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Airtasker
Type of businessPublic
Type of site
Community Marketplace
Traded asASX: ART
Founded2012
HeadquartersSydney, New South Wales,
Australia
Country of originAustralia
Area servedAustralia, UK, Ireland, Singapore, United States, New Zealand
Founder(s)Tim Fung, Jonathan Lui
ChairpersonCass O'Connor
CEOTim Fung
Net incomeDecrease $23,536,669 (FY 2018)
Employees175
URLwww.airtasker.com
Users2,000,000
Launched2012

Airtasker is a Sydney-based Australian company which provides an online and mobile marketplace, enabling users to outsource everyday tasks.[1] Users describe the task and indicate a budget; community members then bid to complete the task.[2]

Airtasker was founded in 2012 by Australian entrepreneurs Tim Fung and Jonathan Lui[3] and has raised AUD $65 million, to date, in 2017.[4]

History

[edit]

Co-founders Tim Fung and Jonathan Lui devised the Airtasker concept in 2011, when they relocated apartments and realised that many of the related tasks could be outsourced to other people.[5] Funding for the venture was facilitated by existing relationships with investors, forged by Fung and Lui's shared workplace, the mobile start-up Amaysim.[6] The team successfully raised AUD $1.5 million two months after launch and began expanding its offering to cater for businesses as well as individuals.[7]

The company acquired rival company TaskBox for an undisclosed sum in February 2013,[8] and the Melbourne-based Occasional Butler in 2014.[9]

Airtasker partnered with Australian jobs listing website CareerOne in July 2013 which gave the platform further exposure to the casual jobs market.[10] By late 2013 Airtasker had closed a second round of funding raising a further AUD $2 million, bringing total investment in the company to AUD $3.5 million and valuing it at $10 million.[11]

In 2017, Sydney company Freelancer alleged that Airtasker misappropriated confidential information in the usage of the term "Like a boss" in their advertising campaign.[12] Airtasker lodged an opposition to Freelancer's "Like a boss" trademark,[13] which was still in correspondence process with IP Australia in December 2018.

In July 2018, some of Airtasker's Australian data may have been compromised in a Typeform data breach.[14]

In December 2018, the Australian Taxation Office audited Airtasker and requested the repayment of Research and Development rebates.[15]

Bidding process

[edit]

The Airtasker process begins when a user posts a job they need completed, setting a suggested payment as well as any details needed to make a decision. Other users can post their interest in completing the task along with their own suggestions on the payment amount. The user who posted the task can make a decision on who to award the task to based on the applicant's profile, task history and ratings. Once this decision is made, the Airtasker platform allows private communication and payment to be made between the parties.[16] It is free for users and applicants to join Airtasker but once a task is successfully completed and paid, all taskers must face a 22% service fee with GST settlement unless they make over $1000, in which case they face a 20% reduction instead. This is the deduction for a silver tiered Tasker, but there are also gold and platinum tiered Taskers, and they face an 18% and 15% task deduction respectively for their services for the community.[17]

Airtasker has obtained insurance cover via CGU that provides up to $10 million in coverage to protect Taskers on the Airtasker marketplace for their liability to third parties, for personal injury or property damage when performing a task.[18]

Investment and results

[edit]

In April 2012, Airtasker raised AUD $1.5 million, acquired 45,000 users and processed AUD $1 million in Australian jobs (two months after launch).[19] By November 2013 the company had raised a further AUD $2 million for a total of $3.5 million in funds raised,[20] valuing the company at AUD $10 million.[21]

In February 2013, Airtasker acquired competitor TaskBox.[22]

In July 2014, Airtasker acquired Melbourne-based odd jobs outsourcing business Occasional Butler[23] and claimed to have 130,000 community members and an annual task run rate of over $4 million.

