Taskrabbit
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Taskrabbit, Inc. d/b/a Taskrabbit operates an online marketplace that matches freelance labor with local demand, allowing people to find help with tasks including personal assistance, furniture assembly, moving, delivery, and handyman work.cite-ref-1[1]cite-ref-building-2-0[2]cite-ref-grunt-3-0[3]cite-ref-4[4]cite-ref-chores-5-0[5] The company was founded in 2008 by Leah Busque and was acquired by an affiliate of IKEA in 2017.
More than 200,000 independent workers use the Taskrabbit platform.cite-ref-6[6]
Contents
• History
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History
2008 to 2016
The company was founded as RunMyErrand in Boston in 2008, during the Great Recession, by Leah Busque, a former software engineer for IBM.cite-ref-grunt-3-1[3]cite-ref-7[7] She got the idea to start the company when she needed dog food but didn’t have time to get it herself.cite-ref-plane-8-0[8]cite-ref-realjobs-9-0[9]
In 2009, the company received funding from Facebook's startup incubator, fbFund, and Tim Ferriss became an advisor.cite-ref-10[10]cite-ref-plane-8-1[8]
In 2010, the name of the company was changed from RunMyErrand to Taskrabbit.cite-ref-11[11] The company also moved its headquarters to San Francisco.cite-ref-errands-12-0[12]
In May 2011, Taskrabbit raised a $5 million Series A financing round from Shasta Ventures, First Round Capital, Baseline Ventures, Floodgate Fund, Collaborative Fund, 500 Startups, and Lisa Gansky.cite-ref-13[13]cite-ref-done-14-0[14]cite-ref-building-2-1[2] In July 2011, Taskrabbit launched a mobile app for iOS.cite-ref-15[15]cite-ref-16[16]cite-ref-17[17]cite-ref-18[18] At that time, the company had 1,500 active taskers.cite-ref-errands-12-1[12]
In October 2011, Eric Grosse, the co-founder and former president of Hotwire.com, was named CEO.cite-ref-19[19]cite-ref-20[20] At that time, the company had operations in Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City; Chicago; Los Angeles; and Orange County, California.cite-ref-21[21]cite-ref-22[22] In December 2011, Taskrabbit received an additional $17.8 million in a Series B round of funding from existing investors as well as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Allen & Company, and The Tornante Company. It also engaged Michael Eisner as an advisor.cite-ref-done-14-1[14]cite-ref-23[23]cite-ref-24[24] At the time, the firm had 35 employees and generated $4 million in business each month.cite-ref-building-2-2[2]cite-ref-25[25]
In January 2013, the company hired Stacy Brown-Philpot, formerly of Google, as the company's first COO.cite-ref-28[28]cite-ref-29[29] In March 2013, "Taskrabbit Business" was launched. It allowed businesses to hire temporary workers from the Taskrabbit users, with a 26% commission.cite-ref-30[30]
In November 2013, the company launched in London, its first international market.cite-ref-31[31] Because of declines both in bids and in completed and accepted tasks in the U.S., the company chose to test a new system in London whereby Taskers set their own rates and schedules, and when a new job was posted that matched their profile, the platform would send them an alert. The first to respond got the job.cite-ref-realjobs-9-1[9]cite-ref-chores-5-1[5]cite-ref-32[32] In London, the results were positive: almost all the company's metrics improved, and the average amount of money that individual Taskers on the platform were taking home increased.cite-ref-chores-5-2[5] In June and July 2014, Taskrabbit began implementing this new format in all markets.cite-ref-33[33] The new format was met with significant backlash from the Tasker community.cite-ref-fire-34-0[34]cite-ref-35[35] Taskrabbit incorporated some of the feedback into an updated version of its app that launched in January 2015.cite-ref-fire-34-1[34] In 2014, Taskrabbit received 4,000 applications to be a tasker; it received 15,000 applications in 2015.cite-ref-chores-5-3[5]
In 2016, Stacy Brown-Philpot was promoted from chief operating officer to CEO, and former CEO and founder Leah Busque became executive chairwoman.cite-ref-36[36]cite-ref-37[37]cite-ref-38[38]cite-ref-39[39] In late 2016, Taskrabbit increased its fees by discontinuing its 15% service fee for repeat customers and introducing a 30% service fee for all tasks. It also increased its Trust & Support fee from 5% to 7.5%.cite-ref-40[40]
2017 to present
In February 2018, Taskrabbit began operations in Birmingham, Bristol, and Manchester.cite-ref-47[47] In March 2018, IKEA launched a furniture assembly service from Taskrabbit in the U.S.cite-ref-48[48]cite-ref-49[49]cite-ref-50[50]cite-ref-51[51] In April 2018, the company was affected by a data breach. At that time it had 60,000 taskers and 1.5 million users.cite-ref-52[52]cite-ref-53[53]cite-ref-54[54]cite-ref-55[55] In September 2018, Taskrabbit expanded to Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and other Canadian cities.cite-ref-56[56]cite-ref-57[57] In December 2018, the company launched operations in Brighton, Cardiff, Coventry, Liverpool, Warrington, Oxford, and Reading.cite-ref-58[58]cite-ref-59[59]
