Our story
The sign said “Will work for money.”
Winter. A Tim Hortons drive-through in Toronto. A man sat by the window with a cardboard sign, hiding his face behind it. An empty cup in his hand. And under those four words — his phone number.
I’d landed in Canada in 2019. Within months, the world locked down. For my first seven months I had no job — I slept on the floor of an empty apartment, with twenty years of skills and no door to knock on.
So I knew something about standing outside with your talent.
Outside the Walmart where I shopped, I’d see families in the cold asking for help. Mothers with small children. Peak winter. And every time, the same thought: what are we doing wrong?
That day at the drive-through, I took my coffee home. Then I did something I’d never done before.
I called the number on the sign.
“What do you do?” I asked.
“I’m a handyman.”
He could fix, hang, build — anything around a house. And I had IKEA curtain rods in a box, no drill, and bare windows. I gave him my address.
He came the next day with a neat little tool roll. He unwrapped it slowly and laid out his screwdrivers in a straight row — everything in its place, everything cared for. I remember standing in my doorway thinking:
Here is an organized man the world has filed under “disorganized.”
Three hours later my curtains were up. I paid him sixty dollars, and he went home.
A few days later my phone rang. It was him — not asking for work.
“Nobody has been that kind to me.”
That call broke my heart. And then it built this company.
Because he was never the problem. The problem was that nothing existed to connect his hands to my curtains. His skill was real. My need was real. The only thing missing was the bridge.
Wasted talent is a wasted country.
I decided to spend my nights building the bridge.
For seven years — after work, alone, one man in one room — I built Taskly. Every screen you see here was made after midnight, on one belief: skill should never have to hold a cardboard sign.
Taskly is that phone call, made repeatable. You post what you need. Someone nearby — interviewed, reviewed, paid safely — says “I can help.” Your money is held by Taskly and released when the work is done. One side gets relief. The other gets dignity. Both get the thing they were actually missing.
P.S. — I still have his number. He lives close by. His seat on Taskly is the next call I make.
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Questions
About Taskly.
- Who founded Taskly?
- Taskly was founded by Mohit Mittal, a Toronto-based founder who came to Canada in 2019 and spent his first seven months out of work. He built Taskly after hours over seven years, alone, after meeting a handyman holding a cardboard sign at a Tim Hortons drive-through.
- Why was Taskly started?
- Taskly exists because skill and need kept missing each other. A handyman with twenty years of ability had no door to knock on, and a neighbour with curtain rods in a box had nobody to call — and nothing existed to connect the two. Taskly is that phone call, made repeatable.
- What does Taskly do?
- Taskly is a home-services task marketplace for the Greater Toronto Area. You post what you need, nearby Taskers send offers with a price, and you choose one. Payment is held by Taskly and released to the Tasker once the work is done.
- Where does Taskly operate?
- Taskly operates across the Greater Toronto Area, including Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Scarborough, Etobicoke, North York, Markham and Vaughan.
- How does Taskly keep the work safe?
- Every Tasker on Taskly is personally interviewed, reviewed and approved before their first job. Your money is held by Taskly until you confirm the work is done, and the Tasker confirms arrival at your door with a 4-digit code. Taskers keep about 80% of what you pay.
- Can I tell Taskly my own story?
- Yes. Taskly publishes the stories of the people who work through it — their trade, their name, and a link to their profile. You can send a voice note on WhatsApp or write it in, and nothing is ever published without your say-so.