In May 2015, Airtasker raised $6.5 million in a round led by Shanghai-based Morning Crest Capital and the NRMA. Airtasker claimed to have 250,000 users and to process $15 million worth of tasks a year.[24]

In June 2016, Airtasker raised $22 million in a series B investment led by Seven West Media for a 15% stake.[25] Airtasker claimed to have 600,000 community members and more than $40m annual transaction volume.

In October 2017, Airtasker raised $33 million to enable the company to expand to Britain.[26]

In June 2018, there were about 2,000,000 users.[27]

In 2018, total revenue for Airtasker was $11,424,440 versus $5,468,341 in 2017. The operating loss in 2018 was $23,536,669 compared to $12,846,493 in 2017.[28]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Angus Kidman (21 February 2012). "Airtasker Lets You Outsource Your Entire Life". Lifehacker Australia. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  2. ^ Hanlon, Joseph (1 March 2012). "Airtasker: like eBay for odd jobs - Internet Applications & Software". Cnet.com.au. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  3. ^ James Manning (19 April 2012). "Airtasker | Tasks for Money at Australian Tech Start Up". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Airtasker raises $33 million to hit the UK as Seven West and Exto up stakes". 9 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Outsourcing your life". Today.ninemsn.com.au. 11 April 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  6. ^ James Manning (19 April 2012). "Airtasker | Tasks for Money at Australian Tech Start Up". The Age. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  7. ^ Falconer, Joel (8 November 2012). "Australian Startup Airtasker Launches Business Service". Thenextweb.com. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Airtasker acquires local rival TaskBox". Business Spectator. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  9. ^ Sadauskas, Andrew (10 July 2014). "Airtasker acquires Occasional Butler, explores overseas expansion". SmartCompany. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  10. ^ "CareerOne partners with Airtasker to corner casual jobs market". Business Spectator. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  11. ^ "Aussie startup aims to shake up $20b temp recruitment market". Afr.com. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  12. ^ Pash, Tony Yoo, Chris (5 January 2017). "Freelancer and Airtasker are brawling over who came up with the concept for the 'Like a Boss' ad campaign". Business Insider Australia. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Trade mark 1797549". IP Australia. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  14. ^ Crozier, Ry (4 July 2018). "Airtasker caught up in Typeform data breach". iTnews. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  15. ^ Smith, Paul; Gillezeau, Natasha (3 December 2018). "Airtasker hit by R&D incentive tax crackdown that threatens tech firms". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Outsource everyday chores & errands to friendly & reliable Airtaskers". Airtasker.com. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  17. ^ Twyman, Joel (11 February 2019). "Airtasker launches new fee structure". Airtasker. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  18. ^ "IAG Invests Several Million Dollars Into Airtasker". Which-50. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  19. ^ Ian Grayson (9 April 2013). "For a start, think hard work". The Australian. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  20. ^ Lee, Michael (26 November 2013). "Airtasker more than doubles capital with new investment round". ZDNet. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  21. ^ James Hutchinson (26 November 2013). "Aussie startup aims to shake up $20b temp recruitment market". Brw.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  22. ^ Hammond, Michelle (7 February 2013). "Airtasker snaps up TaskBox as it prepares to tackle global markets". Smart Company. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  23. ^ Sadauskas, Andrew (11 July 2014). "Airtasker acquires Occasional Butler, explores overseas expansion". Smart Company. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  24. ^ Heber, Alex (5 May 2015). "Airtasker has raised $6.5 million from Chinese investors". Business Insider Australia. Archived from the original on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  25. ^ Kimmorley, Sarah (7 June 2016). "Airtasker just raised $22 million, and now it wants to become an Australian household name". Business Insider Australia. Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  26. ^ Redrup, Yolanda (10 October 2017). "Airtasker raises $33 million to hit the UK as Seven West and Exto up stakes". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  27. ^ Redrup, Yolanda (5 June 2018). "How Airtasker grew its user base to 2 million people with only 165 staff". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  28. ^ "AIRTASKER PTY LTD" (PDF). Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
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