Get to know a Toronto startup: MyTaskRunner

Need someone to mow the lawn? Paint the fence? Help you lift that sofa up three flights of stairs? MyTaskRunner, a web site that launched at the beginning of May, might be able to help. Headquartered in Vaughan, this new spin on Craigslist is trying to make it easier to connect qualified people looking for work ("TaskRunners") with those who need their assistance.

I recently connected with founder Albert Vaisman who filled me in on what MyTaskRunner is up to.

In a nutshell, what is MyTaskRunner?

MyTaskRunner takes the pain out of doing house chores, errands, or any other time consuming task that we as individuals are faced with on a daily basis. Our community platform connects people who need something done, with verified TaskRunners who can do it for them.

Who are your competitors?

We face competition from sites like Craigslist and Kijiji. The critical pain point of using those sites arises after you make a posting - you tend to notice your inbox gets over-flooded with messages from random people who want to assist you, but frankly you have no idea who they are, whether or not they are capable for the job, and there is no way to check for feedback from prior work.

With MyTaskRunner getting a job done is quick and simple. All you have to do is post a task (describe it, indicate when it needs to be done, and set the price you are willing to pay), choose a TaskRunner (review each candidate and choose the most suitable one), and we take care of the payment through our platform once the task is completed.

We eliminate the hassle and stress of trying to find the right person to help you out. We screen all our TaskRunners to ensure that we're working with the most awesome people in the city. Because we have a diverse community of TaskRunners, each TaskRunner outlines their skills and abilities in the profile that they have built which also includes feedback from previous tasks.

When was the company founded?

The idea came to fruition just before the New Year. Up until our launch we were working to attain early users and build relationships with both TaskRunners and TaskPosters. There was never a day where we would sit and wait for the website to be ready - we were always doing research and speaking to potential customers.

How many employees do you have?

We are currently four. There is one full time engineer and two interns helping us out. We also have a great advisor who has been with us since the beginning and has been guiding and helping us stay on the right track.

Have you received funding?

MyTaskRunner has received a round of funding from friends and family.

What sort of metrics can you share with us so far?

Since our debut in the Greater Toronto Area, we've had over 40 tasks go through our system and have grown our team of TaskRunners to over 50.

What are some examples of the most popular tasks created/filled on the site?

Due to the current spring season, Torontonians have been requesting their lawn mowed as a clear favourite on MyTaskRunner. Furthermore, a lot of people are initiating their Spring-cleaning and as a result are in need of an extra helping hand - so we've seen quite a bit of "Heavy Lifting" and "Moving Help" required.

Are you planning any apps?

An iOS and Android app is in the works and will be released in the near future.

How do you make money?

MyTaskRunner charges a 10% service fee from each party.

What additional features do you plan to add to the site?

We plan to add more of an "instant task" feature where somebody requires a task done immediately - perhaps food delivery. We will be rolling this out in the upcoming weeks.