Spring Break
Students start drink delivery business
Stephanie Takach
Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: News
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"About a year ago, I met people from University of Penn and they started their own business, Askel Gungor, a junior majoring in finance and co-founder of Drexeldrinks.com, said. "It's actually the same exact business, just over at Penn and they were interested in expanding."
Gungor and co-founder Ross Staszak, a junior majoring in electrical engineering, launched the web site last week.
"The whole purpose of the business is that around here you probably know that we don't really have any stores to go and buy a case of water," Gungor said. "We figured 20 drinks is the magic number. It makes sense to get it delivered."
Gungor and Staszak, both members of the Drexel Entrepreneurship Association, started the business with out-of-pocket funds, while Ross was 3,000 miles away on co-op in Idaho.
"It's a risk. You have to put some personal funds in it, but if it works out and you succeed, it's rewarding," Staszak said.
Gungor said the first step in any business is in the ideas that run it.
"We set these goals every week to accomplish and you just need to meet with it and make sure everyone is doing their part," Staszak said. "[You] really can't match the experience you're going to get from running your own business. One goal is to show students that you can go out there and run your own business."
By doing so, the duo is looking to turn this into a co-op job in the future.
"It'd be awesome for students as sophomores going on co-op to be able to run their own business right on campus," Gungor said.
Drexel University also released a new concierge service, Snap Dragon, which allows students to order 16.9 oz. bottles in cases of 24 for $8 per case.
"I guess anything is really healthy competition; from what I hear, they're a concierge service and it's kind of a different market. They're giving you a case of water, but they don't have the same variety," Staszak said.
Currently, Gungor and Staszak deliver the cases personally, allowing them to meet their customers face to face, according to Gungor.
They also emphasized that the company is not related to Drexel at all.
"We're not associated with any organization," Gungor said. "Obviously we're familiar with the DEA, but that was for promotional events."
Yousef Ezz, co-founder of the DEA, said he thinks Drexeldrinks.com is a great idea and will be successful by catering towards Drexel's market.
"I know that it will be quite a successful thing. I know that Penn has also done something, like penndrinks.com, and so they're doing sort of a partnership on that. I feel like 79 percent of Drexel is commuters so they've really hit the jackpot on that," Ezz said.
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