1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:05,990 Sean Aylmer: Welcome to the Fear and Greed daily interview. I'm Sean 2 00:00:05,990 --> 00:00:09,150 Sean Aylmer: Aylmer. One of the most exciting IPOs this year was 3 00:00:09,150 --> 00:00:13,240 Sean Aylmer: the listing of gig economy platform Airtasker. It was founded 4 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:15,760 Sean Aylmer: back in 2012 as a way to connect people who 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,180 Sean Aylmer: had odd jobs with those who could do them for 6 00:00:18,180 --> 00:00:22,190 Sean Aylmer: a negotiated rate. Everything from assembling Ikea furniture to babysitting. 7 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,380 Sean Aylmer: Since then, it's grown significantly, acquiring competitors and culminating in 8 00:00:26,380 --> 00:00:29,300 Sean Aylmer: the listing on the ASX in March. The issue price 9 00:00:29,300 --> 00:00:31,820 Sean Aylmer: was 65 cents, but by the end of the second 10 00:00:31,820 --> 00:00:36,620 Sean Aylmer: day, shares in Airtasker closed up 170%. They've settled back 11 00:00:36,620 --> 00:00:38,370 Sean Aylmer: a bit now but are still well above the issue 12 00:00:38,370 --> 00:00:41,790 Sean Aylmer: price, an incredible ride, and opening up opportunities now for 13 00:00:41,790 --> 00:00:45,640 Sean Aylmer: major marketing campaigns and expansion. Tim Fong is a Co- 14 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,560 Sean Aylmer: Founder, and CEO of Airtasker and my guest today. Tim, welcome 15 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:49,880 Sean Aylmer: to Fear and Greed. 16 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:50,920 Tim Fong: Hey Sean. Thanks for having me. 17 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,220 Sean Aylmer: So, tell me the Airtasker story. 18 00:00:53,540 --> 00:00:56,870 Tim Fong: Well, as mentioned, back in 2011, we came up with the idea 19 00:00:56,870 --> 00:01:01,250 Tim Fong: for Airtasker. So, it's been almost a 10- year journey, and it all started when 20 00:01:01,250 --> 00:01:03,260 Tim Fong: I was moving apartments, and I asked a friend of 21 00:01:03,260 --> 00:01:06,619 Tim Fong: mine, Ivan, to help me pack all my boxes and 22 00:01:06,620 --> 00:01:09,010 Tim Fong: move them. He has a truck which he uses to 23 00:01:09,010 --> 00:01:12,959 Tim Fong: do deliveries for his frozen chicken nuggets business. And so, 24 00:01:13,350 --> 00:01:15,360 Tim Fong: we packed everything in his truck, moved it across to 25 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:17,920 Tim Fong: my apartment, and then that just got us thinking. Why 26 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:19,810 Tim Fong: don't we ask friends and family to do all these 27 00:01:19,810 --> 00:01:22,619 Tim Fong: kinds of jobs when there's so many people out there 28 00:01:22,620 --> 00:01:24,390 Tim Fong: who are looking for a way to be able to earn some 29 00:01:24,390 --> 00:01:27,390 Tim Fong: additional income. And what we realized is there just isn't 30 00:01:27,390 --> 00:01:30,890 Tim Fong: really a fit for purpose way to do local services, 31 00:01:30,890 --> 00:01:33,040 Tim Fong: and we thought this is kind of crazy because if 32 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,819 Tim Fong: you look at platforms like Amazon, and Alibaba, and Kogan 33 00:01:37,130 --> 00:01:40,809 Tim Fong: that are making buying physical products so easy, yet take 34 00:01:40,810 --> 00:01:43,230 Tim Fong: a look at services and it's still ask a friend. 35 00:01:43,700 --> 00:01:46,350 Tim Fong: Put it on a classified. We thought there's got to 36 00:01:46,350 --> 00:01:48,910 Tim Fong: be a simple way to do e- commerce for local services. 