(This is part of a regular series of technical advisor CEO Spotlights, where leading TAs share their secrets for success and goals for the future).
According to Complete Communications president Blake Darling, success as a tech advisor (TA) is mainly about growing relationships. Plus years of hard work. And patience.
“The faster you can add value, the faster you will win customers,” Darling said. “This is harder and takes longer than you think, but it is better and more rewarding than you can imagine.”
Darling founded Complete Communications in 2002 after beginning his career at XO Communications. He built Complete around aligning strategy, cost optimization, and execution, helping organizations uncover significant savings that can be reinvested into network transformation, cloud, and AI initiatives. After Bridgepointe made a strategy investment in Complete Communications in 2025, Darling also became a Bridgepointe partner.
In April, Darling was named a Channel Partners Tech Advisor (TA) Thought Leader. Peers cite his ability to help customers fund modernization efforts such as SD-WAN, cloud connectivity, and AI readiness with little to no disruption. We caught up with him for his insights on starting and scaling a successful TA practice.
What inspired you to start or lead your company, and what is your company’s mission?
Darling: My first day at XO I met the channel manager and I told him ‘Well, we will see you in a year.’ I learned the business and learned there is a better way to support customers and bounced. It has been a wild ride. I think our specialty is providing ROI and viability to customers so they can make educated decisions that enable them to purchase the best technology for their IT organization. We also want to provide top notch support and service to our customers.
How big is your company now headcount-wise, and who are your main technology partners?
Darling: Since we were purchased by Bridgepointe a year or so ago, our size is their size. This enables us to scale and have that conversation differently now that there are more than 15 people.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges in your industry over the next five years?
Darling: Opportunities: Stay the course. Don’t get outside of your swim lane as you introduce new solutions and offerings. Ask how they complement and build your core offerings. I think the threat is also an opportunity as well. How do you leverage AI as a competitive advantage? The velocity of data and information will crush you or you can ride the wave. When you say AI, it is such a big thing to talk about. We are seeing how it helps us support and bring new customers.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs or leaders in the tech space?
Darling: No matter how you slice it, this is a relationship business. How do you build and grow relationships? What value can you add to your relationships? The faster you can add value the faster you will win customers. This is harder and takes longer than you think, but it is better and more rewarding than you can imagine.
What’s next for your company? Are there any exciting projects or initiatives you’d like to share with our audience?
Darling: Next for us is building additional partnerships and growing existing ones. We want to build additional capabilities but make sure they support our core offerings. A couple of years ago we took on a different swim lane and it didn’t support our core offering, which made it difficult for us to deliver to the supplier and we had no scale.
Blake Darling
What do most people misunderstand about building a sustainable business in the advisor channel?
Darling: The time it takes to make a sale and to actually get paid can be around three months to three years depending on the customer buying cycle. Another thing that vendors and suppliers/direct sellers don’t understand is that we don't just show up and get a deal done. That relationship has been being cultivated for years and years which makes it possible for us to “roll in” and get a deal done.
Where do TAs risk losing credibility with buyers today?
Darling: Maintaining relevance and when a customer looks to a vendor or subject matter expert, you’d better know more than the customer. Bridgepointe provided that for us so we didn’t have to build that out for ourselves. Adding their view from hundreds of deals to my deals brings significant value.
If you were starting today, what would you do differently and what would you do exactly the same?
Darling: What would I do different? I think it is all part of the journey. We are where we are based on the mistakes as well as the successes. We never would have been where we are if we didn’t come from where we came from.
I think it is important to lean into strategic providers that align with your business philosophy and outcome so you can lean together to create something better.