Memphis college students expand handyman startup to Fayetteville
by February 24, 2019 6:40 pm 1,090 views
In need of an extra set of hands for an odd job or household chore in Fayetteville? A modernized job board can connect you with a solution.
The startup is called QuikFix, and it was launched Sept. 1, 2017, by three students at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. QuikFix is an online and mobile marketplace that connects college students with people looking for help around their home or office. Projects include, but are not limited to, furniture assembly, event setup and cleanup, loading and unloading, in-home moving, television and printer setup, and outdoor cleaning and hauling.
QuikFix has more than 400 students, who are called “fixers,” on its platform in Memphis, who completed more than 1,200 jobs in 2018. In November 2018, the entrepreneurs expanded the QuikFix service to Fayetteville, tapping into the University of Arkansas student population. On Feb. 1, QuikFix entered the Nashville, Tenn., market, where one of the co-founders now lives.
“We have about 80 students at the UA on our platform and ready to work,” said co-founder Parker Pell, a senior at Rhodes College. “We have served about 50 homeowners in the Fayetteville area. It’s been a decent response.”
Pell said all fixers go through an application process and are thoroughly vetted. Homeowners post a job through the QuikFix website at getquikfix.com and students accept them on a first-come, first-serve basis, depending on their experience with certain types of work.
Homeowners pay $25 per hour for all jobs. Fixers earn $15 and QuikFix collects the rest.
“All jobs are a minimum of 1 hour and anything after that is charged down to the minute,” Pell said. “Students clock in and out of every job through an iOS application on their
iPhone, and we use GPS on the backend to track them. They have a profile much like an Uber driver.”
Pell said to get the company off of the ground, the only investment needed was sweat equity.
“In 2018 we began to raise our pre-seed round and to date have raised $65,000 allowing us to expand and get our technology fully operational,” he said.
Pell said the startup is planning additional expansion to other areas throughout the Southeast later this year.