Startups ride the highs and lows of Calgary's sharing economy

John Minchindoesn't miss his accounting job at all.

In the face of a changing economy in Calgary, he and hisbusiness partner an oil and gas worker founded a dog walking business that works a bit like the ride-sharing company, Uber.

Now he spends his days talking to pet owners and dogs. His app called Spotmatches freelance dog walkers with pets that need exercise.

He and two other Calgary entrepreneurs WuilderTorres of JobJarand Maggie Young of ParkChamp made their case for starting sharing-style businesses tothe Calgary Eyeopener.

"If you're sitting in a cubicle and you're working on something every day that doesn't inspire you, then, yeah, what do you have to lose?" Minchin said. "Especially if you're young, energetic, no mouths to feed, I'd say go for it."

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That's not to say starting a business or running a sharing-style business is without challenges, he said.

JobJarfacilitates tradespeople bidding on homeowners' small jobs, which can be hard to find a contractor for, let alone multiple bids. Interest is growing every day,Torres said.

To be successful, Torres said, he tries to be always making the platform easier for tradespeople and homeowners to use, based on their feedback, and to block out time each week to stay active.

"Just get ready don't think everything's going to be nice and dandy," Torres said. "You're going to have tough days. You're going to have to work long hours."

All three have found their businesses grew quickly.

Maggie Young launched ParkChamp which matches empty parking spots with commuters seven months ago.

We're creating new things in the economy without actually needing to build anything.- Maggie Young, ParkChamp

She now has 75 locations renting parking spots through her app, 500 active monthly users and every listed downtown spot rented all the time, she said.

Sometimes, she said, there's a new way of looking at an old problem, such as the race to find parking in a busy city.

"We're creating new things in the economy without actually needing to build anything, manufacture anything. We use technology to create a new way for people to do things," Young said.

"That's actually really good for the economy, taking space and making money off of it and then saving money and time using technology to do something that you really need to do every day."

That innovation can also mean a low barrier to entry, Minchinsaid, versus an unaffordable rentfor a brick-and-mortar shorefront. The technology can be a challenge to develop and learn but the tried-and-true standards of good customer service and business management apply.

"We're living in a pretty cool time where you don't necessarily have to be an expert to excel at something or to at least learn about something. Access to information is a few clicks away," he said.

"And that makes it pretty easy for us."

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With files from Falice Chin and the Calgary Eyeopener

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