37 00:01:49,490 --> 00:01:52,330 Sean Aylmer: Great idea, and this great story. At what point did 38 00:01:52,330 --> 00:01:53,820 Sean Aylmer: you think, actually, we're onto something here. 39 00:01:54,260 --> 00:01:56,680 Tim Fong: It was a hard slog for quite a number of 40 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,980 Tim Fong: years, actually, and the reason for that is that the 41 00:01:59,980 --> 00:02:03,940 Tim Fong: way Airtasker's built is it's truly a community marketplace. We 42 00:02:03,940 --> 00:02:07,740 Tim Fong: describe ourselves as being open and horizontal, which means that 43 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,250 Tim Fong: the way that we build trust on Airtasker is through 44 00:02:10,250 --> 00:02:14,100 Tim Fong: transparency and accountability, rather than doing the jobs ourselves, and 45 00:02:14,100 --> 00:02:16,530 Tim Fong: the types of work that can be done through Airtasker 46 00:02:16,530 --> 00:02:19,359 Tim Fong: really infinite. You can get anything done on Airtasker within our 47 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,720 Tim Fong: community guidelines. But what this means is you do have 48 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:24,829 Tim Fong: this chicken and egg problem when you start. Which is 49 00:02:25,010 --> 00:02:28,330 Tim Fong: who comes first, the people who want to do the work or the people looking for 50 00:02:28,330 --> 00:02:30,720 Tim Fong: someone to do the work? And it takes a long time 51 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,329 Tim Fong: to do that, and we tried a lot of things, failed at 52 00:02:33,330 --> 00:02:35,470 Tim Fong: a lot of things, and it took us quite a 53 00:02:35,470 --> 00:02:36,790 Tim Fong: few years to get up and running. 54 00:02:37,330 --> 00:02:39,140 Sean Aylmer: OK. So, how does Airtasker make its money? 55 00:02:39,660 --> 00:02:42,220 Tim Fong: We find this really, really important what our business model 56 00:02:42,220 --> 00:02:46,430 Tim Fong: is, and that is that we don't do advertising, and we don't charge subscription 57 00:02:46,430 --> 00:02:49,820 Tim Fong: fees or anything like that. We align ourselves completely with 58 00:02:49,820 --> 00:02:53,630 Tim Fong: our customers and our Taskers by only charging a percentage 59 00:02:53,669 --> 00:02:57,070 Tim Fong: of the completed task value when the job is completed 60 00:02:57,070 --> 00:02:59,889 Tim Fong: to the satisfaction of both parties. And this is really 61 00:02:59,889 --> 00:03:03,269 Tim Fong: important because it means that Taskers, the people who do 62 00:03:03,270 --> 00:03:05,960 Tim Fong: the work on Airtasker, don't have to pay anything upfront. 63 00:03:06,250 --> 00:03:10,180 Tim Fong: And only when they receive income into their bank account 64 00:03:10,419 --> 00:03:13,240 Tim Fong: does Airtasker earn anything. And the same thing for customers, 65 00:03:13,450 --> 00:03:15,669 Tim Fong: we charge nothing unless you get the job done. 66 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,740 Sean Aylmer: Okay. So, let's take a real- life example. I need 67 00:03:18,740 --> 00:03:22,359 Sean Aylmer: a babysitter on Saturday night. I have two kids, and 68 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,299 Sean Aylmer: they're five and seven, and I'm going to be out 69 00:03:24,300 --> 00:03:28,000 Sean Aylmer: from seven till 12, and so, it costs $ 120 for 70 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,859 Sean Aylmer: argument’s sake. So, I go on airtasker. com. au, I 71 00:03:31,860 --> 00:03:33,800 Sean Aylmer: look for a babysitter, there's someone in the area, it's 72 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:38,970 Sean Aylmer: going to cost me $ 120. I pay the babysitter $ 120, 73 00:03:38,970 --> 00:03:42,100 Sean Aylmer: and then a percent of that goes to Airtasker. Is that right? 74 00:03:42,530 --> 00:03:44,750 Tim Fong: That's right. So, there's a small fee which is applied 75 00:03:44,750 --> 00:03:47,220 Tim Fong: on both sides of the market. So, if the job 76 00:03:47,220 --> 00:03:50,190 Tim Fong: value is $ 120, the customer will pay a slight booking 77 00:03:50,190 --> 00:03:53,200 Tim Fong: fee on top of that, and the Tasker will pay 78 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,300 Tim Fong: a percentage of that. All in all, a percentage of 79 00:03:56,300 --> 00:03:59,460 Tim Fong: the amount that you pay through to Airtasker goes to Airtasker, 80 00:04:00,380 --> 00:04:02,780 Tim Fong: and that is about 17% of the task value. 81 00:04:02,810 --> 00:04:07,130 Sean Aylmer: OK. So, what is typically the amount of money that 82 00:04:07,130 --> 00:04:09,950 Sean Aylmer: is being paid for a task, and what are the typical tasks? 