Guru.com is a
freelance marketplace
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employment, self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long- ...
. It allows companies to find freelance workers for commissioned work. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, Guru was initially known as ''eMoonlighter.com''.
History
Guru Inc. was founded in 1998
in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
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 negotiate directly with potential employers.
The company was acquired in December 2002 by
Unicru, a human resources software company based in Portland, Oregon.
Guru's technology and staff remained with Unicru. At this point, Guru had received approximately $41 million USD in funding.
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 is what Guru is known for today.
Business model
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.
[Maria Guzzo,] 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.
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.
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.
In 2020, Guru claimed to have around three million online users, with nearly one million visits to the site every month.
Platform renaming
Unicru sold the Guru.com
domain name
In the Internet, a domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services, and more. ...
and logo to
eMoonlighter.com, and eMoonlighter was renamed Guru.com.
See also
*
Upwork
*
Fiverr
Fiverr is an Israeli multinational online marketplace for freelance services. Fiverr's connects freelancers to people or businesses looking for services. Fiverr takes its name from the $5 asking price attached to all tasks when the company was ...
*
Freelancer.com
*
PeoplePerHour
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guru.Com
Online marketplaces of the United States
Business services companies established in 1998
Internet properties established in 1998
Freelance marketplace websites
Employment websites in the United States
Companies based in Pittsburgh
1998 establishments in Pennsylvania