How A Couple Of Soul Sucking, Near Career-Ending Partnerships Led To Continuous Networks Stopping The IT Money Suck For Companies In New York/New Jersey Metro

If you’ve ever been burned in business, you might know just how devastating the experience can be. If not, just ask Ross Brouse and Jason Silverglate.

Ross and Jason’s success can be traced back to their firsthand knowledge of what can happen when what you believe to be a solid business relationship goes off the rails.

A Bond Over Emerging Tech

The two met in 2000. Bonding over a passion for emerging technologies and business, they slowly built trust in each other. At first, Ross did web design for Jason, and Jason provided web hosting for Ross.

“I met this kid in a graphic design class in college, and he said, ‘Hey! We’re starting a graphic design firm. You should come with us. We’ll give you a 5% stake in the company!'”

“With an offer in hand I decided to do it,”  recalled Ross. “I was naive about how things really worked. When the company started to have financial difficulties, I was convinced to sign my shares over until things were made more stable. Needless to say, I never saw those shares again.”

When the graphic design firm went under, Jason hired Ross as a developer and graphic designer.

“Ross needed a steady paycheck, and I needed the continuity his expertise would provide,” Jason said. “Plus, I liked him. I trusted his work.”

Fast forward to 2004, and Ross knew he was ready to own a business. He approached Jason about becoming partners: “I told him, ‘You know you could grow this thing a whole lot bigger if you had a partner,’” Ross recalled. But, Jason was wary. What Ross couldn’t know was Jason had been burned by a business partner before.

Fool Me Once…

It was way back in 1984 that Jason became interested in tech. Learning the ins and outs on a computer his father gave him when he was five, Jason became well-versed through doing…so much so that by the age of 16, he’d started his first computer business. Just three years later, Jason launched a web hosting company with a business partner he believed he could trust.

“We had venture capitalists (VC) who wanted to put money into our company, but my dad, who was an entrepreneur and shrewd businessman, grilled the guy on the terms,” Jason explained. “The VC convinced my partner to leave me to do business with him alone. My partner disappeared, started his own company, and took some of my largest clients.”

Not yet over the betrayal, Jason turned Ross down. But Ross’ own experience was also in play. When he was ten, Ross witnessed his parents, both teachers, being forced to sell everything of value to keep their home after both were wrongfully fired. 

“My parents lost everything because of unfair and terrible treatment by their employers,” Ross said. “I never wanted to be in that position. While I respected Jason, I needed to be in control of my own destiny, my own company.” 

Building Trust

Ross launched a virtualization company, putting him in direct competition with Jason. Despite competing for the same clients, Jason and Ross continued their work together—attending conferences, working on projects, and even starting a small venture.

They recognized they had the commitment, communication, and cooperation to be successful together. This time, it was Jason who suggested the partnership. “There was just more comfort and trust,” Jason said. “I finally said, ‘Ross, let’s roll our companies into one.’” Just like that, Continuous Networks was born.

Ross and Jason grew their IT business in the New York Metro area. Early adopters of cloud technology, they built their first data center and provided cloud services for clients in 100 countries, years before Amazon AWS or Microsoft Azure were well known.

David Meet Goliath

In 2012, they began to notice big Amazon-type companies eating up businesses like theirs. In a bid to remain competitive, the partners transitioned the business to focus on managed and co-managed IT services.

The move paid off. Continuous Networks began to thrive. Not only did Ross and Jason reach their business goals, but they also found their niche: revealing the black hole of technology spending—The IT Money Suck—and how to address it. 

But as their client list grew in managed services, two monster-sized vendor partners turned nasty, seeing Continuous Networks as a new and unwelcomed competitor. Working 18-hour days, seven days a week became the norm as their little company took on their behemoth vendor partners head-on.

“We had one partner for a data center who put the screws to us,” Ross said. “We had to move an entire data center of thousands of servers, in 45 days, with only twenty people. The tactical planning alone was astronomical, but our entire team came together, and we succeeded.”

While both Ross and Jason had experienced terrible partnerships before, they’d never seen it this bad. “There was a period of three to six months where Jason and I seriously considered throwing in the towel,” Ross recalled. “But we kept at it. We weren’t going to let some bad partners define our destiny.”

Persevering, they fought the multi-billion-dollar companies and emerged victorious. But, the experience left them evaluating what was important, and how they wanted to do business moving forward. Doubling down on long-term, high-quality, and strategic relationships, the team created prosperity and growth, not only for themselves but for their clients. With this new direction, Continuous Networks’ clients flourished like never before.

Today, Continuous Networks works with healthcare, construction, and manufacturing companies in New York, New Jersey, and around the country to stop the IT Money Suck and protect the bottom line.

Client Results In 90 Days. Period. 

About a year before COVID, Continuous Networks launched their Continuous Threat Check, a diagnostic process that exposes hidden points where otherwise good IT decisions end up costing you more than you realize.

The service has been a smashing success, helping more than 200 businesses stop the IT Money Suck from encroaching on their margins. It’s why Continuous Networks claims to be the only IT company that protects your bottom line. With a 98.86% customer satisfaction rating, it’s safe to say, that promise rings true.  

“We look for ways to close gaps and alleviate existing business frustrations,” Ross explained. “We terminate vulnerabilities, get rid of unseen inefficiencies, and stamp out excess spend so our clients can make smarter technology decisions that not only support their business goals…they ACHIEVE them.”

Together, We’re Better

Despite their past experiences, Ross and Jason have proven to be ideal business partners. “I joke that quitting was the best decision I ever made,” Ross said. “But kidding aside, it’s because we’ve both experienced bad partnerships that we understand the value of a good partner. Together, we’re better. It’s the same thing with our clients. We’re able to deliver the results we do because of the trust we hold in all our partnerships. It’s why our goal is to inspire each other to live a proactive life. It’s not just what we do in business. It’s what we do in everything.”

For more information on Continuous Networks and the Continuous Threat Check visit www.continuous.net.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MSP Success Magazine is a print and digital publication dedicated to helping the CEOs and owners of managed IT services businesses build strong, profitable, growth-oriented businesses. Written and published by Robin Robins, founder of Technology Marketing Toolkit, this magazine is uniquely focused on the topics of marketing, client-acquisition, sales, profitability, leadership and personal development.

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