Since most startups operate at a break-neck pace, with a concept to prove or a product to launch within a rapidly shortening runway of financing, company culture often gets shoved aside. This is a big, big mistake: Nobody serious about their business should put culture in the corner.

Leah Busque

Life is like the monkey bars: you have to let go to move forward. Once you make the decision to leap into entrepreneurship, be sure to loosen your grasp on old concepts so you can swing your way to new ones.

Leah Busque

People with highly transferable skills may be specialists in certain areas, but they're also incredible generalists - something businesses that want to grow need.

Leah Busque

Entrepreneurs have a natural inclination to go it alone. While this do-it-yourself spirit can help you move forward, adding an element of collaboration into the mix can make you unstoppable.

Leah Busque

I've never thought of myself as a female engineer or founder or a woman in tech. I just think of myself as someone who's passionate.

Leah Busque

Learn to bet on yourself and have confidence in your own decisions. No one knows your business better than you.

Leah Busque

One of the cool things we're seeing at TaskRabbit is local tech and gaming startups hiring TaskRabbits to test their products and deliver immediate user feedback. As the founder of a tech startup, I can tell you that this type of focus group testing is paramount - and usually really pricey and difficult to coordinate.

Leah Busque

Traditional models of work only let us cross out the needs on the very bottom of the pyramid - basic sustenance. On the flipside, independent employment within the network of the new sharing economy addresses our needs for a sense of community and belonging, autonomy and respect, creativity and problem solving.

Leah Busque

Startups need to focus on building a foundation for their company culture early, and then they need to revisit it often. Every time a hire is made, a feature is launched, a Facebook status is updated, a press interview is given, a round of financing is raised, or a meeting is held, culture should be part of the decision-making process.

Leah Busque

The TaskRabbit community provides thousands of individuals access to the kind of economy that puts them in charge of their own lives and income. TaskRabbit offers a new model of work, one that makes it possible for people to set their own schedules, establish their own rates, and use their talents and skills to earn a living on their own terms.

Leah Busque

Sprout's a really cool app for pregnant women. It shows you what your baby's development is in real time, so I find myself checking it quite often.

Leah Busque

I'm an engineer turned entrepreneur who's passionate about connection.

Leah Busque

Beyond brand, culture can help drive your product itself by creating the conditions for the idea generation that is and will continue to be the lifeblood of any company.

Leah Busque

Swapping out the nine-to-five for a more agile, independent working life brings with it one other huge benefit - a channel for self-actualization.

Leah Busque

All of our TaskRabbits go through a vetting process, which includes an online application, a video interview, a series of background checks, and then an online quiz that they have to pass before they're activated on the site.

Leah Busque

Hiring's tough. It's not just filtering through hundreds of applications and blocking out big chunks of your day for interviews - those are the simple parts. The difficult thing is the nagging feeling that, despite your best efforts, the perfect candidate will somehow fall through the cracks.

Leah Busque

I believe there's been a slippery slope of new companies that have formed in the name of on-demand services... that maybe aren't having as much of a focus as they should on the worker.

Leah Busque

I had the idea for TaskRabbit one night when my husband and I were getting ready for dinner.

Leah Busque

Since most startups operate at a break-neck pace, with a concept to prove or a product to launch within a rapidly shortening runway of financing, company culture often gets shoved aside. This is a big, big mistake: Nobody serious about their business should put culture in the corner.

Leah Busque

Online transactions, once relegated to leaps of faith, have evolved into our status quo. We no longer ask ourselves whether or not it's wise to buy online. Instead, we ask whether or not it's wise to deal with a particular person, service provider, or business.

Leah Busque

As a small business or startup, one of the factors you should always consider when looking at a potential partnership is the incremental potential reach. Note that wider reach doesn't always mean a better partnership opportunity. Instead of sheer scale, take a look at which communities your potential partner can open up for you.

Leah Busque