- Tim Fung is the founder and CEO of Airtasker, a marketplace launched in Australia in 2012 that connects people who need tasks done with others who have the skills and time to complete them.
- The idea came from Fung’s own experience struggling to find someone trustworthy to help him move house, despite knowing there were plenty of capable people available. Airtasker was created to bridge this gap and help people earn from their skills.
- Today, Airtasker has surpassed five million completed tasks worth over $1 billion, with a continued focus on building trust, expanding internationally and using technology like AI to improve the platform.
Tell Me About Yourself and Airtasker
I’m the founder and CEO of Airtasker, a marketplace built to connect people who need work done with people who have the skills and time to do it. Since launching in Australia in 2012, Airtasker has grown internationally across the UK, US and beyond, helping millions of customers and putting hundreds of millions back into the pockets of workers.
Our mission is simple: to empower people to realise the full value of their skills and create flexible, independent earning opportunities that fit around their lives. We believe every single human being has skills and we want to help them earn an income from them!
What Inspired You To Start Airtasker, and What Problem Were You Trying To Solve?
The idea for Airtasker came from a very ordinary moment – I was moving house and needed to move all my stuff so I asked my friend who owns a chicken truck to help me out. It wasn’t because of money but it was just surprisingly difficult to find someone nearby we could trust.
At the same time, we knew there were plenty of capable people with skills and spare time. The problem wasn’t supply or demand, it was being able to make a trusted connection. Airtasker was built to bridge that gap, creating a simple, trusted way for people to get things done while giving others the opportunity to earn on their own terms.
What Has Been Your Biggest Challenge So Far, and How Did You Overcome It?
One of the biggest challenges has been scaling trust as we grow. Marketplaces only work when both sides feel safe, respected, and confident. We’ve had to invest heavily in things like identity verification, reviews, insurance, and support – often before they showed an immediate return. We overcame this by staying super focused on the community and making decisions for the long term, even when it was harder. Trust compounds over time, and it’s been one of Airtasker’s biggest growth drivers.
Can You Describe a Pivotal Moment That Significantly Shaped the Direction of Your Startup?
A really important moment was deciding to pursue a media-for-equity partnership with Channel 4 in the UK. Rather than raising capital via traditional means and then spending it all on ads, we shared equity in the Airtasker UK opportunity for a long-term partnership that provided media exposure across 78% of the UK population.
It forced us to think differently about growth, brand, and capital efficiency. The impact was immediate – awareness surged and activity on the UK marketplace more than doubled. It reinforced our belief that creative capital and aligned partnerships can be as powerful as funding.
How Do You Define Success?
For your business: Success for Airtasker means creating a platform that genuinely improves people’s lives – where customers can get things done easily and Taskers can earn fairly and flexibly. If we’re growing responsibly, supporting our community, and building trust at scale, we know we’re on the right path.
As a founder: Personally, success is building something that lasts, stays true to its mission, and creates opportunities for others. If the people around me are growing and the company continues to have a positive impact on local communities, that’s success. Financial success – being profitable and creating value for our team, shareholders, Taskers and other stakeholders – is pretty important too!
What Advice Would You Give To Someone Thinking About Launching Their Own Startup?
Start by finding a real problem that you’re fascinated by. If you are fascinated by what you do, then it won’t even feel like work (at least most of the time!) Don’t wait and try for your own vision of perfection – take shots on goal (deliver bite size chunks of value to customers) so that you can gather data, learn quickly and iterate frequently to create something that’s great in the eyes of your customers. Finally: be patient, building something meaningful takes time, resilience, and a willingness to adapt.
What’s Next for Airtasker? Any Exciting Developments We Should Watch Out For?
We’ve now passed five million completed tasks globally worth over $1 billion, which is an exciting milestone and a strong signal of the scale and trust the platform has built. What’s next is about continuing to grow responsibly across our existing markets, deepening the quality of the connections on the platform, and supporting Taskers to build sustainable income over time.
We’re also exploring how technology, including AI, can make Airtasker smarter, more efficient and easier to use – while keeping human skills, creativity, and craftsmanship firmly at the centre of the experience.
Founder’s Five with Tim Fung
Without further ado, here is our exclusive Founder’s Five with Tim Fung.
1. Favourite business tool
Pen and paper. Whenever I’m overwhelmed by all of the opportunities and priorities facing me: the most powerful thing is to simply jot down a mind map of everything that’s swirling around in my head.
2. One lesson you learned the hard way
Hire and promote for attributes and values, not CVs. People who understand your mission scale better than “perfect” hires. Even better: people who have done hard things and worked through challenging situations often outperform people who have only worked in successful companies.
3. One future trend you’re watching
The growing value of human trade, craft and practical skills as AI automates more white-collar work. Humans will always be at the frontier of what’s next.
4. One quote you live by
“Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue” – Viktor Frankl
This is so powerful – you can’t find success by pursuing it directly. Do something that helps others and the success may emerge as a by-product.
5. One Book or Podcast you recommend
The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett – it does a great job of exploring the human side of building businesses, from decision-making and leadership to resilience and long-term thinking.
