Author

Patrick Clements

Co-founder and CEO, SherpaDesk

Patrick co-founded SherpaDesk and has led it as CEO since 2013. He has worked with IT service providers since 1998, first on network projects for schools and government offices, then on the help desk software their technicians use every day.

Portrait of Patrick Clements
Role
Co-founder and CEO
Company
SherpaDesk
Based in
San Francisco, California
In IT services since
1998
Education
BBA in Marketing, University of Georgia
Writing here since
2013
Articles
85

About Patrick

Patrick graduated from the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business with a marketing degree in 1997. A year later he joined Micajah ITS, the Atlanta network consultancy founded by his future partner Jon, and ran business development for its network projects with government organizations and with schools getting online through E-rate funding.

In 1999 Patrick and Jon co-founded bigWebApps in a basement in Atlanta. Its first help desk, BigWebDesk, was built for IT consultants serving K-12 schools and colleges, to cut response times, onsite visits and ticket escalations. It grew into SherpaDesk, which Patrick has run as CEO since January 2013.

In 2007 the company lost most of its development contracts in the recession. Patrick cut staff and gave up a new office lease in downtown Atlanta to keep the business alive. He still runs SherpaDesk on the same rule: take risks, but never bet the company.

Outside SherpaDesk, Patrick is a member of the Technology Executive Roundtable and serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations.

On this blog he writes about the parts of IT service work that rarely make a product page: hiring the first tier 1 technician, saying no to an executive who wants a security exception, building a support team, and billing for managed services. His writing on entrepreneurship has also appeared in AllBusiness.

The road to SherpaDesk

Since 1998: from network projects for schools to the help desk software MSPs and IT teams run on.

  1. University of Georgia

    BBA in Marketing from the Terry College of Business.

  2. Micajah ITS

    Business development at an Atlanta network consultancy serving government organizations and E-rate funded schools.

  3. bigWebApps

    Co-founds bigWebApps with Jon. Its first help desk, BigWebDesk, serves IT consultants to K-12 schools and colleges.

  4. Surviving the recession

    Loses most development contracts, cuts back and keeps the company running.

  5. Writing for founders

    Publishes "6 Valuable Lessons Every Entrepreneur Needs to Learn to Succeed" in AllBusiness.

  6. SherpaDesk launches

    Becomes co-founder and CEO as the help desk platform launches as SherpaDesk.

  7. Venture Atlanta and Intuit

    SherpaDesk is selected to present at Venture Atlanta and partners with Intuit on QuickBooks.

  8. Ask Our CEO

    Starts answering questions from IT and MSP professionals, including threads from r/MSP.

  9. Leading SherpaDesk

    SherpaDesk adds Smart Contracts and its first AI agent, CoPilot.

All articles by Patrick · page 6

85 articles, newest first
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Top Tip For Entrepreneurs

Top Tip For Entrepreneurs: Always Be Learning. Learn as Much as You Can From Whoever You Can. Here's how.

Patrick ClementsMar 15, 20184 min read
Network Administrators Love Ethical  Hackers

Why you need a hacker in order to protect your small business.

Patrick ClementsOct 18, 20177 min read
Kickstart Your Small Business Into Success with a Professional Service Automation Solution

Push Your Small Business Startup Into Success with a Professional Service Automation software solution from SherpaDesk.

Patrick ClementsOct 10, 20173 min read
The Ticket Trick Hack

SherpaDesk shows you how to protect your small business from the help desk ticket trick hack.

Patrick ClementsSep 28, 20175 min read
Our Business Journey from Flat-Line Hell to Better Business Heaven

Our team reflects on struggling effectiveness and growth. Here is what we learned and how we have grown.

Patrick ClementsApr 3, 20175 min read
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Why and How to Measure Your MSP Business

Check out our SherpaDesk infographic, “How to Measure Your MSP Business.” In it, we share the core areas of your MSP business that need extra attention.

Patrick ClementsNov 11, 20152 min read
Customer Spotlight: Matt Cabanas - A Team of One

SherpaDesk spotlights our customer, Matt Cabanas, and shares how he succeeds as IT Manager at The Link Companies in Atlanta.

Patrick ClementsOct 29, 20153 min read
6 Ways to Build a Winning Help Desk

SherpaDesk offers up six ways to build a winning help desk for MSPs and IT service providers.

Patrick ClementsOct 14, 20151 min read
Simplify Your Business in 5 Steps - an MSP Infographic

SherpaDesk provides five steps to simplifying core tasks in business specifically developed for MSPs and IT service providers.

Patrick ClementsOct 5, 20151 min read
SherpaDesk Selected to Present at Venture Atlanta 2015

SherpaDesk is chosen to present its MSP and IT customer management solution at Venture Atlanta 2015.

Patrick ClementsSep 24, 20152 min read
Where did PSA Software Originate
SherpaDesk Announces a New Partnership with Intuit.

SherpaDesk's time tracking solution and help desk solution is now available on the Intuit App network.

Patrick ClementsApr 23, 20152 min read
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Wake Up Bill Gates, Window 8 Just Got a New Help Desk

SherpaDesk became the first IT support and customer management app on the Windows 8 marketplace. A simple ZenDesk alternative built for small teams.

Patrick ClementsNov 17, 20142 min read
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Junior Engineer Gets Caught with His Pants Down

Why event logging and time stamping matter in customer support - how they keep accountability across the life cycle of a request and back you up in disputes.

Patrick ClementsOct 9, 20141 min read