By Claire Grant | Posted: Tuesday December 20, 2016
Sam Beattie and Henry Fitz-Gerald are keen for New Zealanders to get Sorted.
The pair of commerce students won the 2016 Audacious Challenge with their business concept for a digital marketplace named “Sorted.”
Sorted allows users to post fixed-price jobs for other users to complete.
The microtask crowdsourcing platform links people with more money than energy and time, and vice versa. It is aimed at solving the problem of getting odd jobs around the house done that do not require highly skilled workers but simply take time and effort, such as lawns that need mowing, fences that need painting, or garages that need cleaning.
Sam, who has just completed honours in management, says the concept is essentially matching people who need a hand with willing workers looking for casual work like students.
“There is a gap in market for a simple on-line system that doesn’t require a lot of time and effort for either party to find what they want and to get the job done.”
“The feedback from the judges was that the business was a good idea and would work, so we were excited to get that acknowledgment. It’s the perfect mix of getting advice that it’s feasible, and us being at a stage of our lives where it is do-able to pursue.”
Sam is no stranger to business startup competitions, having entered the Young Enterprise Scheme while at high school, and taken part in the Audacious Challenge over the last three years. Winning in his fourth and final year of competing became very important.
“Taking part in the Young Enterprise competition put me on a new path; now you can’t stamp out that entrepreneurial spirit.”
He is planning to gain a job in marketing to get further business knowledge and experience while the pair look at how to take their idea into commercial reality.