15+ years in F 100 HR & Early Stage Start-Ups · 1,000+ hires · Trusted by founders and executives across industries.
People & culture support for creators and founders building what’s next.
People Foundations
We set up the basics that protect you and your team so you can scale with confidence - not chaos.
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Policies & compliance setup
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Payroll, benefits, and onboarding processes
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Employee relations management
Culture Building
We help you define what matters, how decisions get made, and how your team works together. Culture grows intentionally, not accidentally.
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Purpose driven team building workshops & culture design
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Leadership coaching & team development
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Employee engagement practices that support accountability and trust
Recruiting & Talent
We partner with you to clarify what success looks like, lead the search, and deliver candidates who add long-term value.
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Role scoping tied to business outcomes
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Hiring playbooks & interview training
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Targeted recruiting for key roles
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
We don’t believe in check-the-box DEI. We help you build teams that reflect your values, strengthen your business, and stand the test of growth.
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Inclusive hiring and interview practices
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Team norms that promote belonging and psychological safety
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Leader coaching to build inclusive management habits
The Team
We built Sheprd Group after seeing the same challenge show up again and again.
Founders and creators are incredible at building products, communities, and brands but they’re often left to figure out hiring, culture, and people decisions on their own. We’ve seen this firsthand through our own work, our partnerships, and our personal lives.
We're a small firm by design. Every client engagement is led directly by one of us, not handed off to a junior associate or templated by a project manager. When you work with Sheprd Group, you're in the room with senior practitioners who have done this work at the highest levels, still do it today, and genuinely care about where your team ends up.
Dr. Gabriela Valverde
Gabriela is a people and culture leader, educator, and researcher with over 15 years of experience partnering with startups and Fortune 100 companies to build high-performing teams.
She has worked closely with founders and senior executives to design talent strategies, scale organizations, and create cultures that drive strong, sustainable business results. Through Sheprd Group, Gabriela brings enterprise-level people expertise to creators and early-stage teams in a practical, human-centered way.
Jackson Shoaff-Bembry
Jackson is a recruitment leader and strategic advisor with over a decade of experience helping some of the fastest-growing brands scale thoughtfully and strategically in new and evolving markets.
He partners closely with founders, executives, and creators across industries to design talent strategies that drive growth and long-term value. With a people-first, business-minded approach, Jackson helps organizations uncover opportunities to strengthen their teams in ways they didn’t know they needed—bridging talent, culture, and strategy for meaningful impact.
Our Impact
Across our careers, we’ve partnered with startups and Fortune 500 companies, working closely with founders and executives to build teams, design talent strategies, and create cultures that drive results.
30yrs+
Supporting growing teams and leaders
1000 +
Employees hired, onboarded, or supported
100
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Teams scaled with clarity, intention, and trust
Our team's careers have included experience at
This is where the work actually matters.
Why Founders & Creators?
Large organizations have entire departments dedicated to getting people decisions right. Founders have a calendar full of competing priorities and usually no one in the room who's done this before.
The stakes are higher at the early stage. A wrong hire in a 5-person company doesn't dilute, it dominates. A culture that forms accidentally at 10 people is exponentially harder to reshape at 50. A compliance gap ignored in year one can cost you the company in year three.
We also know that many of the founders and creators building the most exciting things right now don't always look like the typical client a big consulting firm is used to serving. We built Sheprd Group to be the firm that shows up for all of them, with the same energy, the same depth, and zero condescension.
Let's Figure Out What Your Team Actually Needs - Together
Book a free 30-minute consulting session. We'll listen, ask the right questions, and tell you clearly what we think would help most. No pitch, no pressure, just an honest conversation with people who've done this work at the highest levels.