Like Magic, New Company Delivers Anything You Wish For
Get whatever you want, as long as you're willing to pay.
— -- Imagine having a personal assistant right at your fingertips.
That's what a new San Francisco-based company called Magic is trying to achieve with its services, no app required.
Just text “Magic” to short code 83489 and chat with a team member, who will grant anything you wish, and that means anything.
"As long as it's legal, there's essentially a price," co-founder and CEO Mike Chen said. "If we don’t have the expertise to get it done, we'll get someone who does so you don’t have to deal with it."
From simple food orders, to booking flights and furniture deliveries, Magic launched Feb. 19 and Chen said the inquiries have been all across the board.
"This one request had everybody cheering," Chen said. "It was snowing and there was someone ordering barbecue food from a restaurant that did not deliver. We posted local ads in the area to see who wanted to drive it through the snow and the person who received it was ecstatic. We made it happen against the odds and that’s what gets us excited."
The first time you use Magic, a rep will text back with a link where you'll enter your credit card info and address to a secure payment site, Stripe.com.
Tips are included, and they use local delivery services across the United States.
Depending on the nature of your inquiry, Magic charges you a fee to get the process underway.
"It could be a fee as low as a dollar," Chen said. "We estimate up-front, depending on what your request is."
First-time Magic user Packy McCormick said he'll definitely give it another try.
"I just kind of saw it on a tweet and I thought it was a pretty cool tool," said McCormick, the general manager of New York at Breather.com who used the service this week. "I ordered chicken and rice from The Halal Guys. I'm trying to think of creative uses for it because their service is great. It’s pretty interesting to be able to get anything you want through text."
Nicole Gravlin of San Jose, California, also used Magic to order coffee for a business meeting.
"I had heard about Magic from posts online, so I decided to text them the night before to give ample time for my order to be fulfilled," she said. "I texted at about 11:15 p.m. and asked for my Starbucks order to be delivered at 8:30 a.m. to the hotel. I got the price confirmed and location of pickup, and went to bed. In the morning, I got a text around 8:20 from Magic saying my order was on its way, and then the delivery driver was at the lobby at exactly 8:29."
Since his company has gone viral, Chen said Magic has wait-listed 30,000 people wanting to use their services.
Because of the demand, Chen created a VIP option costing $100 a month for those wanting to be bumped up on the list.
He said hundreds have already opted to pay the fee.
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