Featured Startup Pitch: AskForTask is a new entrant to the peer-to-peer service market that’s focused on chores and errands

By Muneeb Mushtaq, AskForTask co-founder and CEO

ELEVATOR PITCH

AskForTask is an online platform connecting people together to get their daily tasks and errands done, in a safe and reliable environment.

PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION

AskForTask is a competitive and transparent marketplace for all methods of on-the-spot projects and chores.

AskForTask makes it easy to post any sort of task online. Whether it is a quick errand you need help with, or a few hours of tough manual labor that could require a team of people, no task is too big or too small to post.

AskForTask allows users to set the job requirements and the desired amount. Once this is done, offers start flowing in a matter of minutes, and you can assign the job to the right ‘Tasker’ based on user-generated reviews, the type of work you require, and when you need it done.

FOUNDERS’ STORY

The idea for AskForTask came out of a personal need. My brother Nabeel and I were in the need for a plumber to fix a leaking faucet. We searched for hours to find the right person at a reasonable price, and in a short timeframe, but were unable to get an accurate quote without having someone physically come and look at the damage. What resulted was the idea of a peer-to-peer marketplace where users can share their skills in a safe and trustworthy environment.

MARKETING/PROMOTION STRATEGY

For marketing, we utilize numerous online and offline strategies. For online, we mostly utilize our social media on which we have over 20,000 users/followers. AskForTask puts initiatives in motion based on the time-of-year (such as Halloween, iPhone 6 launch, etc.), to inform the public about special offers and task opportunities. Other than that, PR buzz keeps AskForTask relevant and drives traffic, and significant media outlets like the BBC, Forbes, CNN, and BNN have covered us.

As far as offline campaigns are concerned, the best promotion we rely on is word-of-mouth, which usually drives traffic from satisfied customers and users who utilize AskForTask and mention it to their family members and friends.

MARKET OPPORTUNITY

AskForTask differs from its competition due to its community-based platform. AskForTask.com and the available iOS app bring a more consistent user experience that makes it easier to quickly post and manage the activity.

The marketplace is a two-way street that also creates a centralized source of temporary employment for eager Taskers.

AskForTask delivers for Taskers in the same way it delivers for Askers, and for the same reasons. You have a single, aggregated pool of labor opportunities that cuts out the frustration and valuable time involved in actually having to find quick work and tells you exactly what will be asked of you and how much you can make doing it.

Most importantly, it is completely free to post the task and the fee is only charged upon completion. The service charge is the lowest in the industry, at 15 percent, ensuring maximum benefit to the users that are completing the jobs.

DIFFERENTIATORS

Listening to and implementing feedback helps us modify our product and bring in new features constantly. Our service price-point is the lowest in the industry at 15 percent, and the experienced AskforTask team helps us to expand our business at a rapid pace.

What sets AskForTask apart from the competition is that the platform brings a more consistent mission statement, dealing with focused, smaller errands, and offering additional features.

With AskForTask, Askers and Taskers review one another constantly, creating incentives for good work and good treatment, and ensuring transparency in all transactions. They can connect on private chats, or use location data to determine what tasks are available in their area and who’s available to take them on. What we’ve created is an extremely straightforward marketplace, where listing and bidding on tasks are essentially one-step processes, but one that functions on a number of different levels.

What we envisioned with AskForTask was a platform that would bring both ends of the market together in one place and facilitate honest transactions, while also accounting for the logistics of getting jobs done in a timely manner.

BUSINESS MODEL

The person who is posting the task is called an ‘Asker’—whatever the person posts is free to post, and the person completing the task (known as a ‘Tasker’), is charged a flat fee of a 15 percent service charge.

CURRENT NEEDS

Currently we are in the process of closing our round A funding, and we have already raised over $500,000 in Seed funding. Other than that, with our exponential growth we are always on the lookout for top talent to add to our team to help us accommodate the growth.

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HEADQUARTERS: Toronto