EBay transformed the way people sold vintage trinkets online. Craigslist changed the way people bought new sofas and hunted for apartments in their towns. A new start-up called Zaarly hopes to alter the way people outsource simple errands and tasks.
Zaarly Homepage (Click Image To Enlarge)
On October 26, 2011, Zaarly announced that it raised $14.1 million in financing from Kleiner Perkins and Sands Capital Ventures, among others. Previously, the company raised a seed round of $1 million from a notable list of investors, including Ashton Kutcher, Ron Conway, Paul Buchheit and Lightbank, among others. The company says it will use the fresh money to invest in its operations and technical development, as well as to hire employees to zero in on connecting buyers and sellers in each specific market.
Zaarly CEO and founder Bo Fishback
But Bo Fishback, the chief executive and founder of the company, said the most exciting piece of the news was that the company was also gaining Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard and the former chief executive of eBay, as a board member.
He said.
“She joined eBay when it was almost the exact same size Zaarly was, 30 people. In the world of building marketplaces, build trust and engage in the community, there’s no one better than her.”
Zaarly, which was beta-tested in Austin, Tex., during South by Southwest last March, was introduced nationally in early May. Since then, the company says the service has attracted more than 100,000 users, with more than $6 million in transactions posted to the site. The site works by letting people post requests for an item or service, and then lets other people, businesses and companies bid to fulfill those needs. Once an agreement is met, Zaarly connects the two parties so they can complete the deal. People can either pay in cash, or through Zaarly’s payment system.
Mobile speed selling and buying apps like Zaarly and Task Rabbit are creating a mobile marketplace for peer-to-peer transactions, in real time and in the immediate vicinity of the users. WSJ's Andy Jordan checks out a few, and farms out the bathing of his own cat.
Mr. Fishback said Ms. Whitman’s expertise would come in handy as the company began building momentum in major cities, each which have their own particular quirks and demands. In Los Angeles, for example, the market for second-hand cars is denser than in New York, where Zaarly users are much more interested in hiring people to help them out with service and errand-oriented tasks.
He said.
“Until now, our main goal was to get it up and running. Now, we have to figure out how to really nail a hyperlocal technology company.”
COMMENTARY: Zaarly is an interesting concept, especially when you incorporate mobile technology to bring buyers or sellers together near where you live. It means you can sell just about anything--anytime and anyplace, and get offers to what you are offering for sale or looking to buy anytime and anyplace.
Zaarly isn't alone in this mobile, speed selling and buying market. Task Rabbit, another startup, is a more task-related service site, where individuals offer their services for hire. With unemployment being what it is, this could become a favorite for those looking to make some cash by selling their services, special skills and knowledges.
Task Rabbit also allow buyers of services to post reviews for the inidividuals performing the tasks. This is more like eBay, since it reduces the risk of hiring the wrong person to perform the task.
If you are a SELLER, Zaarly offers the following screen that explains How Selling Works:
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If you are a BUYER, Zaarly offers the following screen that explains How Buying Works:
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I didn't download or use the Zaarly mobile app because I don't own an iPhone or Android phone, so I didn't have an opportunity to try out the app, but you can use Zaarly online using your desktop or laptop without any problems.
I tested Zaarly by first registering and then listing that I wanted to purchase a laptop and would be willing to pay a certain price. This was at 11:30 a.m. PST. I received the following email response from a seller at 11:38 a.m. PST, but it didn't match my specific requirements so I turned it down.
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Right after I sent my response to the seller, I received another email from Zaarpy:
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I clicked on the "Click here" link and saw an online record the seller's offer and my response (see below). Zaarly does a good job of keeping track of all communications between sellers and buyers in the same fashion as eBay does when you place a bid.
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Both Buyers and sellers must adhere to certain Marketplace Rules.
Your Zaarly account is FREE, the leads are FREE, FREE to place offers, FREE to get jobs, and completely FREE to post to buy on the site too. Users are going to love FREE. They should promote the FREE more.
The only thing that costs money is if you choose to use Zaarly to accept credit card payments. We allow you to accept payments incredibly quickly and easily. The money just shows up in your bank (or Paypal) account within 48 hours of the buyers payment. The cost is 10% of the transaction, to cover credit card and bank fees.
I can definitely see where Zaarly could become a potentially huge money maker and give Craigslist and eBay a run for their money. They keep 10% of all sales transactions from sellers using their credit card payment system. If they do $1 billion in sales, and 5% use the credit card payment method, that's $50 million in transactions x 10% = $5 million profit. That 10% is a userous if you ask me.
The one potential problem that I see, is that there are no real barriers to entry to overcome. They already have one competitor in Task Rabbit, and there will probably be more. The competitive situation could become intense like deal sites Groupon and LivingSocial. What is Craigslist began doing the same thing.
Zaarly and Task Rabbit have first-mover advantages, which catapulted Groupon into No 1 in the deal industry space. I do prefer Zaarly's business model over Groupon any day.
The articlles covering both Zaarly and Task Rabbit refer to their services as "virtual assistants" or "personal assistants", but I much prefer "mobile speed buying and selling" because it's really a classifieds mobile marketplace to sell things (goods and services) anytime, and not just for performing odd jobs or services like "picking up the groceries once a week" or "walking my dogs". I like the fact that buyers can list what they want to buy, which is really, really convenient. Let the sellers come to you. Great idea.
I am very impressed with the background and experience of Bo Fishback, Zaarly's founder and CEO. He has the entrepreneurial experience while working for the Kauffman Foundation and founded several bioscience startups. He has an MBA from Harvard, too. He'll need that and more.
Courtesy of an article October 25, 2011 appearing in The New York Times blog and an article dated November 27, 2011 appearing in The Wall Street Journal
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Posted by: Account Deleted | 12/08/2011 at 03:44 AM