It was once a luxury to have someone run your dry cleaning, pick up your kids from school, clean the house, etc. Now, a local on-demand app is looking to change the narrative behind hiring someone to do your errands and chores by maximizing the state of the gig economy. ZINKN, a Phoenix-based personal assistant startup, just launched its personal assistant app this past August, promoting an easy-to-use tool to request last minute or scheduled help.
ZINKN allows users to hire someone for short jobs, ranging from household tasks to family care to transportation. It’s like Uber or DoorDash, but for your everyday errands you want to outsource.
The company is marketing itself as a people-sharing app, providing contract jobs for workers looking to supplement their income with a flexible schedule. The app already has more than 500 downloads after its initial release and plans to launch in California in early 2019.
“At its core, ZINKN is designed for working adults, especially parents with school-aged children and often with senior parents they’re caring for,” says founder Michael Vogler, “allowing them to get more done and more time back in their day. That’s essentially how the idea of creating a ‘People ShareTM’ app was born.”
Vogler, who notes his family has a long history in the care industry, wanted to think of a way to provide help for others in the modern era. Since you can get a car to pick you up and food delivered through a couple taps on your phone, why not make every day tasks just as accessible? Vogler’s concept of “PeopleShare” answered that question, aiming to help people with full schedules get some relief from menial tasks that take up time throughout the day.
“By hiring contracted workers, who we call ‘People ShareTM Providers,’ we are not only providing on-demand service that offers help beyond the curb for our users, we are also creating attractive jobs for hundreds, and eventually thousands, of freelance employees,” says Vogler.
Another aspect of ZINKN that adds heart to its mission is providing workers who are able to do more than just make sure your dry cleaning is picked up on time or that your dog gets to the groomer; it allows users to hire workers who can provide care for loved ones. Naturally, this brings safety and security into the question, something that Vogler labored over from the app’s inception.
All ZINKN contract workers go through a thorough pre-screening process and a rigorous background check. Driving records, vehicle safety inspections, criminal records, and bankruptcies are all investigated to make sure someone is bringing on the right person to help them with their needs. What’s more, providers are required to have a minimum of three years of care experience in order to be hired and must maintain at least a 4.6-star rating.
“That kind of vetting tells us the best providers who have a heart for care and a proven track record of being trustworthy on every level,” adds Vogler.
ZINKN matches users with workers who can work an entire day or for as little as an hour at a time. Similar apps tout a minimum time frame of two to four hours. ZINKN also allows users to build a preferred provider list, bringing back people they trust for specific tasks.
Vogler’s future plans for the app are already coming to fruition as his ZINKN will move to other markets in the first half of 2019. The app will aim to grow nationally after expanding to central and southern California.
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