Gregory Gurev Archives

MySherpa

Mike Rocheleau November 6, 2020

Founded: 2002 Generations: Two Employees: 23 Like a mountain guide helping explorers navigate treacherous terrains and weather conditions, Gregory Gurev wants his company, MySherpa, to be an aide for businesses’ […]

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Founded: 2002 Generations: Two Employees: 23 Like a mountain guide helping explorers navigate treacherous terrains and weather conditions, Gregory Gurev wants his company, MySherpa, to be an aide for businesses’ IT support needs on their journey to the summit of their goals. [caption id="attachment_205203" align="alignright" width="521"]

(L-R) Gregory and Patricia Gurev | Photo by Luigi Ciuffetelli[/caption] In 2001, Gurev was working for another company, where he saw the shortcomings of third-party IT support service providers. After his employer closed his Boston office, Gurev decided to start his own company and founded MySherpa in February 2002. While brainstorming names for the company, references to “IT” and “tech” kept popping up but they didn’t quite fit Gurev’s vision of being a “people helping people” business. Eventually, Gurev’s wife, Patricia, suggested they name the company after Sherpas, the indigenous Himalayan people and skilled mountaineers who are sometimes hired as guides for explorers looking to scale the region’s mountains. Similarly, Gurev said that when his company takes on a job, they’re not looking to just make a quick buck; they make sure the job is done right. “Yes, you want to have them spend money with you, but you also want to do it in a way that you can get great results and not just collect the check after it's done,” Gurev said. “You want to have the project actually be a huge success.” Gurev is the first-generation founder of his family business, while his wife does marketing for the company. Their oldest daughter, Cassidy, has also done marketing and research for MySherpa. But Gurev said he also sees his staff as his family, whom he has seen get married and raise children. Because of that, he strives to provide strong career opportunities and benefits for staff members and their own families to encourage them to stay with the company for the long term. When the coronavirus pandemic began, Gurev said MySherpa’s staff started working from home about three weeks before most other businesses. The company invested in webcams and updated systems at staff members’ homes to make the transition as smooth as possible. Before the pandemic, Gurev found himself frequently making the rounds in the office to check in on his staff’s progress on various projects. Now that communication is handled remotely, Gurev said he has learned to be a little more hands-off and to trust his team members more. “I think people appreciate that, and it allows us to build out our management structure better,” he said. “We have clear accountability within the company, and people don't have to just think about Greg coming by their desk.”

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