Meg Whitman to Join Zaarly Board of Directors

Zaarly, a startup devoted to helping people sell and purchase items and services online through a localized auction-style marketplace, announced early Tuesday that Meg Whitman has joined its board of directors.

Whitman, as you may remember, was once CEO of eBay and just took over as CEO of Hewlett-Packard a month ago. While her move to Hewlett-Packard was met with mixed reviews, it seems like Zaarly is an excellent fit for Whitman.

Zaarly CEO and Founder Bo Fishback, who described his startup as a marketplace “at the intersection of Craigslist, eBay and a lot of marketplaces that don’t exist but should,” is certainly excited about Whitman’s arrival.

“She joined eBay when it was almost the exact same size Zaarly was, 30 people,” said Fishback. “In the world of building marketplaces, build trust and engage in the community, there’s no one better than her.”

Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Whitman has already shown enthusiasm and commitment.

“When I call her on a Saturday, she answers every time,” Fishback told VentureBeat.

What differentiates Zaarly from other online marketplaces is the flexibility it offers both buyers and sellers. With Zaarly, the possibilities are infinite and not confined to items that can be shipped through UPS. Anyone can ask for anything on Zaarly, from a pizza to an iPad to a French lesson, and users in the area looking to unload the item or provide the service can apply to do so and make some money.

Zaarly launched in May and has grown to 100,000 registered users.

Whitman sang the praises of Zaarly in a statement: “Just as consumers once left off-line marketplaces to join online marketplaces such as eBay, Craigslist and Amazon, they’re now migrating to mobile marketplaces, like Zaarly,” Whitman said. “Mobile, local marketplaces will shift how people buy and sell goods, services and experiences. This is the next generation of eCommerce.”