Understanding customer needs, analyzing problems, and implementing solutions are part of Jeff Mandeville's DNA. In fact, he gets a bit antsy if he's not out there solving real-world problems and making a difference.
Before founding IT Data Locker, Jeff had a successful career as a tech sales manager for MCI and Dell. But he grew frustrated with trying to help people patch systems and processes that didn't meet their needs in the first place.
"I've been a sales guy for a long time. I've been to see a lot of different types of customers. And it never ceases to amaze me that companies buy the wrong things. Or that they bought the wrong things because they were told that some thing was great by someone whose sole purpose in life was to sell that thing."
Once Jeff left the corporate sales world, people kept knocking on his door asking him to fix their PCs or set up a server. IT Data Locker started small in Jeff's garage as “Jeff of All Trades,” but word-of-mouth demand for his services convinced him to expand.
"It started out with friends and neighbors, parents of my kids' friends, saying 'Hey, you worked at Dell, can YOU fix my computer?' But people kept referring me and one year, while I was doing my taxes, I realized that it wasn't a hobby anymore."
Without a website or even business cards, the IT Data Locker customer list kept growing. In no time at all, Jeff had a team of highly specialized IT experts servicing a growing number of clients.
A native of Mexia, Texas, Jeff has an undergraduate degree in biology from UT Austin and an MBA in data communications and telecommunications from St. Edwards University. He lives near Lake Travis with the lights of his life: his wife and their two children.