901-754-9404
My List0

We've now made it easier for you to research and save your favorite keynotes speakers. Click on the + sign to add a speaker to your Speaker List and email your favorites to colleagues and friends.

using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
Leah Busque, Business Speaker

Leah Busque Solivan

    • Founder & Executive Chairwoman, TaskRabbit
    • General Partner at FUEL Capital
    • Named one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company
Full Bio
In Person-Fee 🛈

$20,000 - $30,000

Virtual Fee:

Please Inquire

Travels From

California

Leah Busque, TaskRabbit - Startup Lessons from TaskRabbit

Leah Busque, TaskRabbit - Startup Lessons from TaskRabbit

Have Big Hairy Audacious Goals and Take Baby Steps

Have Big Hairy Audacious Goals and Take Baby Steps

Fuel Capital's Leah Busque on Her Shift from the Startup World to VC

Fuel Capital's Leah Busque on Her Shift from the Startup World to VC

Growing an Early User Base

Growing an Early User Base

Leah Busque Solivan Speaker Biography


Leah Busque Solivan has 15 years’ experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as a software engineer in the Software Group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008 Busque founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world. She served as the CEO for eight years and now is the executive chairwoman of the company.

A vision for revolutionizing the way people work led Busque to pioneer the concept of “service networking.” Her passion for product innovation and devotion to user experience have propelled TaskRabbit into a leading role in the collaborative consumption movement. Busque has expanded the company internationally, raised nearly $50 million in venture funding from venerated investors like Shasta Ventures, Lightspeed Ventures, and Founders Fund, and inspired legions of startups to launch in the collaborative and service networking space. Fast Company named her one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business,” and her achievements have been featured in The Wall Street JournalWired, and Time. Under her leadership, TaskRabbit has gathered accolades including being named “The Next Big Thing in Tech” by The New York Times.

In 2014 Busque was inaugurated into the Forum of Young Global Leaders, a prestigious group of less than 1000 people around the globe recognized for their bold, brave, action-oriented entrepreneurial ventures. The arts and creating opportunities for women in technology are important to her and she also serves on the Board of the Silicon Valley Ballet and enjoys speaking engagements for organizations such as Girls Who Code and Tina Brown’s Women In the World Summit.

Buque resides in the Bay Area of California with her husband, two children, and highly energetic black labrador retriever. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Sweet Briar College, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science. She served on the Board of Directors from 2001-2003 and recently rejoined the board in 2015.

The Sharing Economy and The Future of Work

Mom always told us not to talk to strangers, but are there really any strangers today? Five years ago it was unthinkable to flag down a random car and hop in for a ride, but today, with the use of technology, we don’t hesitate in sharing rides with people we don’t know. We are willing to hire a handyman through an app, such as TaskRabbit, and we are renting out rooms in our own houses to people we’ve never met before. How did the sharing economy begin and what will it evolve to next? In this dynamic speech, Busque will share her story of starting TaskRabbit and why 2008 was a pinnacle for the beginning of the sharing economy. Over the last 8 years, this new trend has evolved into mainstream adoption and continues to grow and scale in new ways that are changing the future of work. Busque will explore how businesses, large and small, will need to evolve to support this new fragmented workforce, and how, despite the skeptics, providing more flexibility and entrepreneurship in our work environments will drive innovation, support diversity, and ultimately translate to stronger, longer lasting companies.

Entrepreneurship: From Engineer to Entrepreneur, 5 Lessons Learned

After 8 years as a software engineer at IBM, Busque quit her job to found TaskRabbit. With no prior business experience, no MBA, and by withdrawing $20,000 from her IBM pension account, it was a cold winter night when she had the idea for founding TaskRabbit. After bootstrapping the company for 18 months, maxing out credit cards, and building the business from the ground up, Busque was able to raise over $50 million dollars in venture funding, expand the company internationally, and propel TaskRabbit as a leader of the sharing economy movement. There were many lessons learned along the way, and in this dynamic speech, Busque will share five important lessons that changed the game for her life and her business. From having “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” to discovering ideas, instead of inventing them, Busque will explore how anyone can be entrepreneurial and drive innovation for their team, business, or organization, ultimately achieving greater happiness for themselves and truly loving what they do.

