“We deliver the things you want to buy, but can never carry on your own. Because getting stuck in a turnstile with your toilet paper is pretty balls. And when you drop your groceries in the middle of the street, people laugh.” ZippMarket’s Facebook page is blunt: this new U of T upstart delivers food, beverages, cleaning supplies, and household items to students.

“I lived in both 89 Chestnut and the Woodsworth residences in my early years at U of T. I also lived in a house on Harbord [Street] with a few friends,” said Anthony Darcovich, co-founder of ZippMarket. “The biggest difficulty I faced, along with my suitemates and roommates, was carrying everything home.”

“We always joke about getting stuck in the turnstile with toilet paper — it actually happened to me in first year; the TTC attendant had to go pick up the bags that got left behind. That’s why we designed a service around campus essentials.”

The idea for the ZippMarket dorm store originally came out of an entrepreneurial course taught by Reza Satchu that Darcovich took last year at U of T. “After the course, Anila and I decided that we wanted to take the idea further.”

Darcovich and and his co-founder Anila Akram have both put graduate school on hold to pursue an project they admit is a risky departure from their academic background. “To go from game theory and IR to small business accounting is a big leap,” said Akram.

The company already has plans to expand their product selection. “We’re expanding to cover not only food and beverages, but also other items students need on a daily basis to stay active and connected on campus,” said Darcovich.

Starting a business is the hardest thing you can ever do” said Darcovich. Their project is currently funded by personal savings, earnings from summer employment, and a joint government-non-profit youth small business loan from the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.

The co-founders admit that Zippmarket’s reception has been mixed.“We’ve had top business and technology executives tell us that the idea is great — and then rip into it, from a logistical and operational point of view,” said Darcovich. The company has opted to personally deliver orders instead of hiring a courier service.

Second year political science and European studies student, Brent Schmidt is not sure if he will ever use the service. “I attend a lot of conferences with the United Nations Society which consumes much of my time and has me out of Toronto frequently and when I’m home I have the unfortunate habit of far-too-frequent restaurant eating. Furthermore, I eat a lot of my meals at [Howard Ferguson Dining Hall] so my need for delivered groceries supplies and the like is very low.”

Katie D’Angelo, a fourth-year student completing a joint specialist in International Relations and history, has used the service twice. “It’s really easy to use: you go online, pick what you want, and then they deliver it.”

“If you order it before a certain time, they’ll even deliver it next day for free. Not to mention that the delivery people are ridiculously friendly. It’s going to be even more helpful in the winter, so I’ll for sure be using it again.”