• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
TechTaskRabbit

TaskRabbit Wants To Help You Do Chores Right Now

By
Kia Kokalitcheva
Kia Kokalitcheva
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kia Kokalitcheva
Kia Kokalitcheva
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 1, 2016, 6:00 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

When TaskRabbit, a startup that connects customers with household help, changed how it charged for work in 2014, things didn’t go as planned.

Until then, the company let “taskers,” as it calls workers, bid for jobs and set their own rates. But with the new model, TaskRabbit seized most of the control—and created a public relations mess with workers, some of whom felt blindsided by the change.

Now the eight-year-old company, wiser with age, is trying something new again. On Tuesday, TaskRabbit is adding a new option for customers who want their leaves raked, furniture assembled, and toilets scrubbed right now.

The new service focuses on four categories of tasks—deliveries, home cleaning, handyman tasks, and moving help—that the company’s army of household help can complete them within 90 minutes of the customer’s initial request. When a customer asks for help, TaskRabbit will show them how quickly a tasker can be at their doorstep and the cost, all in under five minutes.

According to TaskRabbit, this mirrors much of the behavior already happening on the service. The company merely decided to formalize it by creating an additional option.

But the new service also matches a shift in consumer expectations, largely thanks to the proliferation of mobile apps that deliver virtually anything.

“The consumer expectation has become much more immediate, and this is a step toward meeting this new expectation,” TaskRabbit founder and CEO Leah Busque told Fortune in an interview at the company’s San Francisco office.

Although TaskRabbit shies away from any comparison to ride-hailing giant Uber, it’s hard not to draw the parallel. Uber often brags about its mission to pick up passengers within five minutes (sound familiar?), and is largely credited for the I-want-it-now mindset of today’s consumers.

TaskRabbit is still leaving some aspects of the service up to its contractors, by leaving it up to them to set their hourly rates and the types of tasks they want to perform. And that relative flexibility taskers still have over their work is likely what’s kept TaskRabbit away from lawsuits over its classification of workers as independent contractors instead of employees. Other companies, including Uber, are currently grappling with such lawsuits that largely hinge on how much control their exert over their workers.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Busque founded TaskRabbit in 2008 when a cold night in Cambridge, Mass. left her wishing she could pay someone to pick up food for her dog and save her the hassle. Inspired by the idea of an online marketplace for people to find help for routine chores, the site, then called RunMyErrand, debuted in September of that year.

Since then, the company has gone through not only a name change, but also a move across the country to resettle in San Francisco. It’s also undergone huge growth along with growing pains. There was an executive shuffle (Busque briefly handed the CEO hat to Hotwire co-founder Eric Grosse), an expansion into several new U.S. cities, and raising $38 million in funding. There was also an aborted foray into supplying taskers for companies, layoffs, and a major shift in strategy that served as a big lesson.

TaskRabbit is also facing increasing competition from delivery companies like Postmates and now Uber, which aim to deliver food and other items to their customers with the tap of a button. Home services startups like Handy and Thumbtack also provide home help along with giants like Google and Amazon, which recently rolled out their own services for getting jobs around the home done by professionals.

But as with everything else it does, TaskRabbit’s new service is deeply rooted in data and inevitably part of its product. For example, taskers were already agreeing to take on about 70% of tasks within five minutes of being posted. Tuesday also brings an entirely new design to TaskRabbit’s mobile app, through which use tripled during 2015.

“It’s certainly, I would say, the next iteration, the next evolution of the service,” Busque said of the new service and an accompanying app redesign.

Next up in the company’s evolution is also profitability, which Busque confidently predicts will happen in 2016. While other on-demand services struggle to wean themselves from investors’ money, Busque says TaskRabbit has always made financial viability a priority.

“Because we started at a time when things were tight, we’ve been very disciplined,” Busque says of her company’s beginnings just as the Great Recession hit the economy in 2008. She declined to share the company’s revenue, which comes from the 30% commission it takes from each task. But she said that it’s grown four-fold during 2015, and that TaskRabbit has more than tripled the number of customers it has during that time.

About the Author
By Kia Kokalitcheva
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Tech

math
AIScience
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
By Eva RoytburgJuly 21, 2026
2 hours ago
kalshi
CryptoKalshi
Kalshi’s ‘chronically online’ war room figured out World Cup virality — and realized AI might be bringing back the monoculture
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 21, 2026
5 hours ago
fl
North AmericaElections
Trump-backed hopeful to succeed DeSantis unveils plan to protect local water, electricity from data centers
By Matt Brown and The Associated PressJuly 21, 2026
6 hours ago
Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow
CommentaryHuman resources
The CEO who fired HR was right. About the wrong thing.
By KeyAnna SchmiedlJuly 21, 2026
6 hours ago
‘We all failed’: Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner on Hollywood, video games and the big question of IP
Arts & EntertainmentDisney
‘We all failed’: Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner on Hollywood, video games and the big question of IP
By Joshua HongJuly 21, 2026
6 hours ago
Jersey Mike's Subs restaurant.
C-SuiteCFO Daily
Jersey Mike’s tests how far investors will stretch on restaurant IPO valuations
By Sheryl EstradaJuly 21, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
AI
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
By Jason MaJuly 18, 2026
3 days ago
The Treasury is walking a tightrope on U.S. debt by relying so much on short-term rates that are at the mercy of a suddenly very hawkish Fed
Economy
The Treasury is walking a tightrope on U.S. debt by relying so much on short-term rates that are at the mercy of a suddenly very hawkish Fed
By Jason MaJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 20, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of July 20, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.