Leah Solivan, a former IBM engineer, stumbled upon her million-dollar startup idea while working on business collaboration tools. Her idea was to create an online marketplace connecting customers with “taskers” who could assist with errands and household chores for a fee.
The spark for this idea came when Solivan ran out of dog food one night and wished she could instantly connect with someone who could help. Being in 2008, just a year after the release of the first iPhone, Solivan recognized the potential for a location-based business using mobile technology.
Leah Solivan. Photo: Chance Yeh/WireImage
In a recent interview with entrepreneur Jeff Berman, Solivan reflected on how she saw the intersection of social, location, and mobile technologies as the solution to her idea. “I thought, there’s a lot here,” she said.
Deciding to leave her engineering job at IBM, Solivan cashed out her $27,000 pension plan to kickstart her idea. A decade later, Ikea acquired TaskRabbit for an undisclosed amount, following the startup’s impressive valuation of around $50 million from various funding rounds.
TaskRabbit’s acquisition by Ikea marks the furniture giant’s first purchase in the U.S., signaling a successful journey for Solivan. However, the path to acquisition was not without challenges. After quitting IBM, Solivan dove into coding, spending weeks developing the platform with feedback from random coffee shop-goers.
Upon launching TaskRabbit in Boston with 30 taskers recruited via Craigslist, Solivan learned the importance of being hands-on with the business. She ran errands herself to understand the customer experience, emphasizing the value of being involved in the day-to-day operations.
Ikea’s acquisition of TaskRabbit stemmed from a fruitful in-store partnership in London, where customers could opt for TaskRabbit services to assemble Ikea furniture. This partnership boosted both brands and culminated in Ikea’s decision to acquire TaskRabbit.
“It was bittersweet,” Solivan recalled. “It had been 10 years… It feels good to know that it continues even without my direct involvement.” Providing advice to aspiring entrepreneurs balancing day jobs, Solivan encourages pursuing ideas with conviction despite challenges.
Related: She Batched a Beloved Product at Home, Inspired By a Black-Owned Business From the 1960s. Then It Became a Multimillion-Dollar Brand: ‘We’d Never Intended This.’
