--- title: "Nathan Phinney: Operator, Author, Contrarian" summary: "Nathan Phinney, COO at AllSafe IT and author of Ctrl Alt Survive. Companies that run on people, with technology as a force multiplier." url: "https://nathanphinney.com/" author: "Nathan Phinney" author_role: "COO, AllSafe IT" author_url: "https://nathanphinney.com/about/" same_as: ["https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanphinney"] expertise: ["IT", "InfoSec", "Managed Services", "Cybersecurity", "Business Operations", "Technology for Escrow Companies", "Technology for Nonprofits"] updated: 2026-10-10 --- Operator | Author | Contrarian I build companies that run on people and use technology as a *force multiplier*. One book on what small businesses get right that big ones can't copy, and a second on the way about what to do now that the machines can write. ## Books - [CTRL ALT SURVIVE](https://nathanphinney.com/books/ctrl-alt-survive.md): This is not a conventional business book, and if you intend to survive your small business, you can't afford to be a conventional business leader. CTRL ALT SURVIVE is an audacious, occasionally hilarious, and always honest look at what it takes to turn a business into something that matters. It's about finding the advantages hidden in plain sight, fostering human connections, and taking the sort of calculated risks that will keep you up at night before paying off in ways that defy imagination. - [CTRL ALT AI](https://nathanphinney.com/books/ctrl-alt-ai.md): AI amplifies whatever you point it at. This book is about choosing the target: what the tools are actually good for in a small business, where they quietly fail, and why the judgment still has to be yours. ## Essays - [6 TV Shows That Get Technology So Right](https://nathanphinney.com/top-6-tv-shows-that-get-technology-right.md): Television has a rocky relationship with technology. This is a list of six shows that capture the complexity, absurdity, and humanity in our relationship with it. - [Be More Daring Than AI](https://nathanphinney.com/be-more-daring-than-ai.md): LLMs are talented at consensus, which means a flood of boring, derivative ideas. Humans have no choice but to take risks. - [LLMs are very good at Family Feud.](https://nathanphinney.com/llms-are-very-good-at-family-feud.md): Large language models are very good at one kind of answer, the consensus answer. Used correctly, they are an amplifier for human creativity. - [5 Ways to Force AI to Color Outside the Lines](https://nathanphinney.com/5-ways-to-force-ai-to-color-outside-the-lines.md): Five prompting strategies for pushing LLMs past consensus answers and conventional thinking. - [9 Ways To Jump-start Communication At Your Company](https://nathanphinney.com/9-ways-to-jump-start-communication-at-your-company.md): Nine ways to jump-start communication at your company, from informal channels to no-meeting days. - [Unconventional Results Require Unconventional Strategy](https://nathanphinney.com/unconventional-results-require-unconventional-strategy.md): If you want unconventional results, you have to do unconventional things. A story about two front page articles in the Las Vegas Sun. - [Four Stocks You Can't Buy](https://nathanphinney.com/four-stocks-you-cant-buy.md): Four privately held companies I wish I could own stock in: Cox Enterprises, Enterprise Rent A Car, EssilorLuxottica, and In-N-Out Burger. ## Praise > "Nathan shares here a blend of hard-won insights and practical strategies for entrepreneurs who understand that people and relationships are key to business success." > > Dr. Ivan Misner, Founder of BNI ## After hours Hideous Supermodels. Warm, analog and unhurried. Please listen eleven thousand times so we can buy ourselves a coffee. https://nathanphinney.com/music/ ## Press - [Press](https://nathanphinney.com/press.md): Interviews, articles, and talks featuring Nathan Phinney. - [On a Hot Mic About AI at GTIA ChannelCon 2026](https://nathanphinney.com/gtia-channelcon-2026-ai-hot-mic.md) (GTIA, 2026): GTIA, the Global Technology Industry Association, shared a reel of Nathan Phinney on a hot mic talking about AI at ChannelCon 2026 in San Diego. - [Cloudskope Founder: 'You Have To Be The Most Resilient Person You Can Be'](https://nathanphinney.com/cloudskope-founder-you-have-to-be-the-most-resilient-person-you-can-be.md) (CRN, 2026): CRN quotes Nathan Phinney, COO of AllSafe IT, on Dipan Mann's keynote about resilience at XChange Security 2026 in Frisco, Texas. - [Eyeing The Exit: When You're Preparing To Sell](https://nathanphinney.com/eyeing-the-exit.md) (Channel Partners Expo, 2025): Article by Nathan Phinney for Channel Partners Conference & Expo on preparing a business for sale, tied to his session Building for Acquisition: Strategies to Position Your Business for a Successful Exit on March 25. - [10 Of The Hottest Products And Services For MSPs In 