Text this number to get anything you want: Aussie start-up aims to recreate the Magic

IMAGINE having your own personal servant a text message away. This start-up can do just about anything for its customers — just don’t ask for drugs.

How to get Macca’s delivered now

SOMETIMES three wishes simply isn’t enough.

In a world where (unfortunately) magic isn’t quite an option, two university students may have come up with the next best thing.

ASAP, founded by 20-year-olds Dylan Samra and Kelvin Nguyen, is an SMS service which acts like your own personal concierge service.

Simply text in your desire — the pair say food deliveries from places like McDonald’s and Messina are the most common request — and they the ASAP team will grant your wish, for a small fee.

The first time you make a purchase they’ll ask for your credit card number. After that, your details will be on file for convenience.

They claim to be able to do just about anything, provided it’s legal. Since launching in March, they’ve handled hundreds of requests, from booking flights, to organising bucks parties to answering homework questions.

It’s inspired by a similar service from the US called Magic, a San Francisco-based company which hit the headlines earlier this year. Mr Samra, a marketing student from south western Sydney, said the inspiration to launch the company came while the pair were working at a call centre in North Sydney.

“We were sitting at work and we wanted McDonald’s, but it was too far away,” he told news.com.au. “We thought, why not have someone deliver it to us? Everyone wants things right away, so we took it from there.”

He said the biggest challenge was handling the wide variety of requests. One customer asked for a live kangaroo to be delivered, which ended up in the too-hard basket. “Currently we’re working on getting someone rats. They requested three rats. So we have to go to rat breeders and find specific rats,” he said.

Surprisingly, only a small minority of requests were for illegal items like illicit substances. “When people do ask for an illegal request we simply decline and recommend something that’s legal,” Mr Samra said.

“Working every single day there’s something new and it’s exciting so it keeps you going and gives you something new. You’re anticipating every single day.”

ASAP primarily operates in Sydney, but is expanding its delivery service nationally by partnering with third-party services. With investors knocking, Mr Samra is confident of going international within 12-15 months.

“The future of ASAP would be investment from outside investors, going national with our delivery network,” Mr Samra said, “And taking over the world.”