Guru.com
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet Service Marketplace Workforce Management Crowdsourcing |
| Founded | 1998 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Founder | Inder Guglani |
| Headquarters | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Website | www |
Guru.com is a freelance marketplace.[1] It allows companies to find freelance workers for commissioned work. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Guru was initially known as eMoonlighter.com.
History
[edit]Guru Inc. was founded in 1998[2] in San Francisco as an online clearing house for high tech workers seeking short-term contracts. The company, led by brothers Jon and James Slavet, raised $3M USD in angel funding and a further $16M USD in a full venture round led by Greylock Partners and August Capital.[2] In a May 2000 interview, Paul Saffo cited Guru.com as an example of a company using the Internet to provide new kinds of services where individuals negotiate directly with potential employers.[3][4]
The company was acquired in December 2002 by Unicru, a human resources software company based in Portland, Oregon.[5] Guru's technology and staff remained with Unicru. At this point, Guru had received approximately $41 million USD in funding.[5]
In June 2003, small business consulting and creative design firm eMoonlighter bought Guru.com through the leadership of CEO Inderpal Guglani, who subsequently became CEO of Guru.[6] In February 2004, eMoonlighter officially changed its name to Guru.com.[6] The acquisition, which brought along several clients now relying on Guru for freelancing needs, boosted eMoonlighter's reputation of only offering the services of “moonlighting” freelancers to one of full-time, reliable freelance workers able to meet the needs of any company–which is was what Guru is known for today.[7]
Business model
[edit]Guru connects employers and freelancers through their online platform. Employers post job descriptions, including the payment offered. Freelancers post profiles highlighting their skills and services.[6] Employers can search for and invite specific freelancers to submit quotes for jobs, and freelancers who are interested in jobs can submit bids. Employers review the quotes received along with freelancers’ profiles, portfolios, feedback reviews, and earnings statistics before selecting freelancers to hire. Employers and freelancers form an agreement on the scope of work, payment terms, and timeline.[6]
Guru's WorkRoom feature is an assigned online working space. Its purpose is to help employers to manage one or more freelancers, assign roles, and keep interactions, time tracking, and payments in one place.[8]
Guru's SafePay payment system ensures secure payment for employers and freelancers. Employers and freelancers choose from various payment methods. Employers can deposit funds so freelancers see that funds are available before starting work, and employers release funds after reviewing the work.[8]
In 2020, Guru claimed to have around three million online users, with nearly one million visits to the site every month.[9]
Platform renaming
[edit]Unicru sold the Guru.com domain name and logo to eMoonlighter.com, and eMoonlighter was renamed Guru.com.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Guru.com puts freelancers to work Archived 2008-05-24 at the Wayback Machine – PC World
- ^ a b "The New-Boy Network, E-Commerce Article". Inc.com. 2000-01-01. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- ^ Walker, Leslie (May 18, 2000). "Discussion with Paul Saffo, Director, Institute For The Future". The Washington Post.
- ^ Clifford, Stephanie (July 2002). "Guru's Gamble". Business 2.0.
- ^ a b Earnshaw, Aliza (4 August 2003). "Unicru expands capabilities with two acquisitions". Portland Business Journal.
- ^ a b c d Maria Guzzo,"eMoonlighter buys Guru, a rival freelance job site". bizjournals.com. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ "Lessons for a guru: Small online tech outsourcing firm survives by watching pennies, buys giant rival Guru.com". post-gazette.com. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Guru Review: Is Guru Worth It for Hiring?". lancerreview.com. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ "guru.com Traffic Analytics & Market Share". similarweb.com. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ "Is Guru.com a Scam or a Legit Freelance Site? [Full Review]". Gig Hustlers. 2018-09-09. Retrieved 2020-10-23.