Sherpa, a two-year old local tech company that developed a CRM platform, is moving 20 jobs to St. Louis City as it establishes new headquarters at 3030 Locust in Midtown Alley. Today, the company officially cuts the ribbon to mark its grand opening.

Sherpa is a cloud-based sales conversion tool that works to help seniors navigate the difficult journey of transitioning to a senior housing community. According to a press release, Sherpa’s principals have invested $4.5 million since 2014 in establishing the business, whose CRM solution caters to the senior housing industry. The company reports internal growth of 327 percent over the past 12 months and counts more than 500 senior housing communities as clients.

The company has invested an additional $2 million in the 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.

“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.”

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.

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.

Currently, 20 Sherpa employees occupy the new headquarters; Smith anticipates that they will add another 10 employees during 2017, and expects to add at least 50 more by the end of 2020.