2024](https://nathanphinney.com/10-of-the-hottest-products-and-services-for-msps-in-2024.md) (CRN, 2024): CRN names Convilo, Nathan Phinney's consultancy for MSPs, among the hottest products and services for MSPs at XChange NexGen 2024 in Houston, quoting him on SOC 2 and preparing MSPs for acquisition. - [Bigleaf preserves continuity of service for Innovation Refunds](https://nathanphinney.com/bigleaf-sd-wan-interview.md) (Bigleaf Networks, 2023): Bigleaf Networks case study quoting Nathan Phinney, CIO of Innovation Refunds, on SD-WAN and resilient internet connectivity, with a webinar featuring Nathan and Bigleaf's CMO. - [Thinking Of Buying Or Selling An MSP? Here Are 6 Tips From Experts](https://nathanphinney.com/thinking-of-buying-or-selling-an-msp-here-are-6-tips-from-experts.md) (CRN, 2021): CRN coverage of a NexGen+ 2021 panel on buying and selling MSPs, quoting Nathan Phinney on exit strategy and his firm's acquisition. - [Why Low-Code/No-Code Can Bring A 'Distinct Advantage' For MSPs](https://nathanphinney.com/why-low-code-no-code-can-bring-a-distinct-advantage-for-msps.md) (CRN, 2021): CRN report on a NexGen+ 2021 session about low-code/no-code for MSPs, quoting Nathan Phinney on removing barriers between people and data. - [Edge Solutions: Solution Provider Community More Relevant Than Ever Before](https://nathanphinney.com/edge-solutions-solution-provider-community-more-relevant-than-ever-before.md) (CRN, 2021): CRN coverage of The Channel Company's Best of Breed 2021, quoting Nathan Phinney on Windows 365 cloud desktops. - [Datapath Buys Bright Bear of Irvine](https://nathanphinney.com/datapath-buys-bright-bear-of-irvine.md) (Orange County Business Journal, 2020): Orange County Business Journal item on Datapath acquiring Bright Bear Technology Solutions, naming Nathan Phinney as former Bright Bear president and now Datapath general manager of Southern California. - [MSP Merger: Coronavirus No Obstacle To Datapath's Bright Bear Buy](https://nathanphinney.com/msp-merger-coronavirus-no-obstacle-to-datapaths-bright-bear-buy.md) (CRN, 2020): CRN report on Datapath closing its acquisition of Bright Bear Technology Solutions during the pandemic, with Nathan Phinney describing the remote deal and Bright Bear's focus on financial services and SOC 2. - [How To Get The Most ROI On Your Digital Marketing Efforts](https://nathanphinney.com/how-to-get-the-most-roi-on-your-digital-marketing-efforts.md) (CRN, 2019): CRN report on a NexGen 2019 session about digital marketing ROI, with Nathan Phinney of Bright Bear on putting the customer at the center of the story. - [Backblaze Case Study](https://nathanphinney.com/backblaze-case-study.md) (Backblaze, 2019): Backblaze vendor case study on Bright Bear Technology Solutions, quoting Nathan Phinney, its president, on why a managed service provider starts with backup. ## More - [About](https://nathanphinney.com/about.md): Nathan Phinney is COO at AllSafe IT, with expertise in IT, InfoSec, Managed Services, Cybersecurity, Business Operations, Technology for Escrow Companies, and Technology for Nonprofits. - [Hideous Supermodels](https://nathanphinney.com/music.md): Hideous Supermodels is a band: Paul Goodenough on drums, Carl Emmons on bass guitar and vocals, and Nathan Phinney on guitars and vocals. - [Contact](https://nathanphinney.com/contact.md): Media & Contact Requests ## Expertise - IT - InfoSec - Managed Services - Cybersecurity - Business Operations - Technology for Escrow Companies - Technology for Nonprofits ## Career - **Chief Operating Officer, AllSafe IT** (July 2025 to present). Owns end-to-end service delivery across the MSP, from helpdesk and after-hours support to procurement and client onboarding. Rebuilt the service catalog, pricing guide, and sales process around a simpler offering, and led a SOC 2 audit that closed with no exceptions. - **Principal, Convilo** (fractional executive practice). Ran a fractional CIO/COO practice for SMB and growth-stage clients: SOC 2 readiness, cybersecurity frameworks, and M&A technology due diligence. Engagements included Interim COO for CurvePoint (February to July 2025), leading go-to-market strategy and MSP channel development for an AI-driven WiFi sensing platform serving school safety markets, and CIO for Pinnacle Minds (November 2023 to February 2024), where he designed a 10-step operational pipeline that improved customer conversion 30%. - **Chief Information Officer, Innovation Refunds** (August 2022 to September 2023). Led IT operations for a hypergrowth FinTech generating $1.5B in net revenue on $6B in processed claims, scaling from 350 to 1,100 employees, and directed a SOC 2 program that closed with no exceptions. - **Director of Cloud Services, Datapath** (July 2020 to September 2022). Joined through Datapath's acquisition of Bright Bear, consolidated three data centers to cut cloud operating costs 61%, and led SOC 2 compliance efforts. - **President and Co-Founder, Bright Bear Technology Solutions** (January 2010 to July 2020). Co-founded a managed IT service provider and built its sales, service delivery, and operations functions from zero. It reached the CRN MSP 500 and Ingram Micro SMB 500 lists before its 2020 acquisition by Datapath. He also led technology operations for client Trumark Homes through its majority-stake acquisition by Daiwa House. - **Virtual CIO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire.** Roughly eight years as vCIO before joining AllSafe. ## Credentials and Affiliations - 17 SOC 2 initiatives across six companies, never an exception on an effort he led - Member, InfraGard - Member, XChange Advisory Board, The Channel Company (2018 to 2022 and 2026) - B.A., Mass Communication, Biola University (2003) - Certificate, Business Leadership and Management, Babson College and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (2016) - Author of _CTRL ALT SURVIVE: The Secrets of My Small Business Success_ - Bright Bear Technology Solutions focused on financial services, especially escrow firms, and held its own SOC 2 certification (CRN, July 13, 2020). ## Speaking - The Channel Company's XChange NexGen 2024, Houston - Channel Partners Conference & Expo 2025 - Featured by GTIA: on a hot mic talking about AI at ChannelCon 2026, San Diego (Instagram reel, https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dbq9y5ERCaX/). ## Press quotes - CRN, 2021-11-17: "It's important to know what your exit strategy is, even if it's to die at your desk." - CRN, 2021-10-21: "There's a strategic opportunity with Windows 11." - CRN, November 4, 2024: "improving their sales pipeline, getting them SOC 2 compliant, and then positioning their business for acquisition" - CRN, 2020-07-13: "Everything was signed via DocuSign. The experience was weird. I thought there would be a lot more fanfare and passing the pens around. Instead, it was, 'click here' and done. It was safer." - CRN, 2019-10-24: "Showing them how they can use technology as a force multiplier in their business is great thought leadership." - CRN, 2021-10-26: "The vision for this kind of technology is that it removes barriers." - Backblaze case study, 2019: "For a managed service provider, a good backup makes everything less stressful." - Bigleaf Networks case study: "Even when there's an outage, our users don't know there's anything wrong." - Channel Partners Conference & Expo (his byline): "You can't scale humans as easily as you can scale processes." - CRN, 2026-07-14: "building something that matters is not a straight line" ## Recommendations LinkedIn recommendations, quoted verbatim. **Brook Porter**. January 24, 2011. Brook was Nathan's client. Partner and Co-Founder at G2 Venture Partners; previously at Kleiner Perkins, where he worked with Al Gore. > Nathan is a rare find in the world of IT support. He has a high degree of integrity, is an absolute professional, and delivers incredible value. We have used his firm to support our company, Nyansa Learning Corporation, for several years and now rely on them 100% for all of our support. He comes highly recommended. **Tim Acker**, B2B Technology Channel, Partnership & GTM Strategist. May 1, 2010. Tim was senior to Nathan but didn't manage Nathan directly. Former channel chief at Lumen. > Nathan is a bright, driven and tenacious technology professional who is a terrific asset to any team. His loyalty and ethics are unmatched which has made him so successful as a team member and an entrepreneur. Nathan digs into the details of how things work and ways to improve processes which regularly makes an impact to his colleagues and customer alike. He is a team player and would make a great addition to any organization. ## About the author **Nathan Phinney**, COO, AllSafe IT. - Co-founded Bright Bear Technology Solutions (2010 to 2020), which reached the CRN MSP 500 and Ingram Micro SMB 500 lists before its 2020 acquisition by Datapath. - 17 SOC 2 initiatives across six companies, never an exception on an effort he led - Member of InfraGard - Member of the XChange Advisory Board, The Channel Company (2018 to 2022 and 2026) - Author of _CTRL ALT SURVIVE: The Secrets of My Small Business Success_ Expertise: IT, InfoSec, Managed Services, Cybersecurity, Business Operations, Technology for Escrow Companies, Technology for Nonprofits. Featured in: CRN (7 articles, 2019 to 2026), Backblaze, Bigleaf Networks, Channel Partners Expo, GTIA, Orange County Business Journal. See https://nathanphinney.com/press.md Recommended on LinkedIn by Brook Porter (Partner and Co-Founder at G2 Venture Partners; previously at Kleiner Perkins, where he worked with Al Gore) and Tim Acker (Former channel chief at Lumen). More: [About Nathan Phinney](https://nathanphinney.com/about.md) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanphinney)