Alcohol is now being delivered to the doorsteps of the millions living in Boston and New York City, with the help of $2.25 million in seed funding and a few taps of an iPhone. Drizly announced the newfound financing on Wednesday in wintery weather — reason enough why we need an alcohol delivery service here in the Hub.
The iPhone app, built by a trio of Boston College students, is expected to reach "many more" U.S. cities in the next six months as the team uses the money to expand.
Former CEO of WHERE Walt Doyle, now a venture partner at Highland Capital Partners, has been an early supporter of Drizly, posting on AngelList months prior to the news:
I am working with the team at Drizly to help them build the world's first spirits on demand delivery service — an $80 billion dollar a year market opportunity. This syndicate is being raised for the sole purpose of the Drizly fundraise. All investors on same term sheet — great team, great market!
Since then, with the help of Atlas Venture's newly-launched AngelList Boston Syndicate, several other investors have signed on — interest piqued — to support Drizly. Other venture firms involved include: Abundance Partners, Breakaway Ventures, Continental Advisors, Fairhaven Capital and Reynolds & Company Venture Partners. Several seasoned entrepreneurs also participated in the round, including Doyle himself, along with Lars Albright, Tom Crotty, Ty Danko, Julian Jung, Alexander Keith, Pat Kinsel, T.J. Mahony, Austin McClintock, Chris Merrill, Ivan Mitrovic, Fred Shilmover and Streetwise Media's own Chase Garbarino.
Walt Doyle sang Drizly's praises in a release, stating:
It is exciting to see a team of young entrepreneurs on the East Coast develop a mobile lifestyle app that fills a huge need within a complex, multi-billion dollar industry. We believe Drizly is poised to fundamentally change the behavior of 225 million Americans who can legally buy alcohol, as well as the three-tier system that services them.
To avoid any legality issues, Drizly partnered with Advanced ID Detection early on to create the Mident Advanced ID Guide, a mobile, digital ID catalog complete with IDs from all 50 states, Canada, Puerto Rico and more. With the app, Drizly has been able to efficiently forensically verify an ID's authenticity with a few taps. After a consumer has been validated, the company will deliver booze to their door in 60 minutes or less.
Along with the funding, Drizly announced a partnership with Pernod Ricard, a worldwide leader in wine and spirits production. Their new association will be centered around promotion, education and brand awareness.
“Pernod Ricard is actively exploring new platforms that create value for our consumers, and Drizly represents a unique path-to-purchase opportunity for wine and spirits shoppers,” said Tim Murphy, vice president of digital and media at Pernod Ricard, in the release. "We are excited to work with the team at Drizly as they explore and create new shopper propositions through this technology.”