83 00:04:10,260 --> 00:04:12,390 Tim Fong: Such a great question. So, one of the things that 84 00:04:12,390 --> 00:04:14,740 Tim Fong: we've been seeing is the types of work going through 85 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,110 Tim Fong: Airtasker are evolving over time. So, as you mentioned when 86 00:04:18,110 --> 00:04:20,719 Tim Fong: we started, we're all about odd jobs and errands, and 87 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:24,870 Tim Fong: primarily people would use Airtasker for packing some boxes or 88 00:04:24,870 --> 00:04:28,000 Tim Fong: doing some light gardening work. But actually, over time, the 89 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,409 Tim Fong: types of jobs have evolved so that now we have 90 00:04:30,700 --> 00:04:35,479 Tim Fong: tax accountants, lawyers, architects, surveyors, all these other kind of 91 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:37,810 Tim Fong: work is coming in. As a result of that, the 92 00:04:37,810 --> 00:04:41,290 Tim Fong: average task price on Airtasker has been increasing, where it 93 00:04:41,290 --> 00:04:45,570 Tim Fong: stands today, it's around $ 194 is the average task value. 94 00:04:46,410 --> 00:04:49,289 Sean Aylmer: Okay. And it's tax time coming up, so, if I 95 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:51,310 Sean Aylmer: want an accountant, I go to Airtasker potentially? 96 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,080 Tim Fong: Absolutely. So, as I mentioned, we're an infinitely horizontal marketplace. 97 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,620 Tim Fong: So, it's one of those things where anything that you 98 00:04:57,620 --> 00:05:00,010 Tim Fong: need done, as long as it fits within our community 99 00:05:00,010 --> 00:05:05,740 Tim Fong: guidelines, so there are some things that we certainly protect the community from, but in 100 00:05:05,740 --> 00:05:08,680 Tim Fong: terms of whether it's anything from packing boxes, through to 101 00:05:09,089 --> 00:05:12,589 Tim Fong: professional trades, plumbers, and electricians, all the way to accountants 102 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:15,109 Tim Fong: and lawyers, that's all available on Airtasker. 103 00:05:15,740 --> 00:05:18,359 Sean Aylmer: So, do you rate people or how do I know 104 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:19,739 Sean Aylmer: I'm getting someone okay? 105 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,670 Tim Fong: It's a great question, and I think it depends on 106 00:05:22,670 --> 00:05:25,410 Tim Fong: the different kinds of jobs that you're doing. So, you 107 00:05:25,410 --> 00:05:28,540 Tim Fong: mentioned there, for example, babysitting. So, if I was choosing 108 00:05:28,540 --> 00:05:31,890 Tim Fong: a babysitter on Airtasker, I would look for a verified Working 109 00:05:31,890 --> 00:05:36,350 Tim Fong: With Children's Check, which Airtasker displays on the profile of 110 00:05:36,350 --> 00:05:38,880 Tim Fong: the Tasker. I might also look for a police check 111 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,100 Tim Fong: badge on that person's profile. I'd then also be looking 112 00:05:42,100 --> 00:05:45,610 Tim Fong: at the ratings and reviews that person has earned on previous 113 00:05:45,610 --> 00:05:48,860 Tim Fong: jobs, and that can be anything from one to 10 reviews. 114 00:05:49,250 --> 00:05:52,870 Tim Fong: Some of our Taskers have thousands and thousands of reviews for 115 00:05:52,870 --> 00:05:54,270 Tim Fong: the services that they've done before. 116 00:05:54,779 --> 00:05:57,920 Sean Aylmer: Fantastic. Now, look, you've created partnerships with companies like Ikea, 117 00:05:58,490 --> 00:06:02,750 Sean Aylmer: where shoppers can book to put together those infinitely difficult 118 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,220 Sean Aylmer: cupboards, and tables, and chairs, many of which I've done 119 00:06:06,220 --> 00:06:09,480 Sean Aylmer: myself. How important is that sort of partnership to get Airtasker 120 00:06:10,220 --> 00:06:11,020 Sean Aylmer: where it is today? 