When Leah Busque founded RunMyErrand in 2008, she created a website that helped busy Bostonians find “runners” who would do their errands for them. The word errands has since become limited and people have begun to use the site for furniture assembly, jump starting a car battery, and making a soundtrack for a CD. Thus, right before their expansion to San Francisco, RunMyErrand has re-launched as TaskRabbit.
TaskRabbit will continue to match busy Bostonians (and soon, busy San Francisco residents), but they’re encompassing a lot more than grocery store runs and dry-clean pickups.
The re-launch came with a new website and a couple new features. Under RunMyErrand, users had to purchase credits before posting a task, now they don’t have to pay until the task is completed. On the other side of things, “task runners” can now bid against other runners for tasks posted by TaskRabbit users. Runners can also counteroffer a user’s posted runner’s fee.
TaskRabbit is making it easier and fun for busy individuals by allowing them to schedule weekly tasks. Users can now get their groceries delivered or car washed on the same day every week. (This feature’s for you super organized folks.) If you’re still skeptical about TaskRabbit, check out their “Live Activity Feed” and see who’s posting errands and who’s running them. The “Live Activity Feed” also streams the chatter (questions, bids, comments, etc.) happening on the site.
TaskRabbit is an online social network that’s making an impact in the real world for users. They’re creating a whole new system for the exchange of time. On April 19th, TaskRabbit is even outsourcing the Boston marathon for people who wouldn’t get to run in the race otherwise. TaskRabbit’s willing and in-shape runners are running on behalf of three individuals; the money raised will go to the Ellie Fund, the National Federation for the Blind of MA, and the Council on Aging.
TaskRabbit is making people smarter and more efficient; Boston is wasting less time thanks to Leah Busque and her TaskRabbit team, which is dedicated to keeping the business model open and their customers happy. We’re confident that their launch in San Francisco will relieve the stress of more, busy individuals, even if that means mostly outsourcing trips to feed the parking meter. (It’s the little things that count, isn’t it?)
