TaskRabbit Is On The Hunt For A Potential Buyer

On-demand services marketplace TaskRabbit is on the sales block, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

The company, which supports a platform that connects people to freelance labor, has reportedly tasked bankers with selling the company.

TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot said the company’s talks with potential buyers is “opportunistic,” adding that the company may benefit from being part of a “larger platform.”

However, Brown-Philpot confirmed that the company has enough cash on hand to continue to grow, even if no buyers are found.

Since its launch in 2008, TaskRabbit has raised approximately $38 million and has shifted its focus over time to narrowing in on home-related tasks, WSJ reported.

Sharing economy players, like Uber, Lyft, TaskRabbit and Thumbtack, make it easier for un- and semi-skilled working and middle class people with supply and capacity to find new buyers — and sources of income.

According to recent statistics from the McKinsey Global Institute, as much as one third of workers in the current economy are engaged in this kind of short-term, ad-hoc work. What’s more, the vast majority of both full-time and part-time workers take these jobs out of choice, because they enjoy the benefits the new gig economy offers, rather than out of necessity or a lack of other job opportunities.

PYMNTS.com Gig Economy Index research reported that 31 percent of gig employees can support themselves through one gig. And payment arrives quickly, with 70 percent of gig workers receiving payment within one week. Workers also largely don’t have to pay fees on the income they do make from any gigs or freelance jobs.