121 00:06:11,690 --> 00:06:15,020 Tim Fong: Well, it's very interesting because in the early days of Airtasker 122 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,910 Tim Fong: we had a very small marketplace, and so, when we would 123 00:06:17,910 --> 00:06:20,440 Tim Fong: go and speak to people like Ikea, there'd be less 124 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:24,760 Tim Fong: interest from them because our base of active Taskers were 125 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:28,070 Tim Fong: smaller, but as Airtasker's really grown, and grown, and grown 126 00:06:28,070 --> 00:06:30,890 Tim Fong: over the years, we've built up this national workforce of 127 00:06:30,890 --> 00:06:34,770 Tim Fong: tens of thousands of active workers every month. And so, 128 00:06:34,770 --> 00:06:36,570 Tim Fong: that makes it easier if you want to go and partner 129 00:06:36,570 --> 00:06:39,650 Tim Fong: with someone like Ikea, they see that as incredibly valuable. 130 00:06:40,529 --> 00:06:41,721 Tim Fong: And so, that has gotten easier over time, but I can tell it was very hard in the early years. 131 00:06:41,721 --> 00:06:47,060 Sean Aylmer: OK. And everyone's a contractor. So, I'm coming at you 132 00:06:47,060 --> 00:06:49,610 Sean Aylmer: from the idea of the Deliveroo decision recently, where it 133 00:06:49,610 --> 00:06:52,440 Sean Aylmer: was the fair work commission that ruled the food delivery 134 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:56,120 Sean Aylmer: rider was an employee, not a contractor, and shouldn't have 135 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,310 Sean Aylmer: been dismissed. Now, does that decision affect you, and are 136 00:06:59,370 --> 00:07:01,670 Sean Aylmer: you confident everyone remains a contractor? 137 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:04,609 Tim Fong: I think this is a really interesting area, which is 138 00:07:04,610 --> 00:07:07,969 Tim Fong: this idea of the umbrella term of the gig economy. And 139 00:07:07,970 --> 00:07:11,500 Tim Fong: one thing at Airtasker, we like to emphasize and stress 140 00:07:11,500 --> 00:07:15,010 Tim Fong: about our business model, the differences in the different kinds 141 00:07:15,010 --> 00:07:18,820 Tim Fong: of platforms that exist underneath that umbrella. When you think 142 00:07:18,820 --> 00:07:21,350 Tim Fong: of something like the food delivery platforms or the ride- 143 00:07:21,350 --> 00:07:24,460 Tim Fong: sharing platforms, what's common about them is that it's the 144 00:07:24,460 --> 00:07:27,670 Tim Fong: platform that is deciding who's going to do what job, 145 00:07:27,950 --> 00:07:30,440 Tim Fong: and it's the platform that decides the price and what 146 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,270 Tim Fong: kind of work that you're going to do. Airtasker is 147 00:07:33,270 --> 00:07:36,050 Tim Fong: completely different to that, which is that it is the 148 00:07:36,100 --> 00:07:39,890 Tim Fong: Tasker, the service provider, and the customer who independently between 149 00:07:39,890 --> 00:07:42,980 Tim Fong: those two people agree on what is the job to 150 00:07:42,980 --> 00:07:46,330 Tim Fong: be done. And also, it's the Tasker who determines what 151 00:07:46,330 --> 00:07:48,130 Tim Fong: is the price that they need to be paid to 152 00:07:48,130 --> 00:07:52,330 Tim Fong: do that job. That's not determined by Airtasker, that's entirely 153 00:07:52,330 --> 00:07:54,540 Tim Fong: driven by the community, so it's quite a different model. 154 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:56,220 Sean Aylmer: Yeah. Very significant difference there. 155 00:07:56,310 --> 00:07:59,040 Tim Fong: That's right. And so, I think we do believe that 156 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,480 Tim Fong: it in some of these spaces where the platform is 157 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:04,940 Tim Fong: deciding who's doing what, and what they're going to get 158 00:08:04,940 --> 00:08:08,880 Tim Fong: paid for doing that, regulation is absolutely something that should 159 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,640 Tim Fong: be a consideration. But in a community marketplace, it's actually 160 00:08:12,910 --> 00:08:15,670 Tim Fong: more similar to something like the Yellow Pages, or Google, 161 00:08:15,670 --> 00:08:18,410 Tim Fong: or Gum Tree, so it's a slightly different scenario there. 