Premier Virtual acquired by outplacement services provider Careerminds

By Riley Kaminer

Lake Worth-based Premier Virtual announced this week that they have been acquired by Careerminds, a company that provides outplacement services. Premier Virtual’s platform enables companies to administer virtual career fairs and online hiring events.

Since being founded in 2019, more than 7,000 virtual hiring events have been hosted through Premier Virtual, enabling over a million job seekers to interact with upwards of 70,000 companies. Premier Virtual has a wide range of clients across the public and private sectors, including some military organizations like the Army, the National Guard, the American Legion, and the U.S. Veterans Chamber of Commerce.

Steven Edwards, Premier Virtual’s founder and CEO-turned-president, told Refresh Miami that this acquisition presents an exciting opportunity to leverage Careerminds’ platform to bring Premier Virtual to the next level.

“Premier Virtual will enable Careerminds’ clients to hold virtual events for their clients to be able to get the people that are laying off jobs with other organizations,” explained Edwards.

On the flip side, the acquisition will enable Premier Virtual to help its clients market their events to job seekers. “Now we have databases of candidates that are looking for jobs.” This helps Premier Virtual compete directly with other organizations that also have access to candidates.

“With the ever-evolving shift to hybrid and remote work, job seekers and employers alike are seeking an innovative outplacement approach that’s aligned with the new world of work, and in a more meaningful, personalized way,” Raymond Lee, president and founder of Careerminds, said in a statement.

“Acquiring Premier Virtual allows us to offer a more robust, one-stop solution of unparalleled capabilities and technology to better support our global outplacement platform, clients, and participants in career transition,” Lee added.

Edwards will remain at the helm of Premier Virtual, as will his staff of nine employees. The award-winning platform will continue to run as-is.

The acquisition has been in the works for about a year, spurred by Edwards’ interest in offering an even more robust suite of tools to Premier Virtual’s customers. “I decided we needed to be part of an organization that has more to offer, so we have a bigger offering out there.”

Edwards expects this acquisition to enable Premier Virtual to become the top platform on the market. “Not only do we have multiple features within our platform that no one else has – but with this acquisition, we also have tools to market virtual events like no one else can.”

As for what advice he gives to founders for going through an acquisition: “Every decision that you need to make, you’re making for the long term.” For that reason, he believes it’s crucial to have the right people around you, know when it’s the right time to exit, and hire the right investment banking team to make it happen. Edwards is currently writing a book, slated to be released in January, recounting everything he went through to build Premier Virtual to where it is today.

Edwards hinted that this is just the beginning of the next chapter for Premier Virtual, with more announcements soon to come regarding his overarching vision for the platform. For now, he left us with this teaser: “Our software is not just going to be used in Premier Virtual but in multiple lines of a bigger business.”

Safe to say, more to come out of Lake Worth soon.

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Riley Kaminer

I am a Miami-based technology researcher and writer with a passion for sharing stories about the South Florida tech ecosystem. I particularly enjoy learning about GovTech startups, cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, and innovators that leverage technology to transform society for the better. Always open for pitches via Twitter @rileywk or www.RileyKaminer.com.