A Canadian startup is connecting people with their neighbours for help with everyday tasks.
Adam Helps is a free app that uses geo-location to match people with jobs they need help with to people nearby who are able to assist.
“We’ve created a platform that serves two types of people: somebody who needs something done — or a job owner — and somebody who’s willing to do the job for them,” founder and CEO Adam McLeod explained.
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“The jobs that we see in the app are everything from moving, to painting… maybe they need yard work moved from the front to the back — really sort of everyday, small jobs you need done around the house where you might just need an extra set of hands or you might just not want to do the job yourself.”
The person who posts the job sets the price they’re willing to pay for it to be done.
“I was living in the same place for a long time and yet I still, for some reason, didn’t really know the people around me.
“I thought to myself: ‘Isn’t it kind of silly that if I needed something done, I wouldn’t know that perhaps somebody from around the corner would totally be willing to help me and vice versa?'”
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Adam Helps launched in Toronto eight months ago. During its time in the city, it saw nearly 10,000 downloads and more than 1,000 completed jobs.
“We launched it at the end of last year and have seen tremendous success,” McLeod said, “almost to the point where it’s a little bit shocking.
“The app is working in exactly the way that we thought it was going to. We’re seeing people post jobs like: ‘I’m a busy mom and I need help on the weekends cleaning my place,’ or: ‘I just injured my leg playing soccer and I need somebody to walk my golden retriever.’
“Something that’s constant for all of us is that we all need help every once in a while.”
After testing the app in Toronto, Adam Helps is heading west. It recently launched in Calgary and hopes to expand to Edmonton, Vancouver, Regina, Winnipeg and Saskatoon.
“One of the things that’s so great about our app is that it really just requires the people’s buy-in. We’re not taking commission, we’re not taking a download fee. All we need is people who need help and people who are willing to provide help. You can really replicate that in any great Canadian city.”
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McLeod looked to Alberta for the expansion because his family lives here and he describes it as a friendly, neighbourly place.
“Generally speaking, people here are super neighbourly already but they may lack the medium in order to connect with the people around them.
“It’s like it already has all the right elements for wanting to help and being friendly… and we’re just giving them the perfect tool to do that.”
He hopes the app serves both sides of the market and people use it in a way that suits them.
“If you’re a busy student who needs to make some money on the weekends, I hope they’re able to find some jobs to supplement their income,” McLeod said. “If you’re somebody who’s on a fixed income and needs some help around the house managing tasks… or maybe you’re a snowbird who needs somebody to watch the house and clear the driveway when you’re gone, use it for that purpose.”
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