Online Entrepreneur Tim Fung and his online businesses

Sydney Genesis, based in the Business School at the University of Sydney, is a start-up entrepreneurship competition program for students from any background who are passionate about their ideas in business, technology or social entrepreneurship. 

The contact information for Sydney Genesis or their mentors: business.competition@sydney.edu.au (Julia Di Kang). I have sent an email to her and am waiting for her response.

Tim Fung, one of 10 Sydney Genesis mentors and a graduate from the University of New South Wales, has founded or co-founded several web businesses, including Airtasker, Joe Button and Circuit Club. He has been named in SmartCompany’s Hot 30 Entrepreneurs under 30 for 2012.

The three businesses Tim has set up focus on three interesting but different areas. Airtasker, newly founded in February this year, is a community marketplace website allowing people to outsource daily tasks and errands to reliable neighbours or “runners” in their local community. Such chores include ironing, furniture delivery or car washes. Their slogan is “gets it done”. Just in late August, the company announced that it has secured $1.5million in funding. This newly secured funding will be used to enhance the website’s functionality and to improve its messaging systems and mobile capabilities. I think the case of Airtasker can provide valuable lessons for young entrepreneurs on how to get funding.

 

There is an anecdote relevant to Airtasker when it was founded early this year: Airtasker paid a person $950 to queue for the first new iPad from 9am on Monday until Friday when the new iPad was available in stores. You can find the original task posted by Tim Fung on Airtasker here. News website news.com.au has run a story on this task.

Joe Button is a Sydney-based online clothes custom store; what distinguishes it from online shopping websites is that Joe Button allows customers to design 100% European cotton shirts. Check out how Joe Button works.

 

 

Circuit Club is a motorsport events business, holding fast driving events for car lovers at the race track. Its website allows drivers to search events and to book online. Circuit Club was set up in 2003 and has since created an active motorsport community; the site facilitates a numerous ‘Trackday’ events in NSW and Vitoria.

Having been involved in setting up these three web businesses, Tim Fung is a typical and successful Australian young entrepreneur, who can serve as a great case study for our final feature project.