Women in Technology: Invest in Our Girls Early and Bridge the Gap Now

We constantly hear about the “pipeline problem” of women in the technology industry. Companies want to hire more women and drive more diversity, but they say they struggle in finding qualified candidates. Is the pipeline problem real and how can we better prepare our girls and young women for careers in the technology industry? Busque will share her experiences from how her eight year old self learned about what a CEO does, to having strong female mentors and role models throughout pivotal educational years, to quitting her job at IBM to found TaskRabbit – a pioneer of the sharing economy movement. Her experiences as a speaker for Girls Who Code, mentor for Girls in Tech, and board Trustee for Sweet Briar College have shaped her perspective on bridging the gap for women in technology. As we strive to increase diversity in the pipeline, Busque will also share how companies can start finding qualified diverse candidates today, by increasing their focus on culture building, investing in diversity and inclusion programs, and working with untraditional recruiting resources to fill the gap immediately. The audience will be left motivated, inspired, and with new tools at the ready to drive diversity for their organization.

Related Speakers

Jean Chatzky, Women's Issues Speaker

Jean Chatzky

Personal Financial Expert

Farrah Gray, Communications Speaker

Farrah Gray

One of BET’s 12 Famous Black Entrepreneurs

Antwone Fisher, Overcoming Adversity Speaker

Antwone Fisher

Author and Screenwriter

Todd Kashdan, Speaker

Todd Kashdan

Professor of Psychology and Senior Scientist of the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being

Vicki Hitzges, Speaker

Vicki Hitzges

Former TV News Anchor

Mitch Lowe Speaker

Mitch Lowe

“Zen Disruptor” and Former CEO of Movie Pass 

Susan Salgado, keynote speaker

Susan Salgado

Leadership Expert on Workplace / Workforce Culture

Blake Mycoskie, Consumer Behavior Speaker

Blake Mycoskie

Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS Shoes

Kelly Swanson, speaker

Kelly Swanson

Funny Award-Winning Storyteller

Manager Max, speaker

Manager Max

Leading Specialist on the Corporate World and a Captivating Showman

Hortense le Gentil keynote speaker

Hortense le Gentil

Executive Leadership Coach

Lauren Sisler keynote speaker

Lauren Sisler

2-time Emmy Award-Winning Sports Broadcaster with ESPN and SEC Network

Reviews

Testimonials

Everyone on the ESB team has been great to work with for our events. Looking forward to keep working with ESB!

Plexus Worldwide

We had a positive experience with ESB. Matt Meyer is a great communicator and easy to get a hold of. His helped us through the process to mak..

BNSF

ESB was patient, thorough, and responsive during the planning process. Thank you for making this such a great experience for us!

ConnectWise

ESB supported our needs and the needs of our speaker throughout the entire process. I highly recommend working with ESB to find your next spe..

DogWatch

"It's always a pleasure to work with ESB. Very professional and personable staff. Thanks!"

Testimonial | Texas Society of Architects

"Excellent! Thank you for being a true partner to our organization and its development."

HCA Healthcare

"They are the only speakers bureau I will even consider using!"

Testimonial | Youth Villages

A wonderful bureau to work with! Big ups to everyone who helped make our event a success. Fingers crossed we get the chance to collaborate fo..

MDRT | Testimonial

"As always, you are the best most responsive speaker bureau I've ever worked with!"

Image Media

Angela Schelp was a great partner in finding the right kick-off speaker for our conference. This was my first conference identifying the keyn..

CubeSmart
Need Suggestions? Have Questions?

Need Suggestions? Have Questions?

Call to discuss how we can you help find the right speaker(s) for your organization.

© 2024 Executive Speakers Bureau. All Rights Reserved.

Design and Developed by eBiz Solutions

Get Ideas in 1 hour or less

Executive Speakers Bureau consistently receives praises about our speed and efficiency. From the beginning of your event planning, our extensive online speaker database and resourceful staff allow us to quickly equip you with the best speaker for your event.

Need a last minute speaker? No worries. Our speed and efficiency help us give you ideas for speakers in one hour or less.

Please fill in information below