162 00:08:19,110 --> 00:08:26,380 Sean Aylmer: Stay with me, Tim, we'll be back in a minute. My guest 163 00:08:26,380 --> 00:08:29,540 Sean Aylmer: this morning is Tim Fong, Co- Founder, and CEO of 164 00:08:29,570 --> 00:08:33,230 Sean Aylmer: Airtasker. Now, I'm trying not to talk about COVID- 19 anymore, 165 00:08:33,230 --> 00:08:35,780 Sean Aylmer: however, it must have had a real impact on your 166 00:08:35,780 --> 00:08:38,380 Sean Aylmer: business, even in terms of the jobs that people needed 167 00:08:38,510 --> 00:08:39,090 Sean Aylmer: being done. 168 00:08:39,620 --> 00:08:43,569 Tim Fong: In the early days of COVID, we saw an initial depression in 169 00:08:43,570 --> 00:08:46,439 Tim Fong: the marketplace, and we were pretty concerned as a business 170 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:48,760 Tim Fong: as we watched the numbers drop, and they dropped by 171 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:51,300 Tim Fong: about 14% month- on- month, which is a pretty large 172 00:08:51,300 --> 00:08:53,189 Tim Fong: number for us at the scale that we've grown to. 173 00:08:53,929 --> 00:08:56,330 Tim Fong: But what we saw was quite remarkable out of that 174 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:59,710 Tim Fong: scenario, which is that we started to see that customers 175 00:08:59,970 --> 00:09:03,160 Tim Fong: just started requesting different things on Airtasker. For example, they 176 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:08,199 Tim Fong: started requesting shopping deliveries. They started requesting at- home personal 177 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:12,900 Tim Fong: fitness trainers, bike repairs increased about 160% week on week. 178 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:15,530 Tim Fong: And so, what we saw is the mix of jobs 179 00:09:15,750 --> 00:09:18,890 Tim Fong: start to change on the platform, and then at the same 180 00:09:18,890 --> 00:09:22,320 Tim Fong: time, our Taskers started getting really creative with the way 181 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:24,719 Tim Fong: that they were going to deliver those services. So, for 182 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,460 Tim Fong: example, we have some of our top Taskers do things 183 00:09:27,460 --> 00:09:30,439 Tim Fong: like home organization, and I would've thought that that's an in- 184 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:32,809 Tim Fong: person job, but actually, they were able to start doing 185 00:09:32,809 --> 00:09:35,949 Tim Fong: that remotely. And as a result of that, 2020 was 186 00:09:35,950 --> 00:09:38,520 Tim Fong: actually the largest year of point- to- point growth for 187 00:09:38,550 --> 00:09:42,069 Tim Fong: Airtasker, and it was something where we really saw our 188 00:09:42,070 --> 00:09:45,359 Tim Fong: community show their resilience and how they could adapt to 189 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,640 Tim Fong: the situation, which was a great signal for our business model. 190 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,860 Sean Aylmer: So, 2020 was strong, good time to list then in 191 00:09:51,860 --> 00:09:55,679 Sean Aylmer: March this year. Why did you list? What was the 192 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:58,050 Sean Aylmer: reason for that, and how have you found it? 193 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:01,340 Tim Fong: There are two primary reasons why we decided to list. 194 00:10:01,340 --> 00:10:04,110 Tim Fong: So, I think one is that we see the opportunity for 195 00:10:04,140 --> 00:10:10,829 Tim Fong: Airtasker, particularly in international expansion, to be absolutely ginormous. If you look at 196 00:10:10,830 --> 00:10:14,319 Tim Fong: the US markets and the UK markets, Singapore island, and 197 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,640 Tim Fong: New Zealand, where we operate, there isn't anything like Airtasker 198 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,390 Tim Fong: in those markets. And so, it's really a blue ocean 199 00:10:20,390 --> 00:10:23,929 Tim Fong: opportunity, and it will