Admit it — I bet I’m the only founder you know with 250+ 5 star task reviews.

& I’m going to admit that IKEA‘s Taskrabbit has been one of the most powerful forces for connection & business building in my life. I wrote yesterday about how wealth & employment disparaities affect people with autism — even the highest functioning folks. Interviewing is mostly a performative process, and often workplace performance is measured socially rather than in actual work impact. Also, gig work + “sharing” economy mostly sucks TBH.

-Illegal taxi & delivery co makes people poorer + uses tips to subsidize pay
-Crypto wealth is fleeting & requires having savings (27% have nothing)
-Illegal hotel chain requires owning property (unobtainable)

That’s not the case with Taskrabbit — if you’ve got a clean background and a way to get around you’re off to work; and once you are you’re there to get a specific set of things done and explicitly rated on that. (+ being nice & on time) I haven’t done tasks in a while, but I still do them for my old clients.

Through the constant reinforcement of 5-star reviews, clients gave me confidence. Through building a five-star business with portability, I was able to meet my 5+ year goal of moving to Los Angeles. By always suggesting I raise my rates to $60+/hr, they made me recognize that folks highly value my work. Through raising my rates I connected with premium clientele — honestly it’s how I met Vania and got my job at Atwater.

I have also met awesome people like Ashlee Jones through it; as well as Greg LaVecchia + Mari Llewellyn , & saw them build Bloom Nutrition from almost the start. Most recently I’ve met Meghan Grimm through a TR connection.

I can confidently say that if I wanted to drop everything else & pick up my tool bag again I’d have a great + stable life & full time work because of building connections through TaskRabbit. But I’m not planning on doing that any time soon.

So honestly, big shout out to Leah Solivan — thanks for starting the platform that built up my empowerment. Whether she knows it or not, I bet she’s made a huge impact & empowered many other small business owners on the autism spectrum as well.

My lessons to share from this — you never know how you’ll make the next great connection in your life. Don’t be afraid to do hard work for people that will recognize it; and don’t question your value when they give you that recognition. Also, if you’re in a position to — hire a Tasker, then offer them a full time job. You’ll never hire a better employee. I can near promise that.