Airtasker fills Zaarly footprint, launching in KC (and bringing back gigs for local ‘Taskers’)

Airtasker announced this week the fast-growing Australian tech company with global aspirations has officially launched its U.S. presence via the Kansas City market — alongside pushes in Dallas and Miami — making good on plans shared with Startland News in June

Next up: Atlanta, later this year.

The news comes about four months after Airtasker — an online marketplace for local services where users can hire skilled “Taskers” or earn money for their own work — acquired Kansas City-based Zaarly in a $2.6 million bid to use the local startup’s existing footprint and employees to more easily break into the U.S. gig economy.

“After vetting several markets, Kansas City, Dallas and Miami scored high across key metrics: population demographics, tech-savviness and an appetite from the local community to outsource tasks,” said Bo Fishback, CEO of Airtasker US and the founder and CEO of the former Zaarly operation. “This made the three key markets ideal locations for our initial U.S. launch where we felt we could solve real customer problems.

“While anyone in the U.S. can now use Airtasker, we’re excited to focus our efforts in these cities as we believe they are full of opportunity and the type of creativity that fuels Airtasker.”

Thousands of U.S. service providers have already joined Airtasker and on average, Taskers are earning $2,500 a month on the platform, according to the company. Nearly 6,500 tasks have been posted, from delivery and furniture assembly to cleaning.

“Digging into our marketplace data, we’ve already captured $80,000 worth of job opportunities in these three initial markets alone,” Fishback said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on all of us, so we’re glad to play a part in providing people with earning opportunities on Airtasker — whether that’s full time, part-time or as a side hustle.”

Click here to learn how you could earn money as a Tasker.

Among the former “Zaarly Pros” in Kansas City making the transition to Airtasker Taskers with the acquisition, All Clear Dryer Vent Cleaning is using the freshly available platform to supplement its standard lead generation process, owner Dan Millman said. He believes the system will help grow his customer base and scale the Independence-based business more quickly.

“I’ve joined other online platforms looking to reach new customers, but leads often ended up costing us more than our return on investment,” Millman explained. “I’m excited to join Airtasker who advertises transparent and fair service fees, which are processed once the job is complete.”

Bo Fishback, Airtasker

And Airtasker services — unlike other platforms available in the U.S. — aren’t limited to certain verticals like home or trade services, Fishback noted (as long as they don’t breach Airtasker’s community guidelines).

“Our ‘open marketplace’ model means you can virtually get anything done on Airtasker – think Halloween costume design for your kids, wardrobe organisation or even trampoline assembly,” he detailed.

Click here to post a task on Airtasker.

Such unrestricted opportunity within the infrastructure of Airtasker reminds Fishback of Zaarly’s early days — before the startup narrowed its offerings to home services — and it’s one of the elements that attracted him to the acquisition deal, he told Startland News in June.

Since launching in Australia in 2012, Airtasker has served more than 4.6 million community members worldwide, facilitating nearly $1 billion in working opportunities.

Click here to learn more about how Airtasker works.