In September 2019, Taskrabbit launched service in Paris and followed it with a rollout to other French cities.cite-ref-60[60]cite-ref-61[61] In October 2019, the company launched in Germany, with operations in Berlin, Bochum, Cologne, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Krefeld, Monchengladbach, Oberhausen, Wuppertal and the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.cite-ref-62[62]
In January 2020, Taskrabbit launched service in 39 cities in Spain.cite-ref-63[63] In August 2020, Brown-Philpot resigned as CEO.cite-ref-64[64] Taskrabbit named Ania Smith, formerly of Walmart, Expedia, Airbnb, and UberEats, its new CEO.cite-ref-65[65]cite-ref-66[66]cite-ref-67[67]cite-ref-68[68] In November 2020, the company launched service in Portugal, with operations in Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Coimbra, and Faro.cite-ref-69[69]
In May 2022, Taskrabbit announced that it would close its physical offices, including its San Francisco, California headquarters, and transition to becoming a distributed company, with all employees engaging in remote work.cite-ref-71[71]cite-ref-72[72] Taskrabbit launched a global brand refresh, introducing an all lower-case wordmark with two different "a" characters. The company also removed the image of the "rabbit" from its logo and updated its default brand colors.cite-ref-73[73]cite-ref-74[74]cite-ref-75[75] In July 2022, Taskrabbit launched service in Monaco.cite-ref-76[76]
In November 2024, Taskrabbit acquired Dolly, which was a moving services company based in Seattle. The two brands will still stay separate.cite-ref-77[77]
Controversies
Criticism
Taskrabbit has been criticized by users and in the media for high fees on tasks; fees added by the platform can be as high as 70% of the original bid. Users of the platform have complained that this contributes to an exploitative attitude by clients using the platform.cite-ref-78[78] Taskers have also complained that decisions taken by the platform have detrimental effects on taskers, and leave them no recourse to address their grievances.cite-ref-79[79] In 2016, MIT Technology Review wrote about the research related to racial and gender biases in Fiverr and Taskrabbit's recommendation algorithms.cite-ref-80[80]cite-ref-81[81] Taskrabbit's "Happiness pledge" which allows users to claim up to $10,000 for damages caused by taskers has been criticized as deceptive due to numerous exclusions and clauses.cite-ref-82[82]
Legal issues
Taskrabbit was the subject of a class action lawsuit in which 10,000 taskers alleged that they had been improperly labeled as "independent contractors" rather than employees. On August 17, 2020, the plaintiff was awarded $1.75 million by the court.cite-ref-83[83]cite-ref-84[84] The company has also been criticized for its terms of service, which claim indemnity even in cases where a court determines taskers can be legally classified as employees.cite-ref-85[85]
In popular culture
• The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt episode "Kimmy Bites an Onion!" centers on a character creating a song for the service.cite-ref-86[86]
• The iCarly (2021) episode "iGot Your Back" parodies the service as PostRabbit.cite-ref-88[88]cite-ref-89[89]
• In Single All The Way, the main character Nick subsidizes his career as a writer by working as a handyman for Taskrabbit.cite-ref-90[90]
• In Killing It, a cash-hungry character Jillian works for Taskrabbit.cite-ref-91[91]
• The American Dad! episode "The Long March" references Taskrabbit.cite-ref-92[92]
• In Magic for Humans' "Guilt Trip" episode (aired December 4, 2019), a character telecommutes with a Tasker.cite-ref-93[93]
References
cite-note-building-22. ↑ citerefmoran2011Moran, Gwen (November 21, 2011). "Building a Business on Busy Schedules and Making Errands Pay". Entrepreneur.
cite-note-chores-55. ↑ citerefbhattacharya2015Bhattacharya, Sanjiv (December 5, 2015). "Taskrabbit: How an app can relieve you of all your chores". The Daily Telegraph.
cite-note-66. ↑ citerefabril2022Abril, Danielle (May 25, 2022). "Future of Work: Taskrabbit CEO permanently ditches the office". The Washington Post.
cite-note-1010. ↑ citerefeldon2009Eldon, Eric (May 28, 2009). "FbFund: 18 companies and 2 nonprofits win, head to Palo Alto". VentureBeat.
cite-note-1111. ↑ citerefmoore2010Moore, Galen (April 8, 2010). "RunMyErrand changes name to Taskrabbit". American City Business Journals.
