There's room for different players in sharing economy

THESE days, just about everything can earn you a quick buck if you're smart about it. That's what Judy learned when renting out an empty boardroom on pivotdesk to Craig who needed the space. Of course, Craig has been saving money and making friends through couchsurfing.com, while renting out his own apartment on Airbnb. Craig's guests are spending the day exploring the city by bicycle, thanks to Liquid's peer-to-peer bike share programme. And with dog lover, Bridget, on the job, the couple can rest assured that their beloved Baxter is in good hands with DogVacay while they're away.

Down the road, a single mum is using the money she made from selling those dusty fabulous heels on Postmark to rent Kim's ladder that she found on Snapgoods. And tomorrow Kim will heed Craig's request on TaskRabbit and take an Uber to the other side of town to prepare the apartment for the next round of Airbnb users. Six degrees of separation just became four in this new economy of collaborative consumption.

In one way, it's simply fabulous; the sharing economy cracks open fresh value on those underused assets around the house. Although, in another way, is the concept risky and our intrepid entrepreneurs have just not realised this yet?