Office Productivity
Solvate Offers Virtual Assistants with Peace of Mind
Published October 5th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
Last week I wrote about a new virtual assistant outfit. They seem to be springing up left and right in the recession as folks look for a way to earn a living in a tight economy. Nothing wrong with that, but I was concerned about track records and credibility.
I’ve used my fair share of virtual assistants and have a few nightmare stories to tell, but I found one company that looks like it might be worth a try. The company is called Solvate.
Solvate bills itself as a company that makes it easier to hand over your busy work than to do it yourself. That’s music to my hears. They handle requests like making flight reservations, searching for office space, making business cards, transcribing audio files, doing Google research, and the list goes on.
I was pleasantly surprised by the pricing. While some of these unknown upstarts run by stay-at-home moms charge $35 an hour, Solvate charges only $25 an hour. And Solvate has a strong reputation. The company was founded in 2007 and is funded by venture capitalist DFJ Gotham.
Even better, the company was founded by Julie Ruvulo, Michael Paolucci and Rick Lamb. Palucci was previously founder of Interactive Imaginations, a company that eventually folded into the 24/7 Real Media ad network. That’s called credibility.
What I also like about this service is you don’t have to interview a bunch of virtual assistants. Solvate has already vetted them for you. Whether you have a quick request or an ongoing need, they can handle it. They assume all the personnel headaches if someone quits so your work isn’t left undone. And you can even track progress on the tasks you assign in real-time.
I also like this: Solvate learns your preferences once so even if personnel changes, you don’t have to retrain a new virtual assistant on all the nuances of how you like things done. Solvate’s tag line is “Problem Solved.” I am of a mind to take this service for a test drive and see if it holds true. If anyone else has used the service, let us know what you think!
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Bill Brookshire October 5th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Interesting. I’m glad to see this company. This gives credibility to the virtual assistant space for sure. Don’t get me wrong, I think moms running these services while the kids are at school can be very credible and valuable, but why would you use a part-time small business owner when you could use a firm like this? Thanks for sharing this!
Melanie Jones October 5th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
This company looks top notch. This is the kind of virtual assistant set up that I would feel comfortable with. Solvate seems to me like a fair-minded company. I wonder if they will raise their prices once the VC sells its interest in the company. I think $25 an hour is more than enough to pay someone a decent rate as a virtual assistant and still let Solvate make some profits.
Elizabeth Sanchez October 5th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
It’s not like this is the only company of its kind. There are any number of employee outsourcers. But I agree that Solvate looks like the real deal. I’d definitely feel more comfortable working with them than a home-based business. Solvate offers that assurance that even if one virtual assistant gets sick there’s somebody else to back them up. If someone quits or gets fired, there’s another virtual assistant to back them up.
Maggie Correta October 5th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
There’s quite a few companies like this one. I think of Globetask, DW Office Solutions, Another 8 hours… I am not sure how they all compare. I do know Globetask charges only $12 an hour and their Web site doesn’t give the same impression. But they do have some videos up there that show some credibility, like a veep of marketing for Experian.