cite-note-done-1414. ↑ citereftsotsis2011Tsotsis, Alexia (May 4, 2011). "Taskrabbit Gets $5M From Shasta Ventures, First Round And Others To Help People Get Stuff Done". TechCrunch.
cite-note-1515. ↑ citereftsotsis2011Tsotsis, Alexia (July 28, 2011). "Taskrabbit Releases Its Amazing iPhone App". TechCrunch.
cite-note-1616. ↑ citerefbrustein2011Brustein, Joshua (August 21, 2011). "Outsourcing Chores Made Easy". The New York Times.
cite-note-1818. ↑ citerefmyers2011Myers, Courtney (July 28, 2011). "Taskrabbit goes mobile!". The Next Web.
cite-note-1919. ↑ "TaskRabbit Names Former Expedia Head CEO; Founder Shifts to Chief Product Officer" (Press release). PR Newswire. October 12, 2011.
cite-note-2020. ↑ citereftsotsis2011Tsotsis, Alexia (October 12, 2011). "Taskrabbit Gets A New CEO, Eric Grosse". TechCrunch.
cite-note-2121. ↑ citerefshontell2011Shontell, Alyson (October 27, 2011). "Founder Q&A: Make A Boatload Of Money Doing Your Neighbor's Chores On Taskrabbit". Business Insider.
cite-note-2222. ↑ citerefo-dell2011O’Dell, Jolie (November 2, 2011). "How one woman technologist single-handedly created thousands of jobs". VentureBeat.
cite-note-2323. ↑ citerefgoode2011Goode, Lauren (December 13, 2011). "Taskrabbit Raises $17.8 Million, Brings in Eisner as Adviser". All Things Digital.
cite-note-2525. ↑ citerefbilton2011Bilton, Nick (November 10, 2011). "Taskrabbit Looks to Expand Cities and Offer an API". The New York Times.
cite-note-2626. ↑ citereftaylor2012Taylor, Colleen (June 7, 2012). "Taskrabbit Founder Leah Busque Takes Back The Reins, Stepping Back Into CEO Role". TechCrunch.
cite-note-2828. ↑ citerefswisher2013Swisher, Kara (January 14, 2013). "Taskrabbit Hires Google's Brown-Philpot in a Renewed Management Expansion". All Things Digital.
cite-note-2929. ↑ citereftaylor2013Taylor, Colleen (January 14, 2013). "Taskrabbit Nabs Ex-Googler Stacy Brown-Philpot For COO Spot". TechCrunch.
cite-note-3030. ↑ citereftaylor2013Taylor, Colleen (March 23, 2013). "Taskrabbit Debuts Tools For Hiring Ongoing Temp Work As It Hones Focus On Business Users". TechCrunch.
cite-note-3333. ↑ citerefperez2014Perez, Sarah (June 17, 2014). "Following A Drop In Completed Jobs, Errands Marketplace Taskrabbit Shakes Up Its Business Model". TechCrunch.
cite-note-fire-3434. ↑ citereftaylor2015Taylor, Colleen (January 21, 2015). "Through The Fire: What Taskrabbit Learned From Its Big Backlash". TechCrunch.
cite-note-3535. ↑ citerefweber2014Weber, Harrison (July 10, 2014). "Taskrabbit users revolt as the company shuts down its bidding system". VentureBeat.
cite-note-3737. ↑ citerefmohan2016MOHAN, PAVITHRA (April 14, 2016). "Taskrabbit just promoted COO Stacy Brown-Philpot to CEO". Fast Company.
cite-note-3838. ↑ citereflynn2016Lynn, Samara (April 15, 2016). "STACY BROWN-PHILPOT PROMOTED TO TASKRABBIT CEO". Black Enterprise.
cite-note-3939. ↑ "Taskrabbit Promotes Stacy Brown-Philpot to CEO". The Wall Street Journal. April 15, 2016.
cite-note-4040. ↑ "TaskRabbit Quietly Doubled The Cut It Takes From Many Of Its Workers". Fast Company. 2016-11-29. Archived from the original on 2022-09-01. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
cite-note-4242. ↑ citerefdickey2017Dickey, Megan Rose (September 28, 2017). "Ikea has bought Taskrabbit". TechCrunch.
cite-note-4343. ↑ citerefhsu2017Hsu, Tiffany (September 28, 2017). "Ikea Enters 'Gig Economy' by Acquiring Taskrabbit". The New York Times.
cite-note-4444. ↑ citereftaylor2017Taylor, Kate (September 28, 2017). "Ikea has acquired Taskrabbit — and it could fix the most annoying thing about the furniture giant". Business Insider.
