Megh Vakharia is a student at the University of Washington.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A 19-year-old Indian American is one of two people behind a new smartphone app that would enable customers to get marijuana delivered right to their doorstep at their convenience.
The controversial app, named Canary, is the brainchild of Megh Vakharia and Josiah Tullis, who are both students at the University of Washington. While the state does not currently allow for legal consumption of cannibis, it does make an exception for medicinal marijuana, and that is what the Canary app would facilitate.
The idea is for the app, which is useable 24/7 and 365 days a year, to partner up with medical marijuana facilities across the state. Customers with legitimate medicinal marijuana cards can use the app to have their personal favorite dispensary deliver weed to them whenever they need it – so long as the dispensary is open and within a deliverable distance.
The drivers who deliver the marijuana to Canary users would be employed by the company, and would have to pass rigorous background checks before being hired. Vakharia told USA Today that he and Tullis are still ironing out the business model, but are considering charging either a commission fee on each purchase – which would amount to somewhere between 10% and 25% of the purchase total – or a flat subscription fee that would be charged either monthly or annually.
The idea, controversial though it may be, has struck a chord with an increasingly liberal youth and public. Most Americans consider legalization of marijuana a matter of when, not if, and the strides made by several states – Colorado in particular, which has openly legalized marijuana distribution and consumption – lead many to believe that the entire US will follow suit shortly.
Vakharia and Ellis admit that their ultimate goal is for Canary to be used for all kinds of marijuana distribution, not just the medicinal kind. In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, they explained that their idea has received some flak, especially from their own parents, but the time is right for such a service to become widespread.
At a TechCrunch conference earlier this month, Vakharia and Tullis pitched their app to about 800 audience members and potential investors, but weren’t even allowed into the room until their presentation was up – only because they’re not even 21 yet.
By the end of the day, they had won the conference’s Audience Choice Award.
For Vakharia, this is not his first rodeo in the start-up game. In addition to being involved with Canary, he is a Growth Engineer for Porch – a company that uses computer hacking to “discover sustainable growth tactics.” He is also the 2014 CodeDay Regional Manager, which is a student-organized coding society based in Seattle, and is also the co-founder and advisor for Startup UW, a student organization at the University of Washington meant for budding entrepreneurs. Additionally, he is the media director for the school’s Indian Student Association.
1 Comment
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