A self Interview with Tara Dalrymple of Mission Possible

by Startacus Admin

Mission Possible is the newest addition in the Digital, Tech, and Startup community that helps empower & aid collaborative consumption. Intrigued? Well, read on for Tara Dalrymple’s Self Interview for Startacus...

Let’s start by talking about what Mission Possible is and whom it serves:

Mission Possible is an online and mobile marketplace that allows posters (clients) to outsource small jobs and tasks to their local neighbourhood. Clients list the task, price, and the pre-approved/certified agents (users) complete the job. Users bid on how much they want to earn, with the most suitable user winning, based on price, location or relevant skill set. 

The belief at Mission Possible is that time is money. We are connecting busy people who need extra time, with entrepreneurial people who need extra money. The vetted entrepreneurial professionals contribute their time and skills to helping people out and those busy people find much-needed extra time in their days. One of our main goals is to provide trust and credibility to both client and user. We assist you in making sure that your objectives are achievable and realistic.

Essentially, our customers are the people who don’t want to or don’t have the time to do everyday tasks themselves. They can also be people who are looking for a way to supplement their income due to unemployment, career change, stay at home parenting, school, etc. We have tried to develop a dual-sided platform that seeks to solve the problems in the lives of everyday people like you and me.

However, we are attempting to go beyond what other services are offering by ensuring a safe, reliable, and highly professional platform through which to operate. The first thing anyone asks when you explain our model is "how do I know I can trust a stranger?" We alleviate this with background checks and social profiles compared to competitors who celebrate anonymity. We give you that added level of assurance that not only are you dealing with actual people, but you are dealing with skilled and fully vetted individuals who are here for you. 

Where did the idea come from?

Outsourcing has been popular in the ecommerce industry, as online businesses have looked abroad when hiring people to help them grow and scale their company. However, most do not think of outsourcing on the local level and that is where Mission Possible has its roots.

Since 2004, I have operated a lifestyle management service in Ireland called Busy Lizzie. Demand remains high and is increasing with growing workloads and working hours.  Partnering this with a change in consumer habits, an increase in mobile technology, and more people working in the cloud– a new business opportunity has become clear.  This opportunity will take form through the re-engineering of the original Busy Lizzie model, utilising strong, current market intelligence - resulting in a new, online business model. And, thus, Mission Possible was born.

Which problem are you trying to solve?

Mission Possible solves an age-old problem: there is never enough time in the day to do everything you need to do. In the past, people relied on their neighbors and family to assist in management of the day-to-day needs, but the advent of the web has created new habits, attitudes, and a more ‘online’ community.

The fast pace of life is fueling demand for lifestyle services, as consumers invest in goods and services designed to simplify life and allow them access to the much ‘sought-after’ time for leisure or important life activities. At Mission Possible, our aim is to aleviate the stress and worry that life creates by taking out the guess work for you. Thus, we have created a platform for people to collaborate and work together to get things done.

Hectic working lives are creating demand for consumer goods. So-called "convenience seekers" have the longest working hours in Europe and need to make their lifestyles easier and less stressful. A study conducted by the Families and Work Institute state it is now necessary for 78% of married couples to work to allow their family unit to function.   However, thanks to the rise in companies like Mission Possible, research by Mintel has indicated that 40% of adults are now enjoying a good balance between work and home life.

What does the future hold for Mission Possible?

Ireland was recently named by IDA Ireland as one of the top places in the world to do business. It is one of the many reasons we are using Ireland as a test-bed before moving into the UK: London, Brighton, Bristol, Cheltenham, Guildford (in 2014), and Malta (in 2015) via white label or franchising. Our model is being rolled out city by city vs. national launch (e.g. Yelp, Groupon, LivingSocial, though Airbnb were successful without it). We are attempting to create critical mass in each city before launching in a new market. The overall plan for Mission Possible is to develop innovative services that help our customers achieve their own business and personal goals.

The team growth has been phased over a three-year period. Phase one is 2013 with 3 employees, phase two is 2014 with 10 employees and phase three is 2015 with 25 employees. We are currently looking for new interns to eventually becoming fulltime employees (*wink wink*). You can check out the positions on our blog http://www.missionpossible.ie/blog/.

At the moment, we are still in the early and exciting stages of development where possibilities are endless. So far, the journey with this new company has been better than anything I could have anticipated and I look forward to things to come.

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Published on: 25th March 2014

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