Advice Line with Leah Solivan of Taskrabbit (September 2024)
Taskrabbit founder Leah Solivan joins Guy on the Advice Line, where they answer questions from three tech founders working to identify and grow their core customer base.
First we meet Kate in Los Angeles, who wants her digital greeting cards to stand out in app stores. Then Shahn in Australia, who’s rethinking user acquisition for his couples coaching app. And Allen in Hawaii, who’s wondering about product-market fit for his online platform that teaches kids to play instruments.
Thanks to the founders of Poppy Notes, My Love Your Love and Dynabuddy for being a part of our show.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to Taskrabbit's founding story as told by Leah on the show in 2022.
This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com. Sign up for Guy’s free newsletter at guyraz.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Advice Line: Reaching New Customers
This week, Guy is joined by Leah Solivan of TaskRabbit, Scott and Ally Svenson of MOD Pizza, and Holly Thaggard of Supergoop! to answer questions about reaching new customers from three early-stage founders in this special “mashup” episode of the How I Built This Lab Advice Line.
First, Erin from Alameda, California wants to introduce users to an online divorce platform so the legal process isn’t any harder than it has to be. Then, Kaveh in San Diego seeks to bring his olive oil beyond the farmers market and into kitchens nationwide. And finally, Erik from New Jersey offers on-the-go medical kits to make travel prep that much easier.
Thank you to the founders of Hello Divorce, aficio22 and JetSet Meds for being a part of our show.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.
To hear our guests’ previous episodes:
TaskRabbit: Leah Solivan | Advice Line with Leah Solivan
MOD Pizza & Seattle Coffee Company: Scott and Ally Svenson | Advice Line with Scott and Ally Svenson
Supergoop!: Holly Thaggard | Advice Line with Holly Thaggard
This episode was produced by Chris Maccini with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineers were Gilly Moon and Robert Rodriguez.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free
newsletter at guyraz.com.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Advice Line with Leah Solivan of Taskrabbit
Taskrabbit founder Leah Solivan joins Guy on the Advice Line, where they answer questions from three tech founders working to identify and grow their core customer base.
First we meet Kate in Los Angeles, who wants her digital greeting cards to stand out in app stores. Then Shahn in Australia, who’s rethinking user acquisition for his couples coaching app. And Allen in Hawaii, who’s wondering about product-market fit for his online platform that teaches kids to play instruments.
Thanks to the founders of Poppy Notes, My Love Your Love and Dynabuddy for being a part of our show.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to Taskrabbit's founding story as told by Leah on the show in 2022.
This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The vital question Taskrabbit founder Leah Solivan wished she asked investors
A pioneer in the gig economy, Leah Solivan joins host Jeff Berman to share scale lessons from founding Taskrabbit. Hear how a need for dog food on a snowy night grew into a global business acquired by IKEA. She also reveals how her experience as an entrepreneur is shaping her next act as an early-stage investor.
Leah has a new podcast of her own in the works: Breaking Precedent
Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com
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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
TaskRabbit: Leah Solivan
One snowy night in Boston, Leah Solivan ran out of dog food for her 100-pound yellow lab. She wondered: shouldn’t I be able to resupply Kobe without going to the store? That was the origin of TaskRabbit, an online errand service that matches users with “taskers” to do deliveries and other chores. When Leah left her IBM job to start coding the service, the peer-to-peer economy was still in its infancy. But she saw that three important developments—mobile, location services, and social media—were about to converge. She recruited errand-runners from Craigslist, and took an expensive gamble on a 15-minute meeting with Tim Ferriss to get advice and investors. After some management hiccups and a difficult rebranding, TaskRabbit sold to IKEA in 2017.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
