‘One of the biggest things MSPs keep asking us for is more leads. So we built AI-driven workflows that help identify ideal customer profiles, guide prospecting activities and make it easier to start qualified conversations. We want MSPs to have a framework that helps them understand where they are in the client journey and what they should do next,’ says Brad Powell, co-founder and CRO of ThreatCaptain.
ThreatCaptain’s shift from cybersecurity awareness training to a “full revenue engine” for MSPs came down to one pain point: MSPs know security, but they often struggle to sell its business value.
Co-founders Adam Anderson and Brad Powell have spent the last several years evolving from a risk assessment and business consulting platform into a sales and marketing-focused solution to help MSPs generate leads, improve client conversations, close larger deals and retain customers. And they’ve already seen 70 percent growth this year, according to Powell, chief revenue officer at the company.
The Greenville, South Carolina-based company’s evolved strategy is to help MSPs ditch the tech jargon and sell cybersecurity in business terms, especially financial impact.
“We were running executive business roundtables and delivering these huge reports on cybersecurity and business risk, but we kept hearing the same thing over and over,” Powell (pictured) told CRN. “Everybody loved the content, but what they really focused on was the financial impact algorithm we were using. They wanted to know how bad a breach could be for their business, what the likelihood was and what their residual risk looked like. That’s what resonated.”
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After seeing repeated demand, ThreatCaptain shifted its focus from consulting to software.
“Adam and I looked at each other and said, ‘We need to build this specifically for MSPs,’” he said. “The opportunity was helping them have better business conversations around cybersecurity instead of getting stuck in technical discussions that go over a business owner’s head.
“We’ve come to realize that we’re not really competing with security vendors,” Powell added. “We’re built for sales and marketing. We help MSPs bring business and financial context into cybersecurity conversations from the very first prospecting discussion all the way through renewals and QBRs. That’s really the category we sit in.”
Company CEO Anderson said these conversations not only translate cyber risk into financial risk, they also translate financial risk back into language MSPs understand.
“The MSP gets an ‘aha’ moment because they finally understand the value of what they’re selling,” he told CRN. “The customer gets an ‘aha’ moment because they understand what’s actually at stake. Once both sides understand that, sales and marketing become measurable.”
The vendor is also betting heavily on AI as it builds the next generation of its platform. This week the company launched its Gen IV Revenue Engine, a platform built around a “Find. Win. Grow.” framework.
The platform helps MSPs find new opportunities with AI-powered prospecting and lead generation translates cyber risk into financial impact through business risk assessments, executive reporting, proposal generation and cyber financial impact analysis. It also helps MSPs track risk, build service roadmaps, support QBRs and uncover new revenue opportunities. Early access is open now, with the full Gen IV launch planned for August.
“One of the biggest things MSPs keep asking us for is more leads,” Powell said. “So we built AI-driven workflows that help identify ideal customer profiles, guide prospecting activities and make it easier to start qualified conversations. We want MSPs to have a framework that helps them understand where they are in the client journey and what they should do next.”
Anderson said the platform’s AI capabilities focus less on replacing salespeople and more on helping them have better conversations.
“The biggest impact AI will have on cybersecurity sales is helping MSPs qualify customers and understand them better,” he said. “There are going to be great products and great automation tools, but the real value comes when AI helps both the customer and the MSP make better decisions. Better conversations are where the value is.”
For Hampton Cokeley, CEO of Hurricane, West Virginia-based MSP Netranom, the value of ThreatCaptain became clear the moment conversations started changing.
“ThreatCaptain isn’t just a tool for Netranom, it is a partnership,” Cokeley told CRN. “It forecasts business risks for clients and prospects, consistently leading to better boardroom conversations. Once the conversation shifts from speeds and feeds to an executive’s risk tolerance, we know we have their ear.”
Framework IT President Adam Barney saw a similar transformation. After adopting ThreatCaptain in late 2025, his team found a better way to connect with business leaders.
“Our sales team uses ThreatCaptain to quantify a prospect’s risk in dollars, which is easier for non-technical stakeholders to understand,” Barney told CRN. “”We started using ThreatCaptain in Q4 of 2025 and it has been essential in helping us close $69,000 of net new MSP MRR to date.
Instead of leading with products and features, Chicago-based Framework IT starts with business risk by showing clients the financial impact of vulnerabilities.
“Once prospects finish our proposal presentation, they walk away knowing how our managed IT services will help them decrease the likelihood of a data breach, and that risk reduction is quantified in dollars,” he said. “As a result, the prospects are more informed of the value of our services because we’re able to communicate that value using language and data that makes sense to them as business leaders, not just another MSP selling at them and hoping for the best.”
