiring. Ifyou do, please subscribe, rate,
and review us on your favoritepodcast platform.
(01:10):
And don't forget to follow us onsocial media and connect with us
on our website,www.profilesinpartnership.com,
where you can find moreinformation, resources, and
opportunities to partner forsuccess. Thank you for
listening. And now let's getstarted with our episode. Before
we dive into our interview, letme ask you a question. Do you
(01:31):
know who your ideal partner is?
Finding the right partner can bechallenging, but it can also be
rewarding. In fact, according toa recent study by IDC, Microsoft
partners who collaborate withother partners generate almost 2
and a half times more revenuegrowth than those who don't.
That's a huge difference, and itshows the power of partnering.
(01:51):
So how do you build trust withpartners? Where do you go to
find complimentary partners thatround out your team?
And how do you ensure successfor your customer? These are
some of the questions that we'llexplore in this podcast with the
help of our guest who is anexpert in partnering. He'll
share their stories, challenges,and successes and give you
practical tips and advice on howto partner for success. Are you
(02:15):
ready to join us on thisjourney? Then stay tuned because
we have a great show for youtoday.
Our first guest is ManishBahardia, the founder and
president of ThinkAICorporation, a leading software
development and data servicespartner with specializations in
AI, business intelligence, andchatbots, who has achieved
amazing results, such as the onestory that you're about to hear
(02:38):
in his partnership with an MSPthat they joined together to
create a BI solution for a majorretail supplier. Let's hear what
he has to say. Well, Manish,really glad to have you here on
the podcast. Appreciate youjoining, Rudy and I, you know,
today on the IMCP profiles andpartnership. Let's start off.
(02:59):
May you can tell us a little bitabout yourself and, the company.
Manish Bhardia (03:04):
Yeah. Thank you, Anthony and Rudy, for having me
here. I'm honored. And, as abusiness, ThinkAI is a 6 year
old, data and AI consultingfirm. And before that, I was
doing SharePoint and, some datawork, and my partner is actually
IAMCP partner.
(03:25):
So we met together. We hadcomplementary skills, so we
joined hands, and then we werethinking about various names.
And data kept coming on top. Andwe said data is great, but how
are we gonna do the next step,which is gonna be AI? So that's
where we started ThinkAI.
(03:46):
And, our focus is mostly,services. So midsize to small
business when they need a lot ofreporting or data warehouse. And
then AI consulting, that's whatwe do. And we have a hybrid
model. We have a team in US aswell as India.
Anthony Carrano (04:04):
Mhmm. Mhmm. And, so maybe you can expand a
little bit more about why didyou start the company.
Manish Bhardia (04:12):
Yeah. Okay. That's a that's a good story.
What happened in year 2000, Icame to US, and I I was in San
Diego, which way, working forGateway Computers. And then, it
was a great experience.
You know, the gateway shopsgateway store, they used to
call. Just like Apple store,nice thing and all. And they had
(04:36):
excellent packaging, but somehow911 impacted big time to them,
and we lost all our job. Andthen that is the time I moved to
LA. And since then, 10 years Ihave been in LA and now 10 years
in Orange Counties inCalifornia.
So what happened was I was doingprogramming, and my managers
(04:58):
used to say you connect betterwith client. So they made me
lead or, like, a businessanalyst, and I like that talking
to people even though I wasstumbling on English. You know?
I was not a native Englishspeaker in India, but I was able
to connect. Somehow, theemotion, I was able to connect.
So I thought I thought later, Iwant to become project manager.
(05:19):
So I studied PMP and becameproject manager, and then I'll I
missed the whole technologypiece, like, you know, the
innovation or the cool things wedo with technology. So I said,
maybe consulting is better. Sothat's what I did. I started
doing consulting, and then itwas fine.
(05:40):
But then I said, I'm talkingyear 2010, I want to do maybe a
consulting firm because, youknow, the India and US offshore
model was working. I was able toform a small team, and I did
that. But in the heart, I wasstill a techie. I got work first
project, I said, this is howproject comes. I'm good.
(06:01):
I left my job and then projectfailed. No payment from client.
Reality hits. So I had to goback to job market and,
fortunately, got a job atHyundai that time. So that's
when I moved to Orange Countyarea.
And then came IAMCPintroduction. 1 of my friend,
(06:22):
long time 10 years, back,Brendan Neary, who was in SOCAL,
so IAMCP SOCAL, he said, youshould check it out. You are in
Microsoft Word. And I love thewhole concept that it was high
energy. First of all, energy inIMCP meeting are little
different than other meetingsbecause I have been going to
(06:44):
developers meeting, and they arevery much focused on high-tech,
what is coming in, intechnology, how we're gonna code
or build solution.
But there is no no business orno consumer or, yeah, no client
focused. But IMCP is all aboutclient, you know. Mhmm. Mhmm.
(07:08):
And that somehow stick with me.
Anthony Carrano (07:10):
And so you mentioned since 2010, that's
when you joined?
Manish Bhardia (07:13):
I joined 2012. So 2012 was my first meeting. I
was still
Anthony Carrano (07:17):
Wow.
Manish Bhardia (07:18):
I did not have the business yet. I was still in
the in the, like, consultingmode. And then I did some
courses, with IAMCP folks,meaning they were they were
having offers within IAMCPspecific offers. Like, Justin
Slager was the past president.Roe was just the president here
(07:41):
in Southern California.
So I I was doing some SharePointcourses, and then I started my
business. And and since then, Ihave been very closely involved
with I'm City.
Anthony Carrano (07:56):
Excellent. Now what, so Think Think AI
Consulting, you know, is thecompany. What's, what's Think
AI's, areas of specialization?
Manish Bhardia (08:06):
Yeah. So most of the, companies when they, hit
the roadblock on the datarelated technology or AI, then
they seek out the externalvendors or consulting firms. So
they either go to high end, youknow, slalom, big five, or
midsize, or they go to offshore,low, what do you say, rate
(08:30):
things. So we sit in betweenwhere we have a hybrid model, US
consultant as well as India.However, our focus is pretty
much on data consulting.
So how you can use multiplesystem and still have one single
source of truth, nice lookingdashboards, some decisions,
making charts, and now AI, whichis like they say, hey. This
(08:53):
business function, how they canhave AI infused in it? How can
we use our workflows and improveAI? How can we improve
productivity? So these are the 2areas we focus.
Mhmm. As a historical, practice,we were also doing a lot of
share, you know, basiccollaboration, correction, and
(09:17):
then making the team productive.So these are the 3 areas we
focus on.
Rudy Rodriguez (09:22):
Manish, I'd like to ask you a question because
you've mentioned a couple ofgood friends of mine, Justin
Slagle and Roel Kolakowski, asthey're at a at, IAMCP. Can you
tell us a little bit about howyou got involved in IAMCP? What
you know, how and how that hasbenefited your business? Because
I know you have a prettyillustrious career there too,
working as a volunteer at IMCP.
Manish Bhardia (09:45):
Yeah. In fact, one thing I forgot to correct
was when, when I started, mybusiness, you know, I was
techie, no sales or marketingexperience. So when I came to
IMCP, I didn't know how peopledo business or how they they
generate leads. But the veryfirst meeting, I'm sitting next
(10:08):
to David Gersten, and he'ssaying, oh, I closed, like,
$250,000 deal with, in, like, 3months. Like, he was just new to
MCP as well.
And he met a partner, and theyclosed the deal, Dynamics deal,
and he was super excited, and hebecame IAMCP fan. And I saw
that, hey. If you be a goodfriend or you show up or you
(10:32):
show your integrity commitment,then you can earn business. So
it took, like, 6 to 8 months forme to get business. But, I was
there, and as Roy used to say,showing up is the most important
thing.
Be there. Be dependable. So Istarted doing that, you know,
being there. And then if Ididn't know what to talk, then
I'll just talk about, hey. Doyou know this guy or that guy?
(10:56):
So I'll just start connectingwithin IAMCP to people. And that
way, board started knowing,okay. Manish is here, and he
does this. And that's how I gotmy first referral, in fact, from
David Guston. And, then whathappened exactly.
(11:18):
I I say, like, a couple of timewhen I have a sponsored meeting
or, you know, I'm I'm thepresenter about Think AI. I say
ThinkAI is born in MCP. I was adifferent company before. So MCP
has been a very big, factor inmy business growth, I will say.
In fact, now I feel veryconfident on sales and
(11:41):
marketing.
Rudy Rodriguez (11:42):
So you've taken advantage of the programs that
IMCP puts together. Has thathelped you with any staff
development as well or not?
