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A 2008 dog-food errand sparked TaskRabbit, the gig-economy marketplace Solivan built from an IBM engineer's side idea into a platform serving millions globally — acquired by IKEA in 2017 — years before "gig economy" entered the mainstream vocabulary.
Leah Busque Solivan is the Founder of TaskRabbit, the online marketplace that connects people with local freelancers for everyday tasks including furniture assembly, moving, cleaning, and handyman services.
Solivan founded TaskRabbit in 2008 after the simple realization that she needed dog food but didn't want to go to the store-and wondered why she couldn't easily hire someone nearby to help. The platform grew into one of the pioneering gig economy companies, serving millions of users across major U.S. and international cities. IKEA acquired TaskRabbit in 2017, integrating it with the furniture retailer's assembly services. Before founding TaskRabbit, Solivan worked as a software engineer at IBM. Her creation of a marketplace for everyday tasks was a precursor to the broader gig economy that has since transformed how millions of Americans work and access services. She has been named to Fortune's Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs and Inc.'s 30 Under 30.
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