In this episode of Channel Insider: Partner POV, host Katie Bavoso sits with Ashley and Ryan Rowland, a dynamic duo in the IT channel space. They are not just business partners but also life partners, having built Adaptiv Advisors and co-founded the Technology Advisor Alliance while raising their family in multiple countries.
Their conversation explores the Rowlands’ approach to business, their emphasis on community, and their adventurous spirit, which led them to live and work abroad in Portugal. Throughout the conversation, the Rowlands share valuable lessons on the importance of collaboration, the challenges of working in a different country, and the dynamics of running a business as a couple.
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What is Adaptiv Advisors?
Ashley and Ryan discuss their business, Adaptiv Advisors, a technology brokerage they started five years ago. Ashley explains that their business helps clients source essential technologies such as telecom, connectivity, cybersecurity, co-location, and more. “It’s small on purpose. We went through a lot of trial and error to figure out what we wanted our business to be. And, you know, it’s really grown organically. And so we’re really lucky to have our business,” says Ashley, emphasizing their deliberate choice to keep the business tightly knit and focused.
This decision allows them to grow organically and maintain strong, personal relationships with their clients, which is a cornerstone of their success. Their method demonstrates that businesses can thrive by prioritizing quality and community over rapid expansion and competition.
The power of community in the channel
Bavoso steers the conversation towards the Technology Advisor Alliance, asking why they decided to build a peer community.
Ryan explains, “The Technology Advisor Alliance is a peer community, strictly a peer group where we can share the intimate details of our business.” This platform was born to create a space free from vendor influence, where advisors could genuinely support one another without fearing competition.
Ashley adds that the alliance was created to address a significant gap in the industry. “There’s a lot of fluff in our industry, a lot of sales pitches. We wanted a place for peers to connect without any sales pitches or bias,” she explains. The Rowlands saw the need for honest, unfiltered conversations where advisors could share strategies and advice without the pressure of a sales agenda.
The initiative challenges the traditional siloed mindset in the technology service and solutions channel, which often discourages advisors from helping one another. Instead, Ryan points out that there’s ample market share, and the actual competition lies outside the channel with larger firms like Accenture.
This focus on community over competition offers critical insight—in a vast market, collaboration often outweighs rivalry, creating opportunities for collective success.
Partnerships with vendors
Bavoso probes further, asking how Adaptiv Advisors differentiates itself in the crowded advisor space and how they select the vendors they recommend. Ryan emphasizes that their best partners are often MSPs and VARs, which have a symbiotic relationship with their firm. “They have their core product set and offering, and we come in to help with the other components outside of their core expertise,” he explains. This approach allows them to complement rather than compete with other providers, enhancing the overall client experience.
Ashley highlights the importance of trust and ease of collaboration with vendors. “The most important thing is, are they going to take care of our customer?” she says. She stresses that marketing claims aren’t enough; vendors need to prove their worth through testimonials and case studies. This insight is essential for vendors looking to strengthen their partnerships with advisors—being trustworthy and easy to work with can make all the difference in a crowded market.
Navigating work-life balance as a business owner
Running a business while maintaining a work-life balance is challenging. Still, the Rowlands have taken it a step further by moving their family to Portugal for 10 months while continuing to manage their business.
Lessons from living abroad
When Bavoso asks why they chose to uproot their lives, Ryan shares that they’ve always been a bit nomadic and wanted to try something entirely different. “Portugal is a beautiful country with beautiful weather,” he says, adding that the country’s digital nomad visa program made the move feasible.
However, living abroad had its challenges. Ashley candidly discusses the difficulty of staying productive when surrounded by the allure of a beautiful beach just outside their window. “It was really hard to work there,” she admits, describing the constant temptation to choose leisure over work. Additionally, the time difference meant they had to adjust their work hours, often holding meetings late at night to accommodate U.S. clients.
The experience taught them valuable lessons about the realities of working abroad. Their advice? “Do it. As long as it’s not going to be financially ruinous to your family like it was hard for us, there were definitely a lot of challenges along the way, but trying to start a new business while traveling in an RV was super hard, too. But yeah, if you overthink it, you can find a million reasons why you shouldn’t do it,” Ryan says. Whether moving abroad or starting a new business, the key is to take the plunge and adapt as you go.
Lessons from working with your spouse
One of the most intriguing aspects of the Rowlands’ story is how they run a business together as a married couple. When Bavoso asks them to share their secret, Ashley emphasizes the importance of communication. “It’s kind of just similar to love,” she says, highlighting that they frequently discuss their differing perspectives and respect each other’s viewpoints. Ryan adds that their different perspectives make them compatible business partners, each bringing unique strengths.
The Rowlands also find that their best business discussions happen away from the desk. “Go on walks and talk about business,” Ashley advises, noting that movement helps them think more clearly and communicate more effectively. This approach allows them to maintain a healthy work-life balance and strengthens their personal and professional partnership.
Their experience teaches entrepreneurs and business owners a valuable lesson: Successful partnerships, whether in business or marriage, require open communication, mutual respect, and, sometimes, a change of scenery to keep ideas flowing.
Tune in to the video or podcast above for more insights from Katie Bavoso and Adaptiv Advisors’ co-founders Ashley and Ryan Rowland — and be sure to like and subscribe for future interviews with solution providers and thought leaders, plus special episodes and opportunities!