Manish Bhardia (11:51):
I guess the biggest help has happened in the
the, you know, businessdevelopment. So, like, I get a
lot of business from partners.And then, yes, I do use, within
the IAMCP also, lot of companiesas a, like, jointly solutioning
or they are my vendor also. Soboth ways. Getting the business
(12:13):
from them, giving business tothem.
Rudy Rodriguez (12:15):
And and has it also helped you in building a
better relationship withMicrosoft?
Manish Bhardia (12:21):
Oh, yeah. That is for sure, actually. That
angle was a major factor aswell. You know, I didn't know
much on Microsoft before comingto IAMCP, but Justin Slagle was
such a force in SoCal, and he hewas in, IAMCP, meeting past as a
press president. And he was alsoin the Irvine office, and we
(12:47):
were we would use to meet inthat office, and he told all the
resources we have at, atassembly level and all the
programs, and then inspireconnection.
Right? Like, how do you knowmore about Microsoft programs
and all? Yeah. That I mean,without IAMCP or without Justin,
(13:09):
it will not be possible to knowMicrosoft. Just such such a huge
huge world.
But, I have been Microsoftdeveloper, meaning Microsoft
technology developer, from thestart of my career. K.
Rudy Rodriguez (13:22):
Well, you know, in the story that we're that
we're gonna tell in thispodcast, in this partner
showcase, can you tell us alittle bit about the client that
you worked with? You don't haveto give us a name, but if you'll
give us a little bit about, thesize of the organization, the
industry, the technology thatwas implemented. We'd like to
know more about what thatsolution entails.
Manish Bhardia (13:43):
Oh, yeah. That is a excellent question and very
relevant to IAMCP discussionbecause one of the meeting I'm
talking in, 2017 or 16, one ofthe partner came and said, I
need a Power BI partner, andthat is the time we were just
starting on Power BI. Microsoftwas starting major on Power BI
(14:08):
push, And we were already doinga lot of SQL reporting, SSRS,
which is SQL, server reportingservices, and the next version
is Power BI. Good visualization.So we got connected.
This is a client size of$200,000,000. They do retail,
(14:28):
and their end clients are allthe big retailers like Walmart,
Staples, and, Amazon. And theyneed to know how is their
product doing on the shelf ofthese big retailers. So our our
introduction to this client wasthrough an MSP who is handling
(14:49):
all their infrastructure, andthey have good connection with
the, CTO and the projectmanagers. So we connect, and
then they say we are using Sage,ERP.
And they are trying to use somekind of dashboard so they can
get data outside the Sage, andthey can also connect to the
(15:13):
retailer, data back and forthlike EDI files, and get a good
summary on what's happening oneach of the retailer. And that
was good problem to solve, butthe impact of that was pretty
big, meaning our partner did astory, and that's where we won
the MCP US p 2 p award in 97sorry, 2017. I went back a long
(15:41):
way. So and, actually, the theimpact was close to, like,
$1,000,000, saving for theclient because they are able to
track, goods and timely on tinytimely manner, from their
retailers in a single dashboard.So so that that is a kind of
(16:02):
work.
But in terms of, client size,Rudy, any anybody between
100,000,000 to 500,000,000 SMCarea, I would say, small, medium
core corporation, is a good fitwhere they already have
established systems, people.They're lacking the specific
skill of data or AI. That can bethat is where we can make the
(16:23):
biggest impact. In fact, we haveseen if a company is little
small and they don't understandthe complexity or they don't
subject matter expert, then thereturn is not that high. But if
you fully understand complexityor your business and you need a
solution on technology, then wework hand in hand and provide
you a solution jointly, it's awin win.
Rudy Rodriguez (16:46):
Now you mentioned that you were working
with an MSP on this, so this wastheir client. How did they go
about choosing you to come inand talk to their client about a
solution like this?
Manish Bhardia (16:58):
Yeah. So they asked the IAMCP president at
that time on who is who are thegood partner in the room. And in
fact, the president select gavethem 2, 3 options. So we were
one of them. But still it's abetter pool than, you know,
working, against partners whoyou don't know or, on the wide.
(17:19):
So referral is always highclosing rate ratio. So that that
worked, with us, and then clienthas been very happy.
Rudy Rodriguez (17:29):
That's very good. So you also mentioned that
you won an IAMCP p to p awardfor this was it for for this
solution? Okay. Can you tell ushow that has benefited your
business?
Manish Bhardia (17:40):
Yes. I mean, you know, trust building takes long
long time. So within IMCP, youhave a trust. You you you get
some referral within IAMCP also.So that builds a trust.
And then to the unknown who arereally new to IAMCP or non IAMCP
(18:01):
connections, they they they cansee that you have won. That
means you have been doingsomething right. So it has been
very helpful, and in all the ourslides, we show that to our
clients as well as to ourpotential partners that we have
been doing partneringsuccessful. Because for IAMCP,
(18:22):
it's very, clear that p to pworks, but none of not, not many
of, non IMCP members are sold onthat. So they are like, why
should I partner?
Right? What is my benefit? Sothat's where we show that, hey.
You can trust us, and we havebeen successful in doing
(18:42):
business together. So that helpsus.
Anthony Carrano (18:45):
So I'd like, Manish, this is this is
fantastic. Really appreciate yousharing and your insights. Could
you, maybe unpack the story alittle bit? I'm specifically,
talking about the one in whichwe were looking at for, like,
the the p two p awards for thisyear. Could you unpack that
story a little bit?
(19:06):
Maybe, how you guys cametogether to kinda, you know,
create value for that, you know,specific client?
Manish Bhardia (19:13):
Yeah. Actually, you have an excellent question,
Anthony. It is not always justthe client is getting benefit.
It is even partners get bigbenefit if we can define this
win win win, meaning, you know,ThinkAI wins, partner wins, and
client wins relationship. AndI'll give you the specific
(19:35):
example.
So this partner is not doingmuch on Power BI. But then, you
know, Azure is such a huge, areaof focus for Microsoft as well
as partner. But there are somuch capability in Azure that
not one partner can fulfill. Sowe, as a software developer or
ISV vendor, can only use certainarea of, data and AI and,
(19:59):
storage bucket of Azure, andthen, other partners use the
security and backup and othernetworking area of the area. But
as a Microsoft partner, we allwant to grow the Azure
consumption or utilization ofAzure.
Right? So they found us in thearea which they don't touch at
(20:20):
all, and we were able to sellmore Azure for our partner in
client space or or, in otherway, I would say, client was
able to utilize more of Azurecapability. So for for this
partner, it was pretty muchhands off approach. All they
have to do is bring us in manydeals. So we have not done one
(20:42):
deal.
This partner has, been using usfor last 8 years, and maybe we
will have 20, 30 projects withthem. And, this partner grew and
got sold to much bigger company.So now he's part of 20 other
MSPs and group of companies, andthey are also using similar
(21:03):
things. So real benefit will bewhere client gets benefit for
sure, but then if we can formmuch stronger partnership with
partners also.
Anthony Carrano (21:15):
Mhmm. Excellent. Now, as you as you
went about, you know, workingtogether, you know, with your
partner, what challenges did youhave during the engagement? And
if so, how did you guys worktogether to overcome those
challenges?
Manish Bhardia (21:30):
Yeah. Always challenges and trust building is
the first one. You know? It's anew new engagement for me and, I
mean, in partner as well as andin clientele as well. So we have
to target the low hanging fruitor somehow bring the value, to
the table fast, like, you know,provide solutions or provide
(21:53):
some processes or, exampleswhich we'll stress.
So we will focus on that, and,we have created some material or
the way you present yourpresentation or the way you
document requirement or giveinsights inside the meeting. So
we pay attention because weunderstand, you know, the
(22:13):
relationship is delicate or it'snot strong in the start. So
let's build trust. If anything,just be truthful or straight if
it's gonna be right or wrongbecause world is small and the
world goes around, and I'msimply world is small. So we
don't want any bad name.
So that's what we focus on, makemaking sure that we are bringing
(22:36):
information, giving value, andbeing truthful or Mhmm. High
integrity.
Anthony Carrano (22:41):
Now you've you've mentioned this phrase
probably about half a dozentimes. It's, trust building.
Yeah. So maybe, and and you'vetouched on even throughout, you
know, just our our conversation,just ways in which to to build
that. You know, could you, justmaybe succinctly provide, like,
what are maybe the top threethings that every partner should
(23:03):
do to build and establish trust,with one another within the
IAMCP community?
Manish Bhardia (23:11):
Okay. So in IAMCP, it's very clear formula.
I would say first to getinvolved as a volunteering role
or any way you are helpingboard. Maybe they have role or
not. Just get involved, getcloser to the board.
So that way, they get to knowyou personally as well as in
some working fashion withinIAMCP or business fashion. So
(23:32):
get to know people or get, buildconnections, build relationship.
And then, interest building, ofcourse, the example sells or the
proof of concept, like, littledemo, video, or testimonial. So
that is the second one. Andthen, when when you have
(23:52):
referral coming through MCP,that's another big one.
So that's what we focus on,making sure that we are able to
show some use case or some casestudy to client to build trust.
Mhmm. And awards and all, of ofcourse, helps. So, you know,
when there's MCP Awards or evenInc 5000 or any awards,
(24:17):
certifications. Oh, yeah.
I mean, you know, Microsoft isbig on certifications. So that's
Mhmm. The basic. Right? Like,from Microsoft side, whatever
you can do, certification, yourdesignations, solution
designations, and all alsohelps.
So these 3 also buildrelationship, use cases,
testimonials, referrals, andthen anything inside Microsoft,
(24:41):
you can get certified.
Anthony Carrano (24:44):
Mhmm. What, so from this, from you know, I'll
let you answer one of 2 ways. Wecan either talk about the
specific, you know, situationwhere you work with the, the
MSP, or maybe you can reflect onjust your your collective
experience over, you know, manyyears in the in the IMCP
community, in the Microsoftecosystem. What did you what
(25:06):
have you learned, you know, frompartnering that has enabled your
organization to to improve?
Manish Bhardia (25:15):
Yeah. I mean, I I would say all all the partners
in IAMCP are very goodbusinessman or they they care a
lot about clients. So that'swhat I learned that, you know,
we need to make clientssuccessful or they care a lot
about clients. So as I said,initially, I didn't know how to
build relationship or do salesor marketing.
Anthony Carrano (25:39):
Mhmm.
Manish Bhardia (25:40):
So within IAMCP, Microsoft gives very good
information on marketing andyour, you know, campaign.
Microsoft is great. Just followthem. They have paid, like,
1,000,000 of dollar to make itfor us. Let's follow.
Uh-huh. So don't reinvent. Mhmm.Coming back to IMCP, you can
learn how to build relationship,how to care about client, and
(26:04):
make them successful. So all thesales related thing, you can
learn in IMCP.
So this has been my biggest,learning in IAMCP that you can
you can just care about clientand win business. And by
building partner relationship,you are also learning how you're
gonna build client relationship.
Anthony Carrano (26:25):
What advice would you give to, you know,
companies like yours, I mean,regarding partnering? Now I know
we talked about trust building,so I know, that's probably
number 1, build trust. But whatwould be some other some other,
pieces of advice?
Manish Bhardia (26:40):
Yeah. This is a great one as well, and we
touched little bit on this as,like, Azure example. But I was
part of another group, and whatthat group did was they created
a pie of all the possiblesolution client needs in terms
of technology. And that pie hadsome big pie and very small
(27:02):
slices as well. But just tovisualize, a big pie is, you
know, the networking orinfrastructure, then telephony,
then ERP, then website, youknow, the security software,
then comes development likeapplication, then comes data or
(27:24):
reporting or AI.
Now AI will become a pie. InMicrosoft world also, so 4
different areas. Right? Modernone, application and
infrastructure, data and AI,security, and, dynamics. So find
complementary partner is thebest strategy, or I would say,
(27:46):
you know, find, 6 to 8 partnerswho cover different areas, and
we definitely need a marketingteam also on that.
And that way, you have your ownsmall group of people who can
refer business each other toeach other client as well as
market to the market. I thinkthat is one big exercise we have
to do within IMCP in yourchapter as well as across the
(28:09):
US. Mhmm. And now, in fact, withGlobe, you can do, but even you
just focus on US, that's a greatstrategy. Mhmm.
Because after you got thebusiness, initial business for
client, the next will be youeither grow business with new
client,
Anthony Carrano (28:26):
which
Manish Bhardia (28:27):
is gonna be tough, or you can double
business in the existing client.Right? Like Mhmm. Grow the
account. And how you can grow iswith partners.
Anthony Carrano (28:35):
Yeah. That's fantastic. I love that idea of,
you know, building out, a teamin in using that pie analogy.
What inspired that idea?
Manish Bhardia (28:45):
You know, this, meeting. Right? And the Okay.
The the group leader we used tocall group leader, and the group
is provider. So they they have alot of lawyers and CPAs and
consultant, and they had a groupof technical, folks only.
And, and the group leader wouldcome with this excel sheet
(29:07):
printout, and each pie will havethe name of partners. Oh,
Dynamics, these three partners.Nice. Application development,
it's ThinkAI and anotherpartner. Telephony, this.
Security, this. I mean, that wasgreat. You guys can in fact, you
reminded me I should go back tothat that Nice. Start adding
(29:29):
more partners within, you know,in IAMCP level as well. Yeah.
Anthony Carrano (29:33):
I I love I love that. I'll tell you why I I just
that I'm I really appreciate yousharing that. I love that
because, you know, as, you know,this is, like, kind of on a side
personal note, I, you know, Icoach competitive basketball
during the school year for aschool. Yeah. And one of the
things I've learned, I've beendoing it for almost a decade
now.
One of the things I've I'velearned and I, you know, I try
to incur you know, drill into myother coaches is that each you
(29:57):
know, when you have your team,right, it's important that the
players know their role. Right?So, like, a player like Yeah.
For example, playing basketball,you can't be great at
everything. There's just way toomuch going on.
Just we're talking basketball.Forget technology for a second.
Mhmm. You know? But find the thethe 2, maybe the 3 things on the
(30:17):
court that you can be the bestat.
Right? And then you startassembling that team. Well and
I've literally just been havingthese conversations with my
coaches, this week Yeah. Aboutthat, getting ready for the
upcoming season. So, you know,contextually, you know, based on
what you just said, it's like,you know, every every partner,
should just think about, okay.
(30:37):
What's what's my team? Right?Where's where are the areas that
I've got strength? Where are theareas that I have weakness? And
let me find those role players.
Right. Or, you know, roleplayers use you know, can use
the pie, you know, example, tokinda fill out, you know, our,
our team so we can go, you know,as a business, compete and win.
So
Manish Bhardia (30:57):
Thanks for bringing up the sports. You
know? It just becomes verypersonal when you bring the
sport. Right?
Anthony Carrano (31:02):
Yeah. I'm just.
Manish Bhardia (31:04):
So I I love that.
Anthony Carrano (31:06):
Well, it is. And and as more people realize
that, I think, you know, whatyou're what you're talking on
is, you know, about is somethingwhere I think a lot of times,
you know, folks kinda they theythey fear, cooperation in that
because they're afraid of, like,quote, unquote, like,
(31:26):
competition. And it's like, no.There's there's opportunities
where, you know, rather thanfighting over, you know, little
pieces of pie, let's cometogether to go after a big pie,
right, and create, you know,more opportunities for us, by
collaborating together. Like,another way of thinking about is
maybe we can do more togetherrather than me just doing my own
thing by myself.
(31:47):
Right?
Manish Bhardia (31:48):
Yeah. This is great, and, we can build a
stronger team. And by extendedwith and your cost is low
because these guys are verysmart who are customer facing.
Anthony Carrano (32:00):
Mhmm.
Manish Bhardia (32:01):
So you you're gonna build your, stronger sales
team without paying, you know,100 and, 200,000 Mhmm. Dollars
scenario, which may not be evenpossible for some partners. But
even you hire 100 200 k saleslead, it takes time to get the
ROI. Right? Mhmm.
That way, it becomes verypowerful thing. I also want to
(32:24):
touch, but there is some cautionalso. You have build your name
by doing certain things. Notevery partner is same. So what I
wanted to say was, this is allgreat because it should be in
one of your growth planningthat, hey.
I'm gonna use channel as a onegrowth area. See, when I'm doing
(32:46):
the growth, planning, samething. I'm saying, okay. Account
mining or growing the account,I'll use one strategy, but
partner channel is a separatestrategy. However, what I'm
saying is because you're gonnaput time, you have to also put
time to ensure that there is nota setbacks for you.
Right? So you'll have to puttime, how partner works, and how
(33:09):
they're gonna present you, orhow you're gonna present them.
And if things are not working,then just come on same level.
Don't go down. Don't bring yourbusiness down.
