Bobbie Racette is an entrepreneur, builder, and advocate known for turning lived experience into meaningful innovation. She is the Founder of Virtual Gurus, a talent marketplace that helped redefine inclusive, tech-enabled work and was later acquired. Today, she is the Founder of Tapwi, a platform focused on supporting founders through truth, access, and community. 

As a Cree-Métis and queer founder, Bobbie built Virtual Gurus from a $300 idea at her kitchen table into a multi-million-dollar company. Along the way, she became the first Indigenous woman in Canada to close a Series A funding round and to lead the acquisition of a venture-backed tech company. Her journey has become a powerful example of what is possible when resilience meets opportunity. 

Bobbie often describes herself as an unlikely entrepreneur. After being laid off during Alberta’s oil and gas downturn in 2016, she chose reinvention over retreat. She launched Virtual Gurus with a simple mission to create opportunity for others while challenging traditional ideas about work and leadership. Today, the platform has supported thousands of virtual assistants and freelancers while helping companies grow with purpose. 

Beyond her work as a founder, Bobbie is a passionate advocate for inclusion and economic empowerment, particularly for Indigenous communities, LGBTQ2S+ people, and women in technology. Her work has been recognized with honours including Indigenous Entrepreneur of the Year, the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Special Citation, and the Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business. 

Bobbie is also deeply involved in the innovation ecosystem. She serves as the inaugural Chair of the Indigenous Prosperity Foundation, Chair of QueerTech, and a board member of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation. Across these roles, she focuses on opening doors, challenging systemic barriers, and helping others build lasting success on their own terms. 

Her personal mantra, “no is not an option,” reflects a lifetime shaped by perseverance, curiosity, and community. Early years spent traveling and searching for identity helped shape the empathy and determination that now define her leadership. Bobbie believes that business can be both profitable and purpose-driven, and that founders can build companies without losing sight of who they are. 

Whether mentoring founders, speaking on global stages, or building her next venture, Bobbie Racette continues to lead by example, showing that success and authenticity can grow side by side.