| Websoft, Inc. | |
| Type: | Privately held company |
| Founded: | in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Founder: | Inder Guglani |
| Location: | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Industry: | Internet Service Marketplace Workforce Management Crowdsourcing |
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.
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. 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 negotiated 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. In February 2004, eMoonlighter officially changed its name to Guru.com. 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 has become what Guru is known for today.[6]
Guru connects employers and freelancers through their online platform. Employers post job descriptions, including payment offered. Freelancers post profiles highlighting their skills and services.[7] 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.[7]
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]
Unicru sold the Guru.com domain name and logo to eMoonlighter.com, and eMoonlighter was renamed Guru.com.[10]