Community-driven app JoyRun will deliver almost anything around campus

JoyRun is an app that allows members of the UNC community to deliver anything to other people around campus.

“It’s a community-powered favors and errands platform,” the app’s creator Manish Rathi said.

Rathi said the app is chat-based, so anyone who needs something delivered can send out a message asking for it, and anyone on their way to a store or restaurant can send out a message asking if anyone needs anything delivered from there.

“What we're trying to do is to give people a platform that people can help each other while they're on their way,” Rathi said.

It's often used for food, but students can request for drivers to pick up or deliver anything. Arteen Asgharzadeh, the JoyRun regional growth lead for the area, said he has delivered coins to parking meters, Laffy Taffy to Granville Towers and Advil PM and nasal spray to a sick student.

JoyRun provides a flexible employment opportunity for students.

“You can just be a driver from downloading the app,” said Savanna Michaux, a sophomore and student leader for JoyRun.

Rathi said other delivery apps can leave the buyer disconnected, whereas JoyRun brings the community together.

“Who are you paying? Are you paying a corporation or are you paying a member of your community?” he said.

Rathi said he has big plans for this campus startup app.

“This product will eventually be global. Not just on campuses, not just on a few campuses, but all campuses and then even in cities and offices and so on,” he said.

Started at UC Davis, JoyRun is now used at seven additional colleges. 

For now, Rathi said JoyRun plans to focus energy on college campuses and work with feedback the app receives from students to make it even better.

Rathi said part of the inspiration for the name came from how when you make a coffee run or run an errand for people, they feel joyful when they receive the item they asked for. He said JoyRun looks to give positive meaning to the world through the app.

Asgharzadeh said UNC has had some of the fastest growth out of their campuses. He said as they near the end of their fourth week on campus, they are approaching 2000 users. He also said they are working to grow their network on campus because JoyRun is student-run.

Sophomore Becky Chen has had JoyRun for about a month and uses it frequently.

“I think this is actually one of the better apps that I’ve heard about and using it has been very convenient for me just because they deliver to wherever you are,” she said.

Rathi said JoyRun has been successful at other campuses and expects UNC to be no different.

“The students at UNC have really taken this very positively," he said. "It’s for the community, and we’ve seen lots of good reactions to the product.”

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