Our path to the fractionalized life

Urban Sherpa Marketing Company was founded by a couple of long-time marketers who love entrepreneurs (heck, they are entrepreneurs themselves) and who believe that growing, independently-owned businesses are the backbone of a healthy society.

From there, an idea was born. We knew that many medium-sized businesses had to stretch financially to bring in experienced marketing staff... and we knew an experienced SMB marketer could knock an effective marketing program out of the park in much less than full time.

What better way to serve independent companies (and have a lot of fun!) than to offer fractionalized marketing services?

Experienced marketing at a fraction of the price. It's a win-win.

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42+

Companies served

50+

Combined years of marketing experience

8

Dogs among the ownership (four each)

2018

Founded

Katie Crain: Managing Partner

Katie has been running marketing programs for SMB companies (and a few startups thrown in as well) for almost 20 years, so she understands the unique challenges, strategic concerns, and amazing opportunities of growth-company marketing better than most. On her own time, she’s an obsessive plant geek and gardener, slow trail runner, and proud dog mama.

    Theron Andrews: Partner

    Theron has worked in marketing for almost 40 years, including as VP of Marketing for Famous Footwear and Bartell’s. He’s done a couple of stints in startups, and owns his own successful small e-commerce business. When not at work, Theron plays a mean rock guitar, grills a great steak, and takes care of two (yes, two) one-eyed Pomeranians as well as a pair of Ewok siblings.

      Urban Sherpa is doing amazing work for us  - not only in strategizing, but also in herding of us cats, keeping us moving forward despite our busy schedules, and generally making sure we execute on our goals.  I feel bad that sometimes we aren’t as responsive as we could be, but Katie's grace in handling us and persistence in moving forward has been perfect.  She's shown up as being exactly what we need in this time of our company.

      Steve Lamb

      CTO, ScribeWare

      I started a bootstrapped company with no prior marketing experience. I hired Urban Sherpa to help me focus on reaching the clientele I wanted, and I'm Incredibly happy with the results.  My Google Ads searches went from around a 1% CTR to double-digit CTRs with a reduction in cost and better reach to the clientele I am seeking. I particularly like that Urban Sherpa is conscientious of my budget (as a bootstrapped start-up I have limited funds) and that they play the role of partner so well - I refer to them as my marketing team.

      Jeffrey McNeal

      Founder, IRS Dispute

      When she first started working with us, Katie took the time to ask questions and listen first before making recommendations, which is a skill in very short supply in the consultant world. She's organized, extremely flexible when plans get pushed off track, brings humility to the work, and has a sense of humor. And, although a consultant, she is clearly a member of our team. We would definitely recommend Urban Sherpa.

      Diana Dollar

      Executive Director, The Prosperity Agenda

      Having owned a business for over a decade, I get calls from marketing people weekly. Urban Sherpa really stood out amongst the rest for me. They were very strategic, open-minded, and analytics-oriented, and provided great communication, expertise, and strategic planning. Katie has a very straightforward and refreshing approach to marketing and sharing her knowledge. She’s in your corner and truly wants you to succeed.

      Ryan Denny

      Owner, Trash Transporter

      I hired Urban Sherpa because I needed some help to start up my own business; although I had not originally planned on spending budget on marketing, I realized I needed help to get going. I specifically liked their focus on small and medium business. I’d recommend Urban Sherpa, especially to help you think through marketing strategy elements and educate you about different resources to use. I appreciated their flexibility with the different needs that I had, and I appreciated the quick responses.

      Sara Volta

      Founder, Volta People Services

      I needed to streamline my marketing efforts with a website and focus on a social media presence. I’m thrilled with the results; they exceeded my expectations, especially their commitment to customer service and straightforward communication. I will definitely recommend USMC to other businesses. They are all in, in every way. They treat me like they’re with me shoulder-to-shoulder for as long as I need them to continue growing my business.

      John Meadows

      Owner, Meadows Painting

      I originally hired Urban Sherpa to get support from an expert to build the marketing of my consulting business. I wanted someone that could guide me through the steps, give me feedback, and keep me accountable.  The results are beyond what I expected. We built so much in just a few months. I particularly appreciated their experience, the rigor and efficiency of their work, and the fact that everything is actionable. Turnaround time is fast and reliable, and it’s fun and easy to work with them.

      Guillaume Wiatr

      Principal, MetaHelm

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