CALGARY — Telus announced today its Telus Pollinator Fund for Good has invested in Virtual Gurus, “a North American-based marketplace that matches organizations with skilled remote administrative talent while providing income earning opportunities to underrepresented individuals,” a press release says.
Virtual Gurus says it has secured a combined $8.4 million in a funding round led by the Telus Pollinator Fund for Good and supported by other key investors including Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, The51, The Houssian Foundation and Accelerate Fund. Virtual Gurus’ cumulative funding since February 2020 now totals $10.4 million, according to the press release.
Virtual Gurus “creates meaningful earning opportunities for people seeking an alternative to the nine to five office work week, while also priding itself on championing BIPOC people, people from the LGBTQ2S+ community, single and stay-at-home parents, and those with alternate abilities,” the release reads.
The new funding will be used to introduce machine learning into high return on investment areas of Virtual Gurus’ business while it continues to expand its Talentplace technology platform, which uses a proprietary matching algorithm, augmented by administrative, client and virtual assistant portals, the release explains.
“The funding will also help to fuel the company’s expansion into the United States, which currently accounts for 38 per cent of the company’s revenue, up exponentially from 3.6 per cent only nine months earlier. Operationalizing an enterprise offering that is expected to change the trajectory of the company’s growth will also be a major focus,” the release says.
The enterprise offering “will provide larger organizations with a complete administrative talent solution, from recruiting, onboarding and training of assistants through to coaching for leaders on how to maximize assistant output via effective delegation.”
“Over the past year, we have seen the immense growth and transformation of Virtual Gurus and we are excited to take the lead investor role in their Series A round,” said Blair Miller, managing partner of Telus Pollinator Fund for Good, in the release.
“Virtual Gurus has made it their mission to provide support and opportunity to those who have traditionally been overlooked for quality jobs and resulting income, something that aligns closely with the Pollinator Fund’s pillar of building more inclusive communities,” Miller said.
“One of the most exciting things for me is that we are growing and scaling Virtual Gurus without losing focus of our North Star — our talent from underrepresented communities,” said Bobbie Racette, founder and CEO of Virtual Gurus.
“Social impact will always be embedded into our business model. We’re proving that we can be a people-first company and a tech company at the same time, and our investors are also clearly aligned with that vision.”
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