For those who think the walk to Court Street can seem like an arduous journey, a group of five Ohio University students are offering to bring almost anything to their doors — for a small fee, of course.
The entrepreneurial students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, started OU Delivery, a delivery service that promises to deliver “just about anything,” according to its Facebook page.
In the few days that OU Delivery has been operational, its Twitter page has accumulated more than 1,786 followers as of Tuesday night. The account’s first tweet was Nov. 17.
The group initially said it could deliver alcohol, but tweeted Tuesday that it would no longer provide such a service.
Aaron Hoffman, a sophomore studying pre-med and the founder of OU Delivery, said he thought of the idea one day while walking to Shively Dining Hall in bitter weather.
“We deliver to the Athens community in general,” Hoffman said. “Right now we’re primarily just for students.”
Currently operating out of a dorm in Adams Hall, the service hopes to expand with workers throughout the greens on campus and in Uptown Athens, said Tucker Holland, a freshman studying restaurant, hotel and tourism and a co-founder of OU Delivery.
Matt Chadwick, Robbie Mount and John Zinno are also co-founders. There are a total of seven employees and the group is looking to expand.
“I definitely think it’s a great idea,” said McKenzie Pautz, a sophomore studying forensic chemistry, who was one of the service’s first customers. “They responded immediately after I texted them.”
The potential benefits of OU Delivery might even reach beyond the student body.
“We get a lot of calls asking if we do delivery, about two to three a day,” said Zach Graman, an assistant general manager at Big Mamma’s Burritos. “I think (OU Delivery) is something that can definitely help us out.”
OU Delivery’s founders plan to meet with a lawyer soon to discuss legitimizing the business as a Limited Liability Company, Holland said. They are also looking into using a mobile application to accept credit and debit card payments.
“I think it’s great that the students are putting this together,” said Jenny Hall-Jones, OU’s dean of students. “My advice to them is, figure out how to do it and actually make it a business.”
db794812@ohiou.edu
@Dinaivey
This article appeared in print under the headline "Students launch delivery
service from dorm room"
