Whenever TaskRabbit got press, lots of young, professional men signed up. But regular users of the site–which connects members with people willing to do their chores for a small fee–were women. So Leah Busque has been revamping the site to strike a balance: Cater to women but continue to court men.
See real people
To make the service feel less abstract and more trustworthy, women needed to see photos of actual job-doers. When photos were posted, sign-ups doubled almost immediately.
Focus on solutions
The Post-it Notes stressed out women who were already stretched thin. “We realized we were basically yelling in people’s faces–you have laundry to do!” Busque says. “So we made it more serene.”
Test your changes
The site added flourished handwriting to appeal to women, but surveys found it turned off guys. “We skewed too fun and fluffy,” she says. “We quickly pulled back.”
Speak in color
The switch from dark cork to light sunburst aimed to communicate hope and optimism. It was an emotional cue for women, Busque says, but not so directed that it would turn off men.
Timeline
-
2001
Graduates from Sweet Briar College
-
2001
Starts work as software engineer at IBM
-
2001
Marries Kevin Busque
-
2008
Conceives RunMyErrand, the first concept for TaskRabbit
-
2008
Leaves IBM to focus on TaskRabbit full time
-
2009
Accepted into Facebook’s incubator program, fbFund
-
2009
Raises first round of seed funding for RunMyErrand
-
2010
Rebrands RunMyErrand as TaskRabbit
-
2011
Raises $5 million in Series A funding round
-
2011
TaskRabbit launches iPhone app
-
2011
Raises $17.8 million in Series B funding round