"Minyawns" startup offering a different way to find work, or help... Fast

A new company launched in Fresno this week -- hoping to solve a common dilemma: college students short on cash, and local businesses short on help.

When you hear "Minyawns" your first thought might be the little yellow cartoon creatures from Despicable Me. Those are minions. But the concept is similar: hordes of willing workers, ready to do your bidding. Except they're college students.

Founder Billy Sheng, 23, has been recruiting on the Fresno State campus -- signing up college students looking to make extra money and connecting them with businesses looking for reliable help. Sheng explained, "This is for that one day in the year, two days in the year when you get really swamped and you want a college student to come help you out. There's no really reliable place to find one-day jobs with credible local businesses."

The jobs range from personal assistants, data entry, event set-up, ad flyer handout, servers and more. The name Minyawns came from "minions so good you can relax and yawn." What originally started as an e-mail list at the University of Washington has now blossomed into a full blown business with hundreds of Minyawns and companies listed on the website.

Sheng first traveled to Fresno -- trying to secure funding for his start-up. He fell in love with the city, and decided to stay. Now he runs a staff of about a dozen employees in both Seattle and Fresno. And local business owners are excited to use Minyawns. Anna Jacobsen with Shift3 Technologies says she likes the concept: "And it's not just any old person who's coming in working it's people in the community, students who are kind of making their way. You're getting a qualified person in the door. So I would recommend it."

Minyawns makes money by taking 10% of what the business agrees to pay for the job. In the short-term Sheng says he wants to expand to more west coast college campuses located in metropolitan areas. Minyawns recently won runner-up at Fresno's "59 Days of Code" competition. If you're a student or business, you can sign up here http://www.fresno.minyawns.com/