Venn Brown sat down with Tim Fung, founder and CEO of Airtasker, to discuss the company’s international growth opportunities.
Airbnb for short-term jobs: Airtasker is a two-sided marketplace for local services, connecting people needing tasks done with those willing to do them. As an online platform, the business model is highly scalable, with margins expected to expand with revenue. While 50% of jobs fall within five categories (cleaning, gardening, handyman, moving, and furniture assembly), the platform offers thousands of niche and unique tasks, which also helps grow the network effect as people share their experiences with the platform.
International expansion: Airtasker’s strategy focuses on scaling its proven model internationally. With no direct competition in the UK and US, the company sees an opportunity to fill a gap in the local services marketplace. The approach includes leveraging media partnerships and building brand awareness to establish a strong presence in these high-potential markets.
Media partnerships: Airtasker uses a creative and advantageous media strategy, using convertible notes to make multi-year media buying deals with media partners. The terms of the agreements give Airtasker a lot of control while providing downside protection and conserving the group’s cash reserves. Rather than focusing on performance marketing, ART’s strategy is to sustainably build its brand, with around 70% of Australians aware of the platform. ART has agreements with Channel 7, ARN, Channel 4 (UK), iHeartMedia (US), Mercurius Media Capital (US), and others, including the Red Bull F1 team.
Cash flow: Airtasker has maintained positive cash flow for the last three halves. The Australian market generates about $31 million in revenue, with around $18 million in fixed costs, leaving around $13 million available to fund international growth. The strength of the Australian business will sustainably underwrite ART’s expansion into the US and UK markets.
Outlook: Australia currently accounts for approximately 95% of group revenue. With the UK and US markets 5-10x the size of Australia, management expects international markets to provide a significantly greater share of revenue over the next 3-5 years. With a proven business model, technology, growth strategy and no direct competition, ART is confident it will deliver sustainable revenue growth as it expands its international business.