TaskRabbit’s Founder Says the Next Generation of Tech Leaders Should Study This Instead of Computer Science |
TaskRabbit’s Founder Says the Next Generation of Tech Leaders Should Study This Instead of Computer Science
Leah Solivan’s perspective on what skills actually matter in the age of AI might change how you think about hiring.
EXPERT OPINION BY DANIEL ROBBINS, CEO AND FOUNDER OF IBH MEDIA AND HOST OF FOUNDER'S STORY
Illustration: Inc; Photo: Getty Images
Leah Solivan built TaskRabbit from a recession-era idea into one of the companies that helped define the gig economy. Then she sold it to IKEA in what she describes as a tearful, unanimous board vote.
“Our Series A investor starts,” she told me. “He says, ‘I’m so proud of this journey.’ Then our Series B investor speaks. Then my partner. By the time it gets to me, I’m in tears.”
She voted yes. Everyone did. But it was bittersweet. Nearly a decade of her life was ending.
When I asked her what made TaskRabbit work when so many other startups from that era didn’t, her answer was simple.
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“I always saw a vision where the future of work was changing,” she said. “We really helped create the gig economy along with other companies. And so for me, it was seeing a trend and jumping on the wave.”
That ability to spot a wave before it crests is what defines Solivan as a founder. And it’s the same instinct driving her next chapter.
Now she runs Precedent VC, investing in the next generation of founders who are setting new precedents in their categories. And she has some sharp opinions about the system she operates in.