require some upfront capital investment. So, 200 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,370 Tim Fong: to be able to have the agility of being able 201 00:10:27,370 --> 00:10:31,550 Tim Fong: to access the ASX investors was definitely a very appealing 202 00:10:31,590 --> 00:10:34,160 Tim Fong: point for us. The second is that it gave an 203 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,700 Tim Fong: opportunity for our employees and our Taskers to be rewarded 204 00:10:37,700 --> 00:10:40,920 Tim Fong: and to own part of Airtasker, and we thought that was really, 205 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:44,890 Tim Fong: really cool. When we listed the company, we actually created 206 00:10:44,890 --> 00:10:48,469 Tim Fong: a special offer for our Taskers, our most foundational and 207 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:52,880 Tim Fong: early Taskers, and the response was absolutely massive. It ended 208 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:56,170 Tim Fong: up actually getting leaked onto a Reddit forum, and we 209 00:10:56,170 --> 00:10:57,900 Tim Fong: opened up our bank account the next day, there were 210 00:10:57,900 --> 00:11:00,449 Tim Fong: millions of dollars in this bank account. So, we had 211 00:11:00,450 --> 00:11:03,829 Tim Fong: to actually do a confirmation back- check against whether they 212 00:11:03,830 --> 00:11:07,780 Tim Fong: were all actually Taskers on the Airtasker platform, and actually returned 213 00:11:07,780 --> 00:11:09,660 Tim Fong: millions of dollars to people's bank account. So, it was 214 00:11:09,660 --> 00:11:12,620 Tim Fong: a great response, and it was great to have Taskers being part of 215 00:11:12,620 --> 00:11:13,319 Tim Fong: the journey with us. 216 00:11:13,630 --> 00:11:15,420 Sean Aylmer: Okay. And did you look at the share price? You 217 00:11:15,420 --> 00:11:17,300 Sean Aylmer: had a huge jump in those first couple of days, 218 00:11:17,300 --> 00:11:19,610 Sean Aylmer: and then it came back, but it's been fairly flat 219 00:11:19,610 --> 00:11:22,850 Sean Aylmer: since the last couple of months, really. Fairly flat, being about $1. 220 00:11:23,620 --> 00:11:26,230 Sean Aylmer: 10 or $1. 20 or so, which is not that far 221 00:11:26,230 --> 00:11:28,809 Sean Aylmer: off twice what you listed at. Are you happy with how 222 00:11:28,809 --> 00:11:29,250 Sean Aylmer: it's gone so far? 223 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:32,720 Tim Fong: I think it's fair to say that if you watch 224 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:34,990 Tim Fong: the share price every day, you're going to probably start 225 00:11:34,990 --> 00:11:38,319 Tim Fong: pulling your hair out. You've got to really focus on 226 00:11:38,460 --> 00:11:41,110 Tim Fong: the long- term of the business. From my perspective, I'm 227 00:11:41,429 --> 00:11:44,079 Tim Fong: here for the long term, and so I certainly don't 228 00:11:44,610 --> 00:11:46,910 Tim Fong: look at the share price every day, and I certainly 229 00:11:46,910 --> 00:11:48,650 Tim Fong: don't want to react to that or any of my 230 00:11:48,650 --> 00:11:52,370 Tim Fong: employees or team members to react to the share price. 231 00:11:52,650 --> 00:11:55,400 Tim Fong: But certainly, point- to- point, if we look at where 232 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:57,319 Tim Fong: we started in March to where we are now being 233 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:02,179 Tim Fong: almost 70% up on the listing price, massively exceeds any 234 00:12:02,179 --> 00:12:04,319 Tim Fong: of the expectations that we had before we listed. 235 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:06,710 Sean Aylmer: There are plenty of other IPOs in the last six 236 00:12:06,710 --> 00:12:09,510 Sean Aylmer: months who would be extremely happy with that result, Tim. 237 00:12:10,460 --> 00:12:13,320 Tim Fong: Absolutely. And I think as much as you have to, 238 00:12:13,610 --> 00:12:16,300 Tim Fong: we're founders and entrepreneurs, and we want to keep pushing, 239 00:12:16,300 --> 00:12:18,930 Tim Fong: and pushing, and pushing, at the same time, I think it's important to smell the roses 240 00:12:19,179 --> 00:12:21,939 Tim Fong: and count a bit of success and recognize those milestones. 