cite-note-4545. ↑ "IKEA Group signs agreement to acquire Taskrabbit" (Press release). PR Newswire. September 28, 2017.
cite-note-4646. ↑ citerefbutler2017Butler, Sarah (September 28, 2017). "Ikea enters gig economy by buying freelance labour firm Taskrabbit". The Guardian.
cite-note-4848. ↑ citerefperez2018Perez, Megan (March 13, 2018). "IKEA U.S. launches a furniture assembly service from Taskrabbit". TechCrunch.
cite-note-5353. ↑ citerefalaimo2018Alaimo, Dan (April 19, 2018). "Ikea-owned Taskrabbit hit by apparent data breach". Industry Dive.
cite-note-5555. ↑ "Taskrabbit hit with security breach, goes offline". CBS News. Associated Press. April 18, 2018.
cite-note-5656. ↑ citereflau2018Lau, Lucy (October 19, 2018). "You no longer have to assemble your own Ikea furniture, thank God". The Georgia Straight.
cite-note-5858. ↑ citerefjones2018Jones, Harrison (December 26, 2018). "Oxford residents offered everyday task help with rabbit launch". Oxford Mail.
cite-note-5959. ↑ citerefhughes2018Hughes, Matthew (December 6, 2018). "Errand service Taskrabbit launches in six new UK cities". The Next Web.
cite-note-6060. ↑ "À Toulouse, cette entreprise monte les meubles Ikea pour vous" [In Toulouse, this company assembles Ikea furniture for you]. La Dépêche du Midi (in French). May 4, 2021.
cite-note-6161. ↑ "Taskrabbit Launches in France Amidst High Demand for Outsourcing Tasks" (Press release). PR Newswire. September 26, 2019.
cite-note-6262. ↑ "Taskrabbit Announces Launch into Germany" (Press release). PR Newswire. October 22, 2019.
cite-note-6464. ↑ citerefgelles2020Gelles, David (June 23, 2020). "Taskrabbit C.E.O. to Step Down, a Blow for Silicon Valley Diversity". The New York Times.
cite-note-6565. ↑ "Ania Smith Named Chief Executive Officer at Taskrabbit" (Press release). PR Newswire. August 11, 2020.
cite-note-6868. ↑ "Ania Smith Named Chief Executive Officer at Taskrabbit". Associated Press. August 11, 2020.
cite-note-7070. ↑ citerefcimpanelli2021Cimpanelli, Giulia (March 23, 2021). "Arriva in Italia Taskrabbit, la startup californiana dei lavoretti acquistata da Ikea" [Taskrabbit, the Californian craft startup purchased by Ikea, arrives in Italy]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian).
cite-note-7171. ↑ citerefkost2022Kost, Ryan (May 23, 2022). "Taskrabbit to close all office locations, including S.F. headquarters, as it moves to remote work model". San Francisco Chronicle.
cite-note-7272. ↑ citerefmurphy2022Murphy, Mike (May 24, 2022). "Taskrabbit to close its offices, go entirely remote". MarketWatch.
cite-note-7373. ↑ "Il marketplace Taskrabbit aggiorna il marchio e sceglie un nuovo logo" [Taskrabbit marketplace updates branding and chooses a new logo]. YM! (in Italian). May 27, 2022.
cite-note-7575. ↑ citerefneves2022Neves, Carolina (May 31, 2022). "A Taskrabbit perde o coelho" [Taskrabbit loses the rabbit]. www.briefing.pt (in European Portuguese).
cite-note-7676. ↑ citerefcastano2022Castano, Lilou (July 9, 2022). "Taskrabbit, une plateforme pour déléguer les tâches du quotidien" [Taskrabbit, a platform for delegating everyday tasks]. La Gazette de Monaco (in French).
cite-note-7777. ↑ citerefsoper2024Soper, Taylor (2024-11-07). "Taskrabbit takes over on-demand moving service Dolly in latest twist for former Seattle startup". GeekWire. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
cite-note-7878. ↑ citerefshontellShontell, Alyson. "My Nightmare Experience As A Taskrabbit Drone". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
cite-note-7979. ↑ citerefkessler2015Kessler, Sarah (February 17, 2015). "The Gig Economy Won't Last Because it's Being Sued to Death". Fast Company. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
cite-note-8181. ↑ "Is the Gig Economy Rigged?". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
cite-note-8282. ↑ citerefjohnson2023Johnson, Carolyn (June 28, 2023). "Taskrabbit's 'Happiness Pledge' may not make you so happy, attorney says". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
cite-note-8383. ↑ "John-Michael Finholt v. Taskrabbit, Inc. et al". Retrieved 2024-08-03.
cite-note-8484. ↑ "Finholt v. Taskrabbit – The Graves Firm, A Professional Corporation". Retrieved 2024-08-03.
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External links