Virtual Research Assistant
Hire a Virtual Research Assistant
Get reliable research support without adding local overhead. Aristo Sourcing helps you hire a remote research professional who can run market research, build verified lead lists, support due diligence, and turn information into clear summaries your team can use.
Best for: founders, operators, sales teams, marketers, and investors who need consistent research output.
What you get (deliverables, not just “tasks”)
A strong research hire does more than collect links. The right person produces structured outputs that are easy to review, share, and apply.
Common deliverables include:
- Competitor tracker (pricing, positioning, channels, offers) in a spreadsheet
- Market landscape brief (key players, trends, risks, opportunities) with sources
- Lead list with verification fields (role, company size, LinkedIn URL, email pattern, notes)
- Due diligence summary (red flags, ownership, funding, reputation signals) with citations
- Content research pack (stats, quotes, examples, links, dates accessed)
- Clean datasets (deduped, normalized, formatted for your CRM or database)
If you already have templates or SOPs, we recruit for people who can work inside your format.
Common ways clients use research support
1) Market and competitor intelligence
Keep a current view of pricing moves, new entrants, product positioning, and customer sentiment. This supports strategy, messaging, and sales enablement.
Typical outputs:
- Competitor feature and pricing comparisons
- Category research and trend tracking
- Positioning notes and summary briefs
2) Lead research and enrichment
Build lists you can actually use. The right hire enriches records, standardizes fields, and flags missing or low-confidence data, so outreach stays clean.
Typical outputs:
- Prospect lists segmented by your ICP criteria
- Enriched company and contact records
- Notes on fit signals and buying indicators
3) Due diligence and background research
When you need to evaluate a company, supplier, partner, or opportunity, a research specialist can gather and organize evidence so you can review quickly and spot risks early.
Typical outputs:
Background summary with sources
- Ownership and footprint checks (where public data is available)
- Risk notes and credibility review with citations and access dates
Research quality standards we hire for
The difference between average research and decision-ready research is the system behind it. Aristo Sourcing does not produce the research for you. We source and place a research professional who can run your research workflow to a high standard.
When we shortlist candidates, we look for people who understand and consistently apply:
- Primary vs secondary sources
They know when to use official records and primary documentation, and when secondary sources are acceptable. - Source traceability
They keep a source log with links, publication dates, and where each claim came from. - Qualitative and quantitative thinking
They can summarize clearly and work with tables, comparisons, and fundamental analysis when needed. - Triangulation for important claims
For high-impact facts, they are confirmed across more than one credible source. - Recency awareness
They flag outdated information and highlight recent changes when freshness matters. - Data cleaning and consistency
They dedupe lists, normalize fields, and format outputs so your CRM or database stays usable. Clear outputs, not raw dumps
They deliver structured documents and spreadsheets with a summary first, then evidence underneath.
Data security and confidentiality
Research often involves sensitive business information. We recruit with that reality in mind.
Common safeguards include:
- NDA signing
- Least-privilege access so they only see what they need
- Password manager and controlled permissions where possible
- Clear rules on what can be stored, shared, or exported
If your work requires stricter controls, we can screen specifically for candidates who have worked in regulated or high-trust environments.
Tools and data sources candidates can work with
We match people to your stack and your preferred way of working. Many research hires are experienced with:
- Google Sheets and Excel (trackers, lists, comparisons)
- Airtable and Notion (research databases and logs)
- LinkedIn and Sales Navigator (lead research and verification)
- Public datasets, government registries, and industry directories (where relevant)
- Statista, Similarweb, LexisNexis, and similar platforms, when you provide access
If a tool requires a paid subscription, you provide access and permission rules. The hire works within your access model.
How hiring works
Step 1: Define scope
You share what you want researched, what “good” looks like, tools involved, and turnaround expectations.
Step 2: Shortlist and interviews
We send a shortlist matched to your research needs. You interview and choose who fits.
Step 3: Onboarding and cadence
You onboard the hire into your templates and workflow. If needed, we can provide a simple structure for deliverables and a weekly rhythm.
