Meg Whitman to Lead Start-up That Outsources Errands

With $14 million and the former eBay CEO, Zaarly looks to expand.

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Matt DeLuca

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Zaarly, a start-up that helps users outsource their errands, announced Tuesday that it had closed a $14.1 million financing round led by Kleiner Perkins and Sands Capital Ventures. The company has now raised a total of $15.1 million over two rounds of financing, and says it will use the money for technical development and to expand operations.

The company also announced that former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and eBay Meg Whitman is coming on board. “She joined eBay when it was almost the exact same size Zaarly was, 30 people,” Bo Fishback, Zaarly’s CEO and founder, told reporters. “In the world of building marketplaces, building trust and engaging in the community, there’s no one better than her.”

After a round of beta testing in Austin, Texas, Zaarly was launched in May of this year. The company now claims that more than 100,000 users have posted $6 million in transactions to the site. Zaarly is going to tap Whitman’s experience as the company tries to expand into larger markets.

“Until now, our main goal was to get it up and running,” Fishback said. “Now, we have to figure out how to really nail a hyperlocal technology company.”

Read more at The New York Times.

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http://www.HireYourVirtualAssistant.com Owen McGab Enaohwo

Zaarly will be great for consumers looking to outsource personal tasks to locals who have spare time to handle them.

On the other hand if you are an Entrepreneur looking to outsource work that you do on a regular basis for your business, you should consider hiring a Virtual Assistant.

In regards to finding the best sites/resources for outsourcing admin tasks and so on, you can either go the Do It Yourself (DIY) or the Done For You (DFY) route.

Going the DIY route:

1) Check out Virtual Assistant Forums such as VirtualAssistantForums.com and VaNetworking.com. Virtual Assistants from around the world hang out on sites like this to network and exchange ideas. You can go on there post your job request.

2) Check out Freelancing sites such as Odesk.com, Elance.com and the great thing about sites likes this is that you can get to review the feedback left for the providers and ratings on similar work that they have completed.

3) Make use of Job Boards like and if you are specifically looking to place ads for Philippine based Virtual Assistants, check out Jobstreet.com.ph and BestJobs.ph. Just be ready for a flood of responses.

Going the DFY route:

1) Virtual Assistant Placement companies such as Zirtual.com and VirtualStaffFinder.com for a one time fee will help you find a VA who matches your requirements and can get the job done.

2) Virtual Assistant Services Providers are firms like ContemporaryVA.com. AskSunday.com and http://www.HireYourVirtualAssistant.com (full disclosure – this is my firm) who provide Entrepreneurs with a team of Virtual Assistants and also project managers to handle all you time consuming business tasks so that you can focus on what really matters in your business.
My final point is that even though you find a Virtual Assistant to help implement the work, you have to realize that you have to monitor and manage the process so that you get the outcome you want. It’s never going to be totally hands off don’t believe the hype! That said when you hire the right VA, or team of VAs they will make your experience pleasant!