So you will have to put time onworking with partner, building
trust much better. Mhmm. Mhmm.And that happens through
relationship or, you know, doingsome proof of concept faster. So
(33:30):
we try to do some work before wepresent them to client or before
we go to client.
So we try to invest some time orcost also.
Anthony Carrano (33:40):
Yeah. So I know you're doing a lot of AI
consulting. What is what aresome new and exciting projects,
that you're doing in AI?
Manish Bhardia (33:49):
Yeah. Something very exciting. What we are doing
is using generative AI. We arecreating a, product named Amy.
So Amy is a project assistant.
So just like you think you hirea project assistant, what they
are supposed to do is, you know,keep track of all the notes, who
is doing what, follow-up onthem, if things are getting
(34:11):
done, great. If not, thenescalate to manager. And that is
exactly what Amy does is itlistens to notes. She stores the
notes in one note in properareas, assign tasks to people on
Planner or DevOps, and thenfollow-up on that. And if things
are getting done, great.
(34:32):
Otherwise, escalate on yourbehalf to the manager. So we are
excited about that.
Anthony Carrano (34:39):
What, what triggered, you know, or caused
you guys to wanna develop, Amy?
Manish Bhardia (34:44):
Good question, actually. As I mentioned, I was
before AI, I was doingSharePoint and collaboration. So
I was big on that. In fact, AIProductivity Leap, the book I I
I wrote was second book, and, Ihad written another book before
(35:04):
called teamwork andcollaboration. Oh.
I thought, what if I can teachAI the whole book? Will it be
valuable? Uh-huh. And, yes, itis because, you know, it can be
a small junior project manageror a project assistant. And
that's the thought here is, canAmy do a job of, project
(35:26):
assistant?
So that's how it came.
Anthony Carrano (35:29):
Are there any particular industries that would
benefit the most from Amy, or isit just across the board for for
any and all project managers?
Manish Bhardia (35:38):
Any any project which does follow a good project
plan will get get benefit morethan ad hoc thing. However,
anywhere we have projectmanagers doing longer projects,
it's much more beneficial.However, I see this getting used
even in the small projects andalso we have not decided
industry. However, we will startwith a bigger industry I mean,
(36:00):
longer project industry, whichis, like, construction. So we'll
start with that as a as a push.
However, it is pretty much opento all industry.
Anthony Carrano (36:10):
And where can folks find out more about Amy?
Manish Bhardia (36:14):
Amy.ai.ai.ai.
Anthony Carrano (36:19):
Excellent. Well, this this was excellent.
Really appreciate, you being aguest. I think you provided, you
know, just several, I mean,great stories, really key, key
tips on building your businessthrough, you know, partnering
together. Manish, how how, howcan people find out more about
(36:39):
you and your company?
Manish Bhardia (36:41):
Yeah. So Manish Bhardia, b h a r d I a. Bhardia
is one of the unique name on theLinkedIn at least. So you can
find me on LinkedIn. And,otherwise, just
manish.bhardia@thinkaicorp.com.
Anthony Carrano (36:58):
Okay. Now talking about LinkedIn, I I saw
a recent post, where you youactually have a book out. So
what tell us a little bit aboutthat.
Manish Bhardia (37:08):
Yeah. I guess, you know, as the AI, boom or the
AI craze has picked up in last,2 years. As a technology company
on AI, also, there are a lot ofareas, and the book is
especially focused on generativeAI, which is, you know, the
copilot or the tag GPT is basedon the generative AI. So these,
(37:32):
applications or the this set ofAI technology can give you
instant results or quick ROI. Sothat's what I have tried to
summarize in the book is thatwhat are the areas when a
partner or a client are thinkingabout?
What are the areas they shouldthink? So there are 4 areas
(37:53):
which they can think about.Sales and marketing, everybody
knows, you know, the mail andthe, blog post. But then second
area is also the customerservice, like the chatbot or the
web and then operations,internal efficiency. 3rd area is
the software development, andthe 4th area is r and d.
(38:14):
If you just focus these 4 Mhmm.You have about 75% of use cases.
So that's what I covered littlebit on the book and some 6
simple example.
Anthony Carrano (38:24):
And what's the title of the book?
Manish Bhardia (38:26):
The title is AI productivity leap.
Anthony Carrano (38:29):
Okay.
Manish Bhardia (38:30):
Get CX Business Growth.
Anthony Carrano (38:32):
Okay. And they can find that book, on your
LinkedIn profile. Is it alsoavailable on the website?
Manish Bhardia (38:39):
Yes. So this is a Amazon published book.
Anthony Carrano (38:42):
So Oh, fantastic.
Manish Bhardia (38:43):
Publishing. So just go on Amazon. You can get
Kindle edition or the physicalbook. So yeah.
Anthony Carrano (38:50):
Excellent. Well, we'll have we'll have your
LinkedIn and company informationas well as, a link to the book
in the show notes for, you know,for those folks who wanna, find
out more about you, and checkout and, you know, buy the book.
Well, this has been fantastic.Really appreciate, having you
on, and, have a great day.
Manish Bhardia (39:11):
Thank you, Rudy. Thank you, Anthony.
Anthony Carrano (39:14):
Wow. That was a great interview with Manesh, and
I really appreciate a lot of hisinsights on, partnering and and
his early adoption into AI.There were so many fantastic
takeaways. Rudy, what were somethings that really stood out to
you?
Rudy Rodriguez (39:28):
Well, Anthony, I one thing I really took away
from this episode was thatManish really illustrated the
benefits of being an IAMCPmember. Our slogan is connect,
connect, learn, and grow. Andthe one thing that he taught us
was he didn't know a lot abouthow to how to do business in in
in the partner community when hefirst joined IAMCP. But he met
(39:51):
partners at IMCP meetings. Hebenefited from the programs that
taught him sales and marketingprograms and Microsoft programs
as well.
And more importantly, throughnetworking, he built a trust
relationship with a partner.They work together to, build a
solution for the customerbecause, ultimately, it's about
our customers and the solutionswe build for them that makes us
(40:15):
a very strong and relevantprogram in the IT community. And
through that, he was able togrow his business. So I thought
he illustrated that very, verywell.
Anthony Carrano (40:26):
Yeah. There was 2 things that really stood out
to me. I mean, I love the factthat he kept emphasizing, and
this kinda piggybacks a littlebit, you know, on something that
stood out to you about he usedthe phrase trust building, like,
several times, you know,throughout our conversation, and
I really appreciated how he hehe did mention. He said, listen.
Trust building is gonna take,you know, some time, you know,
(40:46):
and to your point about you justyou gotta you gotta put your toe
in the water and you gotta becommitted, and he provided some
really great practical steps foranybody who's looking, you know,
to expand, you know, expandtheir business.
And, obviously, you know, beinga, you know, a long time
basketball coach, I reallyappreciated the team, you know,
dynamic part he was he wastalking. That really resonated
(41:07):
with me about, you know, youryour finding complimentary, you
know, partners that can expandyour team so you guys can do
more together and and and andgrow, you know, opportunities,
you know, versus if you werejust to try and, you know, do it
by yourself. So I reallyappreciate that. I hope a lot of
folks listening, you know, tothis episode take that to heart.
Rudy Rodriguez (41:27):
I think they will. I think Manish was a is a
clear illustration that if youtake advantage of these
programs, it'll make you a muchbetter, stronger business
partner and business person, andyou can always continue to learn
more about how to do business.And I'd look, look forward to
hearing more about how he'susing his membership at IAMCP to
(41:49):
continue to grow his business.
Anthony Carrano (41:51):
So thank you for joining us on this episode
of IAMCP profiles andpartnership powered by DuNamis
Marketing. We hope you enjoyedthis podcast and find it useful
and inspiring. If you did,please subscribe, rate, and
review us on your favoritepodcast platform. One of the
best ways to partner for successis to join IAMCP, a community of
(42:11):
Microsoft partners who help eachother grow and thrive. IAMCP
members can finally connect withother partners locally and
globally, then access exclusiveresources and opportunities.
Whether you're looking for newcustomers, new markets, or new
solutions, IMCP can help youachieve your goals. To learn
more, visit their website atwww.iamcp.org.
Welcome to the IAMCP profiles and partnership,
a podcast that showcases howMicrosoft partners and IAMCP
members boost their business bycollaborating with other members
and partners. I'm your co host,Anthony Carrano. And in each
episode, I'll be talking to someof the most innovative and
successful partners in theMicrosoft ecosystem. The
(00:25):
International Association ofMicrosoft Channel Partners,
otherwise known as IAMCP, is acommunity of Microsoft partners
who help each other grow andthrive. Members can find and
connect with other partnerslocally and globally and access
exclusive resources andopportunities.