241 00:12:22,179 --> 00:12:24,440 Sean Aylmer: So, the future's all about international expansion? 242 00:12:24,660 --> 00:12:27,610 Tim Fong: I think there's two main areas which we are focusing 243 00:12:27,750 --> 00:12:30,339 Tim Fong: on at the moment. One is that we are building 244 00:12:30,340 --> 00:12:33,630 Tim Fong: new ways for customers to be able to connect with 245 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:38,410 Tim Fong: Taskers. So, for example, we've just launched a new marketplace 246 00:12:38,410 --> 00:12:41,890 Tim Fong: model called Airtasker Listings. Well, what this does it allows 247 00:12:41,890 --> 00:12:45,829 Tim Fong: Taskers to prepackage services and put them on the shelves 248 00:12:45,830 --> 00:12:49,460 Tim Fong: of the Airtasker store so that we can inspire our 249 00:12:49,460 --> 00:12:52,610 Tim Fong: customers about what else they could use Airtasker for. So, 250 00:12:52,610 --> 00:12:54,850 Tim Fong: for example, if you want to have a comedian come 251 00:12:54,850 --> 00:12:57,250 Tim Fong: and perform at your birthday party, you can now book 252 00:12:57,250 --> 00:13:00,550 Tim Fong: that on Airtasker Listing, so, opening up a whole new 253 00:13:00,550 --> 00:13:04,640 Tim Fong: services categories. So, that's one area, is the marketplace models. 254 00:13:04,790 --> 00:13:07,650 Tim Fong: The second is international expansion. As you may have seen 255 00:13:07,650 --> 00:13:10,260 Tim Fong: in the news, we recently acquired a company called Zaarly 256 00:13:10,260 --> 00:13:13,260 Tim Fong: in the US, which I'm really, really excited about. That's going 257 00:13:13,260 --> 00:13:15,730 Tim Fong: to give us that massive jumpstart into the US market, 258 00:13:15,730 --> 00:13:18,390 Tim Fong: which is just an absolutely enormous blue ocean for us. 259 00:13:18,770 --> 00:13:21,470 Sean Aylmer: Yeah. Very exciting. Now, if I go and buy Ikea this arvo, 260 00:13:21,550 --> 00:13:23,490 Sean Aylmer: Tim, would you be able to come over and put it 261 00:13:23,490 --> 00:13:24,770 Sean Aylmer: together? Are you handy? 262 00:13:26,780 --> 00:13:30,240 Tim Fong: Look, I don't mind dabbling a little bit, but actually, 263 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,579 Tim Fong: what I did experience on Airtasker is a very pertinent example. 264 00:13:34,460 --> 00:13:36,510 Tim Fong: I was trying to put together about 15 of these 265 00:13:36,510 --> 00:13:39,530 Tim Fong: stools with a hand screwdriver, and it was taking me 266 00:13:39,530 --> 00:13:41,850 Tim Fong: about 10, 15 minutes per stool. I had about- 267 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:43,140 Sean Aylmer: Very sore wrist as well. 268 00:13:43,470 --> 00:13:46,780 Tim Fong: Yeah. Absolutely. But I had a Tasker come over and put them all 269 00:13:46,780 --> 00:13:50,700 Tim Fong: together in about one hour with a drill and a 270 00:13:50,700 --> 00:13:53,700 Tim Fong: much better process than me, and I just realized, wow, 271 00:13:53,700 --> 00:13:56,150 Tim Fong: this is the value of being able to connect people 272 00:13:56,150 --> 00:13:58,030 Tim Fong: with skills in their local community. 273 00:13:58,620 --> 00:14:00,459 Sean Aylmer: You know that story there, Tim, you don't own a 274 00:14:00,460 --> 00:14:03,020 Sean Aylmer: drill, therefore, you're not handy. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to 275 00:14:03,150 --> 00:14:05,330 Sean Aylmer: put that to you so bluntly, but if you don't own a 276 00:14:05,330 --> 00:14:07,610 Sean Aylmer: drill, you're in trouble. Tim, thank you for talking to 277 00:14:07,610 --> 00:14:08,210 Sean Aylmer: Fear and Greed. 278 00:14:08,590 --> 00:14:08,710 Tim Fong: Thanks so much, Sean. 279 00:14:09,450 --> 00:14:12,490 Sean Aylmer: That was Tim Fong, Co- Founder, and CEO of Airtasker. 280 00:14:12,770 --> 00:14:14,809 Sean Aylmer: This is a Fear and Greed Daily Interview. Join me 281 00:14:14,809 --> 00:14:17,470 Sean Aylmer: every morning for the full Fear and Greed podcast with 282 00:14:17,470 --> 00:14:19,970 Sean Aylmer: all the business news you need to know. I'm Sean 283 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:21,050 Sean Aylmer: Aylmer. Enjoy your day.