Rapidus

Rapidus is a mobile application which will bring much needed innovation to the grocery retail industry.

April 11, 2014; 7:19 AM • by RVANews staff

WHAT DOES YOUR START-UP BUSINESS DO?

Rapidus is a mobile application which will bring much needed innovation to the grocery retail industry. The benefit of our application serves two different parties: grocery stores and grocery shoppers.

Rapidus enables grocery stores to seize the omnichannel opportunity, while creating a superior in-store experience for their customers. In other words, Rapidus is a plug and play solution that allows grocers to have a presence on both mobile and web ecosystems, while simultaneously improving their customers user journey in the store.

For grocery shoppers, Rapidus is a mobile application that allows you to scan items into a virtual shopping cart as shop and then let you seamlessly pay for your purchase with the click of a button. People hate wasting time waiting in line — with pain amplified in densely populated areas like DC — we look to make this issue (waiting in line) a thing of the past. The app also helps you plan meals and find items in the store, among other things. What if you can’t make it to the store? Soon after launching the in-store app, the Rapidus team will begin developing the technology infrastructure to allow you to place orders for pick up or delivery from your mobile phone or your computer as well.

HOW DID YOUR VENTURE START?

Our founder graduated from the VCU School of Business in Dec. of 2011 and took a job with Deloitte Consulting in DC. As he transitioned from student life to professional life, he quickly realized that grocery shopping was no easy feat. His first time grocery shopping in DC took over three hours. It took three months to get it down to a couple hours. Once he oriented himself to the location of his most frequently purchased items, his biggest frustration came when he would have to wait in line for 30 minutes on average. It did not take long before he thought to himself, “there has to be a better way.”

HOW WILL YOU USE THE $10,000 CASH PRIZE TO HELP YOUR START-UP?

The money would help extend the runway of the company. The team has been bootstrapping the business and we are absorbing technological costs. We need the money to not only accelerate the development of the technology, but to extend our runway as we are on the cusp of success.

April 11, 2014 7:19 AM 0