Whether you're looking for newcustomers, new markets, or new
solutions, IAMCP can help youachieve your goals. We'll hear
(00:48):
their stories, learn from theirexperiences, and discover the
best practices and strategiesthey use to increase customer
loyalty and grow revenues.Whether you're a new partner or
an established one, you'll findvaluable insights and
inspiration in this podcast. Wehope you enjoy this podcast and
find it useful and inspiring. Ifyou do, please subscribe, rate,
and review us on your favoritepodcast platform.
(01:10):
And don't forget to follow us onsocial media and connect with us
on our website,www.profilesinpartnership.com,
where you can find moreinformation, resources, and
opportunities to partner forsuccess. Thank you for
listening. And now let's getstarted with our episode. Before
we dive into our interview, letme ask you a question. Do you
(01:31):
know who your ideal partner is?
Finding the right partner can bechallenging, but it can also be
rewarding. In fact, according toa recent study by IDC, Microsoft
partners who collaborate withother partners generate almost 2
and a half times more revenuegrowth than those who don't.
That's a huge difference, and itshows the power of partnering.
(01:51):
So how do you build trust withpartners? Where do you go to
find complimentary partners thatround out your team?
And how do you ensure successfor your customer? These are
some of the questions that we'llexplore in this podcast with the
help of our guest who is anexpert in partnering. He'll
share their stories, challenges,and successes and give you
practical tips and advice on howto partner for success. Are you
(02:15):
ready to join us on thisjourney? Then stay tuned because
we have a great show for youtoday.
Our first guest is ManishBahardia, the founder and
president of ThinkAICorporation, a leading software
development and data servicespartner with specializations in
AI, business intelligence, andchatbots, who has achieved
amazing results, such as the onestory that you're about to hear
(02:38):
in his partnership with an MSPthat they joined together to
create a BI solution for a majorretail supplier. Let's hear what
he has to say. Well, Manish,really glad to have you here on
the podcast. Appreciate youjoining, Rudy and I, you know,
today on the IMCP profiles andpartnership. Let's start off.
(02:59):
May you can tell us a little bitabout yourself and, the company.
Manish Bhardia (03:04):
Yeah. Thank you, Anthony and Rudy, for having me
here. I'm honored. And, as abusiness, ThinkAI is a 6 year
old, data and AI consultingfirm. And before that, I was
doing SharePoint and, some datawork, and my partner is actually
IAMCP partner.
(03:25):
So we met together. We hadcomplementary skills, so we
joined hands, and then we werethinking about various names.
And data kept coming on top. Andwe said data is great, but how
are we gonna do the next step,which is gonna be AI? So that's
where we started ThinkAI.
(03:46):
And, our focus is mostly,services. So midsize to small
business when they need a lot ofreporting or data warehouse. And
then AI consulting, that's whatwe do. And we have a hybrid
model. We have a team in US aswell as India.
Anthony Carrano (04:04):
Mhmm. Mhmm. And, so maybe you can expand a
little bit more about why didyou start the company.
Manish Bhardia (04:12):
Yeah. Okay. That's a that's a good story.
What happened in year 2000, Icame to US, and I I was in San
Diego, which way, working forGateway Computers. And then, it
was a great experience.
You know, the gateway shopsgateway store, they used to
call. Just like Apple store,nice thing and all. And they had
(04:36):
excellent packaging, but somehow911 impacted big time to them,
and we lost all our job. Andthen that is the time I moved to
LA. And since then, 10 years Ihave been in LA and now 10 years
in Orange Counties inCalifornia.
So what happened was I was doingprogramming, and my managers
(04:58):
used to say you connect betterwith client. So they made me
lead or, like, a businessanalyst, and I like that talking
to people even though I wasstumbling on English. You know?
I was not a native Englishspeaker in India, but I was able
to connect. Somehow, theemotion, I was able to connect.
So I thought I thought later, Iwant to become project manager.
(05:19):
So I studied PMP and becameproject manager, and then I'll I
missed the whole technologypiece, like, you know, the
innovation or the cool things wedo with technology. So I said,
maybe consulting is better. Sothat's what I did. I started
doing consulting, and then itwas fine.
(05:40):
But then I said, I'm talkingyear 2010, I want to do maybe a
consulting firm because, youknow, the India and US offshore
model was working. I was able toform a small team, and I did
that. But in the heart, I wasstill a techie. I got work first
project, I said, this is howproject comes. I'm good.
(06:01):
I left my job and then projectfailed. No payment from client.
Reality hits. So I had to goback to job market and,
fortunately, got a job atHyundai that time. So that's
when I moved to Orange Countyarea.
And then came IAMCPintroduction. 1 of my friend,
(06:22):
long time 10 years, back,Brendan Neary, who was in SOCAL,
so IAMCP SOCAL, he said, youshould check it out. You are in
Microsoft Word. And I love thewhole concept that it was high
energy. First of all, energy inIMCP meeting are little
different than other meetingsbecause I have been going to
(06:44):
developers meeting, and they arevery much focused on high-tech,
what is coming in, intechnology, how we're gonna code
or build solution.
But there is no no business orno consumer or, yeah, no client
focused. But IMCP is all aboutclient, you know. Mhmm. Mhmm.
(07:08):
And that somehow stick with me.
Anthony Carrano (07:10):
And so you mentioned since 2010, that's
when you joined?
Manish Bhardia (07:13):
I joined 2012. So 2012 was my first meeting. I
was still
Anthony Carrano (07:17):
Wow.
Manish Bhardia (07:18):
I did not have the business yet. I was still in
the in the, like, consultingmode. And then I did some
courses, with IAMCP folks,meaning they were they were
having offers within IAMCPspecific offers. Like, Justin
Slager was the past president.Roe was just the president here
(07:41):
in Southern California.
So I I was doing some SharePointcourses, and then I started my
business. And and since then, Ihave been very closely involved
with I'm City.
Anthony Carrano (07:56):
Excellent. Now what, so Think Think AI
Consulting, you know, is thecompany. What's, what's Think
AI's, areas of specialization?
Manish Bhardia (08:06):
Yeah. So most of the, companies when they, hit
the roadblock on the datarelated technology or AI, then
they seek out the externalvendors or consulting firms. So
they either go to high end, youknow, slalom, big five, or
midsize, or they go to offshore,low, what do you say, rate
(08:30):
things. So we sit in betweenwhere we have a hybrid model, US
consultant as well as India.However, our focus is pretty
much on data consulting.
So how you can use multiplesystem and still have one single
source of truth, nice lookingdashboards, some decisions,
making charts, and now AI, whichis like they say, hey. This
(08:53):
business function, how they canhave AI infused in it? How can
we use our workflows and improveAI? How can we improve
productivity? So these are the 2areas we focus.
Mhmm. As a historical, practice,we were also doing a lot of
share, you know, basiccollaboration, correction, and
(09:17):
then making the team productive.So these are the 3 areas we
focus on.
Rudy Rodriguez (09:22):
Manish, I'd like to ask you a question because
you've mentioned a couple ofgood friends of mine, Justin
Slagle and Roel Kolakowski, asthey're at a at, IAMCP. Can you
tell us a little bit about howyou got involved in IAMCP? What
you know, how and how that hasbenefited your business? Because
I know you have a prettyillustrious career there too,
working as a volunteer at IMCP.
Manish Bhardia (09:45):
Yeah. In fact, one thing I forgot to correct
was when, when I started, mybusiness, you know, I was
techie, no sales or marketingexperience. So when I came to
IMCP, I didn't know how peopledo business or how they they
generate leads. But the veryfirst meeting, I'm sitting next
(10:08):
to David Gersten, and he'ssaying, oh, I closed, like,
$250,000 deal with, in, like, 3months. Like, he was just new to
MCP as well.
And he met a partner, and theyclosed the deal, Dynamics deal,
and he was super excited, and hebecame IAMCP fan. And I saw
that, hey. If you be a goodfriend or you show up or you
(10:32):
show your integrity commitment,then you can earn business. So
it took, like, 6 to 8 months forme to get business. But, I was
there, and as Roy used to say,showing up is the most important
thing.
Be there. Be dependable. So Istarted doing that, you know,
being there. And then if Ididn't know what to talk, then
I'll just talk about, hey. Doyou know this guy or that guy?
(10:56):
So I'll just start connectingwithin IAMCP to people. And that
way, board started knowing,okay. Manish is here, and he
does this. And that's how I gotmy first referral, in fact, from
David Guston. And, then whathappened exactly.
