Spring has arrived in Western Canada and that means chores will pile up quickly.
Now there’s a new new smartphone app that makes it easier to take care of those odd jobs and honey-do lists.
Saskatoon-area residents Devon Ambros, Sage Nyong and Wale Agoro developed the oddJobs — supporting local communities app (differentiated from Odd Jobs LLC at the App Store) after realizing no products on the market could quickly connect short-term casual labourers with potential employers.
The app was launched less than a year ago and has users in 32 countries, using multiple languages.
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In Western Canada, the app is suited for farmers, land managers, homeowners and business people who need casual, unskilled labour on short notice.
Jobs can be posted and potential employees can respond quickly through an app, which can be downloaded to their cell phones for free from the App Store.
Ambros, a former greenhouse manager, is familiar with the challenge of finding casual labour during the busy season.
He said the app will benefit a wide spectrum of users including students and casual workers, who may not be in a position to hold down a full-time job but are eager to work a few hours here and there in exchange for some extra money.
“We see it as a huge market,” said Ambros, in charge of oddJobs marketing and publicity.
“In Western Canada, for example, the whole agriculture sector could benefit, right from farmers hiring farm hands, through to fruit and vegetable growers hiring on their seasonal labour ….”
Since its unveiling in July of 2015, the app has been downloaded more than 6,000 times, he said.
It currently has more than 2,000 active users with particularly strong uptake in the eastern United States.
“So far, we’ve done zero marketing outside of Canada,” Nyong said.
“Most of the traction that we’re getting is all organic, through word of mouth, social media and so on.”Agoro, another U of S graduate in charge of financial management, said the app has not generated any revenue so far, buy that is according to their plan.
“Right now, we’re still looking to grow and expand our user base and when we hit what we think is a profitable saturation point, then we’ll look (at generating revenue through) advertising.”
Agoro sees the app as an ideal platform for advertisers who operate in a localized market.
