StartUs Presents: TaskTillDone

Published on:

Overworked? Have you tried outsourcing your tasks yet? The TaskTillDone app might be just the thing for you. Check out what CEO Leo Brunnhofer has to say!

Describe TaskTillDone in 50 words or less.

TaskTillDone is a mobile task marketplace connecting entrepreneurs and startups with freelancers. TaskTillDone app makes outsourcing your daily tasks to your own trusted network or to the world very easy. Our vision is that everybody can find help within minutes for any kind of business task.

Why did you decide to pursue your own dreams rather than someone else’s?

Even when I was a young boy I had an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to create something valuable. Back then, this meant increasing my pocket money. As I grew older that idea took a clearer form. I’m a workaholic, but I don’t want to spend 40+ hours a week doing something I’m not passionate about. And that was my inner drive – to have a meaningful job I will feel passionate about. In short: love to create an impact, learn daily, have freedom and work with people I like and respect.

Startups are both my passion and my core area of expertise, given my 11 years of first-hand startup experience. From 2004, when I worked at my first startup Sanaga Labs, to 2010, when I co-founded GAMINSIDE Gmbh, my idea on Task outsourcing was gradually coming to maturity. My experience of working with an in-house team and some external freelancers at GAMINSIDE helped shape my ideas on Task outsourcing to what they are today. As a solo founder you have a variety of tasks to do, but no internal team to delegate those tasks to. The existing outsourcing solutions as well outsourcing to your social network have their own problems, so I wanted to find a way to make the process of outsourcing your tasks as easy as adding something to your future to-do list. And that’s how TaskTillDone was born.

7 years from now: How did your startup change the world?

I see TaskTillDone as a tool that will empower its users to live the life they’ve always envisioned. In the blooming startup culture we are witnessing today both in Austria and worldwide, this means more successful startups at the market, and more entrepreneurs deciding to embark on this exciting voyage from your startup idea to IPO. For consumers this means more choice, and a lot of new products that will provide a solution to a problem, answer an existing need, or predict a future one. It will also give more people (existing freelancers and those who are yet to become one) a tool to earn money by doing what they love, as well as live by their inner compass. So if you are miserable sitting at your desk doing a 9 to 5 job, and you’ve always wanted to travel the world, you can start the lifestyle of a digital nomad. I think for many millennials joining the workforce, being free and doing something meaningful will be crucial.

In what ways do you measure your success and how do you make sure you don’t lose track?

I am a fan of the “getting things done” approach that keeps me on track, and shows me if I am successful in reaching the next level. I have a backlog with my to-do’s. My daily to-do’s are chosen to reach my nearest goal. That goal can be your weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, 3-year, 7-year plan and/or life vision in different areas. The vision should be stable, whereas goals can change. In my daily/weekly to-do I select what I want to do by myself and what I want to outsource. I try to outsource 3 categories of tasks: the ones for which I don’t have the right skill set so I cannot do them, tasks I don’t want to do, and tasks I shouldn’t do because their value is not worth my time but they have to be done. This ensures I can do what I do best, or what must be done by myself or what I like to do, for example to learn a new skill.

Describe your typical working day from coming to the office to leaving it.

One of the things I like most about my work is that there is no such thing as a “typical day.” At the moment I am working on several big milestones with my team. We plan to achieve them within the next month. We also have two new additions to the team, or as I like to call them – our helping hands, so my schedule is a bit off track.

Whenever possible, my day could look like this:
A short 10 minutes planning session around 7.30 am.
30 minutes to decide on what to delegate and outsource, plus task definition.
1 to 1,5 hours dedicated to personal improvement (e.g. reading, online courses).
I always try to take breaks.
Joining our 15 minutes daily (remote) team meeting.
To clear my head I take some 30 minutes for physical activities such as darts, table tennis, or table football, for example.
I allocate an hour for identifying the most important tasks.
I take 2 hours for concept creation and to review my team’s work.
I dedicate 1,5 hour to business development activities.
I plan for over an hour or two spent on communication via email, Skype, Facebook etc.
Finally, I always take 20 minutes to do the daily review.

Bootstrapped or financed: What fuels your startup now and what will in the future?

We are bootstrapped so far, so my savings, consulting and lecturing income is our fuel. We really have to take care of our spendings, that’s keeping us very focused on the current most important thing to be done. I believe my product solves an outsourcing problem, and as such will be greatly accepted by both outsourcers and service providers. For that reason I am very positive that TaskTillDone will soon be funded by its customers only.

With ferocious competition and a booming trend to build new companies: How do you make sure you don’t get lost in the shuffle?

