Sherpa, a two-year old local tech company that has developed a market-disrupting alternative to traditional customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, is bringing 20 jobs to the City of St. Louis as it establishes new headquarters at 3030 Locust in the heart of Midtown Alley. And while they officially cut the ribbon to mark their grand opening on November 7, that significant milestone is already eclipsed by the tremendous growth trajectory that this home-grown company is on.
Since 2014, company principals have invested $4.5 million in establishing the business, which has quickly become a recognized leader in the senior housing industry due to an innovative sales approach that joins empathy with cutting edge technology. With internal growth of 327 percent over the past 12 months, and enough clients now using Sherpa for the company to be turning a profit, Sherpa has invested an additional $2 million in a dramatically renovated 9,000 square-foot office space. As the company prepares for substantial growth, with 50+ additional hires expected in the next five years, the investment and overall company philosophy is aimed at attracting the tech-savvy talent needed by creating an environment that gives existing and future coders a unique creative outlet that fosters empathetic connections with the individuals ultimately served by Sherpa.
Co-founders David Smith and Alexandra Fisher have leveraged their combined decades of experience and innovation in the senior housing industry to pioneer both Prospect-Centered SellingSM, an evidence-based selling style, and to create Sherpa as a practical, cloud-based sales conversion tool. It is aptly named for the role its proprietary software plays in helping to guide seniors through the difficult journey of transitioning to a senior housing community.
“While traditional CRM platforms simply gather and store data, track progress towards quotas, and count tasks, Sherpa takes a dramatically different approach focused on building relationships,” notes Adam Levinson, Sherpa’s chief technology officer. “Our software helps to inspire and motivate users to connect with their prospects by developing holistic pictures of their prospects’ lives, routines, and preferences. This CRM addresses the emotional realities of the customer, while also measuring innovative sales metrics linked with increased conversion ratios. Ultimately, users attain a more motivated sales team, reductions in lead generation costs and quickly fill their communities with happy residents.”
Sherpa co-founder Smith notes, “Sherpa now counts more than 500 senior housing communities as clients, and their combined 2,000 sales people are using Sherpa’s unique platform to empathetically connect with senior prospects in an entirely new way.”
Starting with the senior housing industry was a logical choice for Sherpa given the founders’ background. Smith is co-owner and manager of The Gatesworth Communities that have been using prospect-centered approach for nearly 30 years. However, since Sherpa’ patent-pending case study format and work flows are grounded in the psychology of change, it is well positioned to expand the core functionality into other markets where decision-making process usually starts with some emotional resistance, such as: charitable fundraising, smoking cessation, home health care, high end resorts & spas, broker-to-dealer transactions and more.
Co-founder Fisher, who serves as the company’s president and chief creative officer, notes the space Sherpa’s workforce is being housed in also will play a factor in the company’s continued success.
“As we continue to grow, we want to attract the most talented, creative IT professionals who are looking for a career option that provides a deeper emotional connection and would rather find it here than having to move to either coast, and that’s why we were very deliberate in choosing not only the location for the our new headquarters here in Midtown Alley, but also in planning and executing the renovation of the building,” said Fisher. “This space is part of the culture of empathy and effectiveness, and we believe that it’s the kind of space that will enable us to attract, inspire and retain the right people.”
To make sure they got it right, Sherpa teamed up with architect and developer Jassen Johnson, who has led the $70 million redevelopment of almost 46 buildings in the historic Midtown Alley neighborhood, which encompasses a nearly one-mile section of Locust and Olive streets between Theresa Avenue to the west and Leffingwell to the east.
Of the 20 Sherpa employees now calling the new space home, one is originally from Italy; one from Argentina; two from Arizona; one from Orlando; one from Seattle; and one will be moving here from North Carolina. Smith anticipates that they will add another 10 employees during 2017, and fully expects to add at least 50 more by the end of 2020.
About Sherpa
Launched in 2014, Sherpa’s cloud-based SaaS platform helps foster better discovery and emotional connections with prospects, all while tracking innovative sales metrics. The company is based in St. Louis, Mo., and serves clients in 30 states across the US, as well as in Canada and Romania.
About Midtown Alley
Wedged between Downtown and Grand Center, Midtown Alley is one of St. Louis’ hottest neighborhoods. The residential and commercial district stretches along Olive Street, Locust Street and Washington Avenue for seven blocks between Theresa Avenue and Leffingwell Avenue. Midtown Alley is where St. Louis came to buy cars in the early days of the automobile. Between 1911 and 1955, a two-and-a-half block strip of Locust was deemed “Automobile Row,” and housed dozens of car distributors, dealerships, and service stations. In 2005 the area was added to the National Register of Historic places by the U.S. National Park Service.
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For more information, contact:
Julie Hauser
(314) 436-9090