(11:18):
I I say, like, a couple of timewhen I have a sponsored meeting
or, you know, I'm I'm thepresenter about Think AI. I say
ThinkAI is born in MCP. I was adifferent company before. So MCP
has been a very big, factor inmy business growth, I will say.
In fact, now I feel veryconfident on sales and
(11:41):
marketing.
Rudy Rodriguez (11:42):
So you've taken advantage of the programs that
IMCP puts together. Has thathelped you with any staff
development as well or not?
Manish Bhardia (11:51):
I guess the biggest help has happened in the
the, you know, businessdevelopment. So, like, I get a
lot of business from partners.And then, yes, I do use, within
the IAMCP also, lot of companiesas a, like, jointly solutioning
or they are my vendor also. Soboth ways. Getting the business
(12:13):
from them, giving business tothem.
Rudy Rodriguez (12:15):
And and has it also helped you in building a
better relationship withMicrosoft?
Manish Bhardia (12:21):
Oh, yeah. That is for sure, actually. That
angle was a major factor aswell. You know, I didn't know
much on Microsoft before comingto IAMCP, but Justin Slagle was
such a force in SoCal, and he hewas in, IAMCP, meeting past as a
press president. And he was alsoin the Irvine office, and we
(12:47):
were we would use to meet inthat office, and he told all the
resources we have at, atassembly level and all the
programs, and then inspireconnection.
Right? Like, how do you knowmore about Microsoft programs
and all? Yeah. That I mean,without IAMCP or without Justin,
(13:09):
it will not be possible to knowMicrosoft. Just such such a huge
huge world.
But, I have been Microsoftdeveloper, meaning Microsoft
technology developer, from thestart of my career. K.
Rudy Rodriguez (13:22):
Well, you know, in the story that we're that
we're gonna tell in thispodcast, in this partner
showcase, can you tell us alittle bit about the client that
you worked with? You don't haveto give us a name, but if you'll
give us a little bit about, thesize of the organization, the
industry, the technology thatwas implemented. We'd like to
know more about what thatsolution entails.
Manish Bhardia (13:43):
Oh, yeah. That is a excellent question and very
relevant to IAMCP discussionbecause one of the meeting I'm
talking in, 2017 or 16, one ofthe partner came and said, I
need a Power BI partner, andthat is the time we were just
starting on Power BI. Microsoftwas starting major on Power BI
(14:08):
push, And we were already doinga lot of SQL reporting, SSRS,
which is SQL, server reportingservices, and the next version
is Power BI. Good visualization.So we got connected.
This is a client size of$200,000,000. They do retail,
(14:28):
and their end clients are allthe big retailers like Walmart,
Staples, and, Amazon. And theyneed to know how is their
product doing on the shelf ofthese big retailers. So our our
introduction to this client wasthrough an MSP who is handling
(14:49):
all their infrastructure, andthey have good connection with
the, CTO and the projectmanagers. So we connect, and
then they say we are using Sage,ERP.
And they are trying to use somekind of dashboard so they can
get data outside the Sage, andthey can also connect to the
(15:13):
retailer, data back and forthlike EDI files, and get a good
summary on what's happening oneach of the retailer. And that
was good problem to solve, butthe impact of that was pretty
big, meaning our partner did astory, and that's where we won
the MCP US p 2 p award in 97sorry, 2017. I went back a long
(15:41):
way. So and, actually, the theimpact was close to, like,
$1,000,000, saving for theclient because they are able to
track, goods and timely on tinytimely manner, from their
retailers in a single dashboard.So so that that is a kind of
(16:02):
work.
But in terms of, client size,Rudy, any anybody between
100,000,000 to 500,000,000 SMCarea, I would say, small, medium
core corporation, is a good fitwhere they already have
established systems, people.They're lacking the specific
skill of data or AI. That can bethat is where we can make the
(16:23):
biggest impact. In fact, we haveseen if a company is little
small and they don't understandthe complexity or they don't
subject matter expert, then thereturn is not that high. But if
you fully understand complexityor your business and you need a
solution on technology, then wework hand in hand and provide
you a solution jointly, it's awin win.
Rudy Rodriguez (16:46):
Now you mentioned that you were working
with an MSP on this, so this wastheir client. How did they go
about choosing you to come inand talk to their client about a
solution like this?
Manish Bhardia (16:58):
Yeah. So they asked the IAMCP president at
that time on who is who are thegood partner in the room. And in
fact, the president select gavethem 2, 3 options. So we were
one of them. But still it's abetter pool than, you know,
working, against partners whoyou don't know or, on the wide.
(17:19):
So referral is always highclosing rate ratio. So that that
worked, with us, and then clienthas been very happy.
Rudy Rodriguez (17:29):
That's very good. So you also mentioned that
you won an IAMCP p to p awardfor this was it for for this
solution? Okay. Can you tell ushow that has benefited your
business?
Manish Bhardia (17:40):
Yes. I mean, you know, trust building takes long
long time. So within IMCP, youhave a trust. You you you get
some referral within IAMCP also.So that builds a trust.
And then to the unknown who arereally new to IAMCP or non IAMCP
(18:01):
connections, they they they cansee that you have won. That
means you have been doingsomething right. So it has been
very helpful, and in all the ourslides, we show that to our
clients as well as to ourpotential partners that we have
been doing partneringsuccessful. Because for IAMCP,
(18:22):
it's very, clear that p to pworks, but none of not, not many
of, non IMCP members are sold onthat. So they are like, why
should I partner?
Right? What is my benefit? Sothat's where we show that, hey.
You can trust us, and we havebeen successful in doing
(18:42):
business together. So that helpsus.
Anthony Carrano (18:45):
So I'd like, Manish, this is this is
fantastic. Really appreciate yousharing and your insights. Could
you, maybe unpack the story alittle bit? I'm specifically,
talking about the one in whichwe were looking at for, like,
the the p two p awards for thisyear. Could you unpack that
story a little bit?
(19:06):
Maybe, how you guys cametogether to kinda, you know,
create value for that, you know,specific client?
Manish Bhardia (19:13):
Yeah. Actually, you have an excellent question,
Anthony. It is not always justthe client is getting benefit.
It is even partners get bigbenefit if we can define this
win win win, meaning, you know,ThinkAI wins, partner wins, and
client wins relationship. AndI'll give you the specific
(19:35):
example.
So this partner is not doingmuch on Power BI. But then, you
know, Azure is such a huge, areaof focus for Microsoft as well
as partner. But there are somuch capability in Azure that
not one partner can fulfill. Sowe, as a software developer or
ISV vendor, can only use certainarea of, data and AI and,
(19:59):
storage bucket of Azure, andthen, other partners use the
security and backup and othernetworking area of the area. But
as a Microsoft partner, we allwant to grow the Azure
consumption or utilization ofAzure.
Right? So they found us in thearea which they don't touch at
(20:20):
all, and we were able to sellmore Azure for our partner in
client space or or, in otherway, I would say, client was
able to utilize more of Azurecapability. So for for this
partner, it was pretty muchhands off approach. All they
have to do is bring us in manydeals. So we have not done one
(20:42):
deal.
This partner has, been using usfor last 8 years, and maybe we
will have 20, 30 projects withthem. And, this partner grew and
got sold to much bigger company.So now he's part of 20 other
MSPs and group of companies, andthey are also using similar
(21:03):
things. So real benefit will bewhere client gets benefit for
sure, but then if we can formmuch stronger partnership with
partners also.
Anthony Carrano (21:15):
Mhmm. Excellent. Now, as you as you
went about, you know, workingtogether, you know, with your
partner, what challenges did youhave during the engagement? And
if so, how did you guys worktogether to overcome those
challenges?
Manish Bhardia (21:30):
Yeah. Always challenges and trust building is
the first one. You know? It's anew new engagement for me and, I
mean, in partner as well as andin clientele as well. So we have
to target the low hanging fruitor somehow bring the value, to
the table fast, like, you know,provide solutions or provide
(21:53):
some processes or, exampleswhich we'll stress.
So we will focus on that, and,we have created some material or
the way you present yourpresentation or the way you
document requirement or giveinsights inside the meeting. So
we pay attention because weunderstand, you know, the
(22:13):
relationship is delicate or it'snot strong in the start. So
let's build trust. If anything,just be truthful or straight if
it's gonna be right or wrongbecause world is small and the
world goes around, and I'msimply world is small. So we
don't want any bad name.
So that's what we focus on, makemaking sure that we are bringing
(22:36):
information, giving value, andbeing truthful or Mhmm. High
integrity.
Anthony Carrano (22:41):
Now you've you've mentioned this phrase
probably about half a dozentimes. It's, trust building.
Yeah. So maybe, and and you'vetouched on even throughout, you
know, just our our conversation,just ways in which to to build
that. You know, could you, justmaybe succinctly provide, like,
what are maybe the top threethings that every partner should
(23:03):
do to build and establish trust,with one another within the
IAMCP community?
Manish Bhardia (23:11):
Okay. So in IAMCP, it's very clear formula.
I would say first to getinvolved as a volunteering role
or any way you are helpingboard. Maybe they have role or
not. Just get involved, getcloser to the board.
So that way, they get to knowyou personally as well as in
some working fashion withinIAMCP or business fashion. So
(23:32):
get to know people or get, buildconnections, build relationship.
And then, interest building, ofcourse, the example sells or the
proof of concept, like, littledemo, video, or testimonial. So
that is the second one. Andthen, when when you have
(23:52):
referral coming through MCP,that's another big one.
So that's what we focus on,making sure that we are able to
show some use case or some casestudy to client to build trust.
Mhmm. And awards and all, of ofcourse, helps. So, you know,
when there's MCP Awards or evenInc 5000 or any awards,
(24:17):
certifications. Oh, yeah.
I mean, you know, Microsoft isbig on certifications. So that's
Mhmm. The basic. Right? Like,from Microsoft side, whatever
you can do, certification, yourdesignations, solution
designations, and all alsohelps.
So these 3 also buildrelationship, use cases,
testimonials, referrals, andthen anything inside Microsoft,
(24:41):
you can get certified.
Anthony Carrano (24:44):
Mhmm. What, so from this, from you know, I'll
let you answer one of 2 ways. Wecan either talk about the
specific, you know, situationwhere you work with the, the
MSP, or maybe you can reflect onjust your your collective
experience over, you know, manyyears in the in the IMCP
community, in the Microsoftecosystem. What did you what
(25:06):
have you learned, you know, frompartnering that has enabled your
organization to to improve?
Manish Bhardia (25:15):
Yeah. I mean, I I would say all all the partners
in IAMCP are very goodbusinessman or they they care a
lot about clients. So that'swhat I learned that, you know,
we need to make clientssuccessful or they care a lot
about clients. So as I said,initially, I didn't know how to
build relationship or do salesor marketing.
Anthony Carrano (25:39):
Mhmm.
Manish Bhardia (25:40):
So within IAMCP, Microsoft gives very good
information on marketing andyour, you know, campaign.
Microsoft is great. Just followthem. They have paid, like,
1,000,000 of dollar to make itfor us. Let's follow.
Uh-huh. So don't reinvent. Mhmm.Coming back to IMCP, you can
learn how to build relationship,how to care about client, and
(26:04):
make them successful. So all thesales related thing, you can
learn in IMCP.
So this has been my biggest,learning in IAMCP that you can
you can just care about clientand win business. And by
building partner relationship,you are also learning how you're
gonna build client relationship.
Anthony Carrano (26:25):
What advice would you give to, you know,
companies like yours, I mean,regarding partnering? Now I know
we talked about trust building,so I know, that's probably
number 1, build trust. But whatwould be some other some other,
pieces of advice?
Manish Bhardia (26:40):
Yeah. This is a great one as well, and we
touched little bit on this as,like, Azure example. But I was
part of another group, and whatthat group did was they created
a pie of all the possiblesolution client needs in terms
of technology. And that pie hadsome big pie and very small
(27:02):
slices as well. But just tovisualize, a big pie is, you
know, the networking orinfrastructure, then telephony,
then ERP, then website, youknow, the security software,
then comes development likeapplication, then comes data or
(27:24):
reporting or AI.
Now AI will become a pie. InMicrosoft world also, so 4
different areas. Right? Modernone, application and
infrastructure, data and AI,security, and, dynamics. So find
complementary partner is thebest strategy, or I would say,
(27:46):
you know, find, 6 to 8 partnerswho cover different areas, and
we definitely need a marketingteam also on that.
And that way, you have your ownsmall group of people who can
refer business each other toeach other client as well as
market to the market. I thinkthat is one big exercise we have
to do within IMCP in yourchapter as well as across the
(28:09):
US. Mhmm. And now, in fact, withGlobe, you can do, but even you
just focus on US, that's a greatstrategy. Mhmm.
Because after you got thebusiness, initial business for
client, the next will be youeither grow business with new
client,
Anthony Carrano (28:26):
which
Manish Bhardia (28:27):
is gonna be tough, or you can double
business in the existing client.Right? Like Mhmm. Grow the
account. And how you can grow iswith partners.
Anthony Carrano (28:35):
Yeah. That's fantastic. I love that idea of,
you know, building out, a teamin in using that pie analogy.
What inspired that idea?
Manish Bhardia (28:45):
You know, this, meeting. Right? And the Okay.
The the group leader we used tocall group leader, and the group
is provider. So they they have alot of lawyers and CPAs and
consultant, and they had a groupof technical, folks only.
And, and the group leader wouldcome with this excel sheet
(29:07):
printout, and each pie will havethe name of partners. Oh,
Dynamics, these three partners.Nice. Application development,
it's ThinkAI and anotherpartner. Telephony, this.
Security, this. I mean, that wasgreat. You guys can in fact, you
reminded me I should go back tothat that Nice. Start adding
(29:29):
more partners within, you know,in IAMCP level as well. Yeah.
Anthony Carrano (29:33):
I I love I love that. I'll tell you why I I just
that I'm I really appreciate yousharing that. I love that
because, you know, as, you know,this is, like, kind of on a side
personal note, I, you know, Icoach competitive basketball
during the school year for aschool. Yeah. And one of the
things I've learned, I've beendoing it for almost a decade
now.
One of the things I've I'velearned and I, you know, I try
to incur you know, drill into myother coaches is that each you
(29:57):
know, when you have your team,right, it's important that the
players know their role. Right?So, like, a player like Yeah.
For example, playing basketball,you can't be great at
everything. There's just way toomuch going on.
Just we're talking basketball.Forget technology for a second.
Mhmm. You know? But find the thethe 2, maybe the 3 things on the
(30:17):
court that you can be the bestat.
Right? And then you startassembling that team. Well and
I've literally just been havingthese conversations with my
coaches, this week Yeah. Aboutthat, getting ready for the
upcoming season. So, you know,contextually, you know, based on
what you just said, it's like,you know, every every partner,
should just think about, okay.
(30:37):
What's what's my team? Right?Where's where are the areas that
I've got strength? Where are theareas that I have weakness? And
let me find those role players.
Right. Or, you know, roleplayers use you know, can use
the pie, you know, example, tokinda fill out, you know, our,
our team so we can go, you know,as a business, compete and win.
So
Manish Bhardia (30:57):
Thanks for bringing up the sports. You
know? It just becomes verypersonal when you bring the
sport. Right?
Anthony Carrano (31:02):
Yeah. I'm just.
Manish Bhardia (31:04):
So I I love that.
Anthony Carrano (31:06):
Well, it is. And and as more people realize
that, I think, you know, whatyou're what you're talking on
is, you know, about is somethingwhere I think a lot of times,
you know, folks kinda they theythey fear, cooperation in that
because they're afraid of, like,quote, unquote, like,
(31:26):
competition. And it's like, no.There's there's opportunities
where, you know, rather thanfighting over, you know, little
pieces of pie, let's cometogether to go after a big pie,
right, and create, you know,more opportunities for us, by
collaborating together. Like,another way of thinking about is
maybe we can do more togetherrather than me just doing my own
thing by myself.
(31:47):
Right?
Manish Bhardia (31:48):
Yeah. This is great, and, we can build a
stronger team. And by extendedwith and your cost is low
because these guys are verysmart who are customer facing.
Anthony Carrano (32:00):
Mhmm.
Manish Bhardia (32:01):
So you you're gonna build your, stronger sales
team without paying, you know,100 and, 200,000 Mhmm. Dollars
scenario, which may not be evenpossible for some partners. But
even you hire 100 200 k saleslead, it takes time to get the
ROI. Right? Mhmm.
That way, it becomes verypowerful thing. I also want to
(32:24):
touch, but there is some cautionalso. You have build your name
by doing certain things. Notevery partner is same. So what I
wanted to say was, this is allgreat because it should be in
one of your growth planningthat, hey.
I'm gonna use channel as a onegrowth area. See, when I'm doing
(32:46):
the growth, planning, samething. I'm saying, okay. Account
mining or growing the account,I'll use one strategy, but
partner channel is a separatestrategy. However, what I'm
saying is because you're gonnaput time, you have to also put
time to ensure that there is nota setbacks for you.
Right? So you'll have to puttime, how partner works, and how
(33:09):
they're gonna present you, orhow you're gonna present them.
And if things are not working,then just come on same level.
Don't go down. Don't bring yourbusiness down.
So you will have to put time onworking with partner, building
trust much better. Mhmm. Mhmm.And that happens through
relationship or, you know, doingsome proof of concept faster. So
(33:30):
we try to do some work before wepresent them to client or before
we go to client.
So we try to invest some time orcost also.
Anthony Carrano (33:40):
Yeah. So I know you're doing a lot of AI
consulting. What is what aresome new and exciting projects,
that you're doing in AI?
Manish Bhardia (33:49):
Yeah. Something very exciting. What we are doing
is using generative AI. We arecreating a, product named Amy.
So Amy is a project assistant.
So just like you think you hirea project assistant, what they
are supposed to do is, you know,keep track of all the notes, who
is doing what, follow-up onthem, if things are getting
(34:11):
done, great. If not, thenescalate to manager. And that is
exactly what Amy does is itlistens to notes. She stores the
notes in one note in properareas, assign tasks to people on
Planner or DevOps, and thenfollow-up on that. And if things
are getting done, great.
(34:32):
Otherwise, escalate on yourbehalf to the manager. So we are
excited about that.
Anthony Carrano (34:39):
What, what triggered, you know, or caused
you guys to wanna develop, Amy?
Manish Bhardia (34:44):
Good question, actually. As I mentioned, I was
before AI, I was doingSharePoint and collaboration. So
I was big on that. In fact, AIProductivity Leap, the book I I
I wrote was second book, and, Ihad written another book before
(35:04):
called teamwork andcollaboration. Oh.
I thought, what if I can teachAI the whole book? Will it be
valuable? Uh-huh. And, yes, itis because, you know, it can be
a small junior project manageror a project assistant. And
that's the thought here is, canAmy do a job of, project
(35:26):
assistant?
So that's how it came.
Anthony Carrano (35:29):
Are there any particular industries that would
benefit the most from Amy, or isit just across the board for for
any and all project managers?
Manish Bhardia (35:38):
Any any project which does follow a good project
plan will get get benefit morethan ad hoc thing. However,
anywhere we have projectmanagers doing longer projects,
it's much more beneficial.However, I see this getting used
even in the small projects andalso we have not decided
industry. However, we will startwith a bigger industry I mean,
(36:00):
longer project industry, whichis, like, construction. So we'll
start with that as a as a push.
However, it is pretty much opento all industry.
Anthony Carrano (36:10):
And where can folks find out more about Amy?
Manish Bhardia (36:14):
Amy.ai.ai.ai.
Anthony Carrano (36:19):
Excellent. Well, this this was excellent.
Really appreciate, you being aguest. I think you provided, you
know, just several, I mean,great stories, really key, key
tips on building your businessthrough, you know, partnering
together. Manish, how how, howcan people find out more about
(36:39):
you and your company?
Manish Bhardia (36:41):
Yeah. So Manish Bhardia, b h a r d I a. Bhardia
is one of the unique name on theLinkedIn at least. So you can
find me on LinkedIn. And,otherwise, just
manish.bhardia@thinkaicorp.com.
Anthony Carrano (36:58):
Okay. Now talking about LinkedIn, I I saw
a recent post, where you youactually have a book out. So
what tell us a little bit aboutthat.
Manish Bhardia (37:08):
Yeah. I guess, you know, as the AI, boom or the
AI craze has picked up in last,2 years. As a technology company
on AI, also, there are a lot ofareas, and the book is
especially focused on generativeAI, which is, you know, the
copilot or the tag GPT is basedon the generative AI. So these,
(37:32):
applications or the this set ofAI technology can give you
instant results or quick ROI. Sothat's what I have tried to
summarize in the book is thatwhat are the areas when a
partner or a client are thinkingabout?
What are the areas they shouldthink? So there are 4 areas
(37:53):
which they can think about.Sales and marketing, everybody
knows, you know, the mail andthe, blog post. But then second
area is also the customerservice, like the chatbot or the
web and then operations,internal efficiency. 3rd area is
the software development, andthe 4th area is r and d.
(38:14):
If you just focus these 4 Mhmm.You have about 75% of use cases.
So that's what I covered littlebit on the book and some 6
simple example.
Anthony Carrano (38:24):
And what's the title of the book?
Manish Bhardia (38:26):
The title is AI productivity leap.
Anthony Carrano (38:29):
Okay.
Manish Bhardia (38:30):
Get CX Business Growth.
Anthony Carrano (38:32):
Okay. And they can find that book, on your
LinkedIn profile. Is it alsoavailable on the website?
Manish Bhardia (38:39):
Yes. So this is a Amazon published book.
Anthony Carrano (38:42):
So Oh, fantastic.
Manish Bhardia (38:43):
Publishing. So just go on Amazon. You can get
Kindle edition or the physicalbook. So yeah.
Anthony Carrano (38:50):
Excellent. Well, we'll have we'll have your
LinkedIn and company informationas well as, a link to the book
in the show notes for, you know,for those folks who wanna, find
out more about you, and checkout and, you know, buy the book.
Well, this has been fantastic.Really appreciate, having you
on, and, have a great day.
Manish Bhardia (39:11):
Thank you, Rudy. Thank you, Anthony.
Anthony Carrano (39:14):
Wow. That was a great interview with Manesh, and
I really appreciate a lot of hisinsights on, partnering and and
his early adoption into AI.There were so many fantastic
takeaways. Rudy, what were somethings that really stood out to
you?
Rudy Rodriguez (39:28):
Well, Anthony, I one thing I really took away
from this episode was thatManish really illustrated the
benefits of being an IAMCPmember. Our slogan is connect,
connect, learn, and grow. Andthe one thing that he taught us
was he didn't know a lot abouthow to how to do business in in
in the partner community when hefirst joined IAMCP. But he met
(39:51):
partners at IMCP meetings. Hebenefited from the programs that
taught him sales and marketingprograms and Microsoft programs
as well.
And more importantly, throughnetworking, he built a trust
relationship with a partner.They work together to, build a
solution for the customerbecause, ultimately, it's about
our customers and the solutionswe build for them that makes us
(40:15):
a very strong and relevantprogram in the IT community. And
through that, he was able togrow his business. So I thought
he illustrated that very, verywell.
Anthony Carrano (40:26):
Yeah. There was 2 things that really stood out
to me. I mean, I love the factthat he kept emphasizing, and
this kinda piggybacks a littlebit, you know, on something that
stood out to you about he usedthe phrase trust building, like,
several times, you know,throughout our conversation, and
I really appreciated how he hehe did mention. He said, listen.
Trust building is gonna take,you know, some time, you know,
(40:46):
and to your point about you justyou gotta you gotta put your toe
in the water and you gotta becommitted, and he provided some
really great practical steps foranybody who's looking, you know,
to expand, you know, expandtheir business.
And, obviously, you know, beinga, you know, a long time
basketball coach, I reallyappreciated the team, you know,
dynamic part he was he wastalking. That really resonated
(41:07):
with me about, you know, youryour finding complimentary, you
know, partners that can expandyour team so you guys can do
more together and and and andgrow, you know, opportunities,
you know, versus if you werejust to try and, you know, do it
by yourself. So I reallyappreciate that. I hope a lot of
folks listening, you know, tothis episode take that to heart.
Rudy Rodriguez (41:27):
I think they will. I think Manish was a is a
clear illustration that if youtake advantage of these
programs, it'll make you a muchbetter, stronger business
partner and business person, andyou can always continue to learn
more about how to do business.And I'd look, look forward to
hearing more about how he'susing his membership at IAMCP to
(41:49):
continue to grow his business.
Anthony Carrano (41:51):
So thank you for joining us on this episode
of IAMCP profiles andpartnership powered by DuNamis
Marketing. We hope you enjoyedthis podcast and find it useful
and inspiring. If you did,please subscribe, rate, and
review us on your favoritepodcast platform. One of the
best ways to partner for successis to join IAMCP, a community of
(42:11):
Microsoft partners who help eachother grow and thrive. IAMCP
members can finally connect withother partners locally and
globally, then access exclusiveresources and opportunities.
Whether you're looking for newcustomers, new markets, or new
solutions, IMCP can help youachieve your goals. To learn
more, visit their website atwww.iamcp.org.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.