I jotted these apps down (plus added a few others) from a recent article in Wired Magazine. The article discussed the rise of hyper-local intermediary apps that aim to capitalize on the surplus time of a service provider by matching them with someone looking for that service at that exact time. Keep in mind that most of these companies merely provide a streamlined process that matches consumer (not business) supply with consumer demand. Caveat Emptor applies as always. Here are some examples:
Parking Panda – parking spaces
Toolspinner – household tools
Cherry – carwashers
Exec – personal assistants
Rover -dog sitters
Taskrabbit – work for hire
AirBnb – home rentals
Getaround – car rental
Spinster – bike retal
Uber – private executive drivers
This market is bound to grow drastically over the next couple of years as most of these services are favourable to both economies of scale (e.g. same concept applicable to any city) and economies of scope (e.g. process can be applied to any service and/or industry vertical).
Let me know if you have any other good examples to add to this list!