TaskTillDone is a product of years and years of startup industry experience, as well as insights gained from working with freelancers. The two ensured TaskTillDone’s mission is clear. We want to help startups and entrepreneurs in their daily lives by making it very easy for them to outsource work. Outsourcing with TaskTillDone means finding the right person for their daily tasks, getting more things done, staying focused, and having more time for tasks that will enable their company to grow and ultimately succeed. In short, we help entrepreneurs in achieving their vision, be it the growth from a startup to a successful company or a smaller milestone. Find us on Google Play or Apple Store, and download the app for free.

How can TaskTillDone help startups in their daily life?

TaskTillDone makes outsourcing as easy as adding something to your to-do list. If you are an early stage startup or a solo bootstrapped entrepreneur, you will most likely be the wearer of many hats. And that’s fine to a certain extent. Entrepreneurs must multitask between product development/improvement, business development and marketing, just to name a few areas. There are two types of tasks you should outsource: tasks you should not be doing yourself, and tasks for which you don’t have the right skill set. For example, a CEO’s time is much better used for business development activities and working on his business than for market research.

Also, as your startup matures, the need to have a blog and/or a public relations expert, for example, will grow. If writing isn’t among your strengths, this is where TaskTillDone app comes into play. You register in less than a minute, create a task, invite your email contacts, publish it on TaskTillDone Marketplace, and you can even share it via Facebook to help spread the word. When you find the freelancer who is right for you, you simply accept his offer, and upon task delivery, quickly pay via Stripe. TaskTillDone app is available for both iOS and Android devices. It can be downloaded from www.tasktilldone.com.

How is TaskTillDone different from other outsourcing platforms?

TaskTillDone is the only outsourcing platform currently available at the market that offers help with finding the right person by leveraging on the user’s own social network. For the outsourcer this means he can find the right person by sharing his task with his network whether by using email and/or Facebook. Likewise, the freelancer can also share the skill he is offering with his network by using his Facebook and/or email. Better yet, he can get recommended for a task by another user, and he can work for someone he personally knows. Because trust is an important element of the TaskTillDone network, there is no time tracking tool. We are not big fans of counting minutes, we believe in a more result driven approach.

In short, we are task and referral based, easy to use, and easy communication via the app is also important to us.

What do you look for in team members?

I believe your team is your greatest asset. When I’m hiring, a certain personality type is most important to me. I like to work with people who are passionate, self-starters and open to learning new things. It depends a bit on the position but hards skills can be added on the way if you have the personality for that. Finally, I always listen to my gut feeling that tells me if I really want to work with that person or not.

Why would a talent join your team?

I have two startups under my belt and I’ve been an entrepreneur since 2003. My co-founder Michael is also very experienced with startups. We have a lot of experience with bringing an idea down to earth and launching successful products. We are doing serious business, we’re not a lifestyle startup and are going to change the world somehow! We’ve always had friendly relationships with my employees that were based on mutual respect. We are also having fun together, it’s more like friends or family.

I believe TaskTillDone is an exciting place to work for like-minded people. As I mentioned earlier, I like working with self-starters with a getting-this-done approach who are interested in learning new skills. So to sum up, we have a great team of young people who are very good at what they do, we are in the growth stage and we have a global team, which is really great! I’m proud to be part of TaskTillDone.

What was your most memorable moment so far?

This is a difficult question to answer as I’ve had several memorable moments over the years. The most memorable moment in my personal life was the birth of my daughter Julia. Professionally, I was lucky to have had 3 monumental events:
1. Following a month of almost no sleep, after GAMINSIDE was first launched, we had 10,000 user signups in one night. This event unfortunately had a downside to it – I had to fire a friend, which was really heartbreaking.
2. The launch of the TaskTillDone App.
3. Reaching out to my acquaintance Michael Schestag who not only helped me building and growing TaskTillDone, but in the process of doing so became my co-founder. I will never forget the moment we shook hands right after we agreed to be partners.

What advice would you give fellow founders for their startup?

Generally speaking, I’m not a big fan of universal advice, as it highly depends on your current “level” in different areas of your life and what you can get out of this. To first-time founders I would say find your own way, be authentic and honest with others and yourself. Never give up on your passions. Don’t be afraid to take step towards achieving your vision. Share your idea and thoughts early on without the fear that someone might steal it. The value you gain by sharing is much higher than the risk. The idea is just the first step. The way to success is all about daily execution. Even if the idea is not perfect, start by making your first step.

 

_________________

Sharing is caring so please share this post. Thank you!