The two tech entrepreneurs creating their own odd-job economy

In an effort to kickstart a local odd-job economy in the Diss Express area, two Norfolk friends have developed an online service where residents can outsource their to-do-list to willing volunteers and paid professionals.

Best friends Sam Borrer and Ben Atkins have developed OnTask – an online community for people in Norfolk and Suffolk to post jobs that need doing, no matter how small.

Mr Borrer, who lives in Church Street, Stradbroke, says the genesis for the idea came as he was looking to earn money whilst travelling across Australia.

“I was looking for ways to earn money as quickly as I could, but found it really difficult, and thought there needed to be somewhere where you could find all these jobs in one place,” said the 27-year-old.

Unlike other providers, OnTask hones in exclusively on the services market, allowing users to post up anything from the mundane to the extraordinary; from mowing the lawn to developing a website.

Mr Atkins, 29, from Wensum Walk, Drayton, said: “There’s nowhere where you can find that one place – it’s a one stop shop.

Mr Borrer added: “We also want to carry on this community spirit since the pandemic.

“We noticed people are donating time to their houses and gardens, but there’s a lot of things people can’t do.”

The pair have spent most of lockdown developing the site.

Mr Borrer said: “It’s been a long road – there’s been multiple restarts where we’ve just had to start again – evenings and weekends we’ve been getting together on Zoom and brainstorming for four or five hours.

“We’re simply two local lads looking to develop the community that we live in; during a time that has placed a huge financial, social and emotional demand on households in our area.”

To visit the website, go to on-task.co.uk.