A Business Born in the Depths of the Pandemic

Addressing the need of the hour

Over the past year, most of my writing has been inclined towards the adverse effects of the pandemic. I was disturbed by the number of people who lost their lives and livelihoods. The loneliness and the devastation prevented me from looking beyond.

Trapped in issues like not being able to meet friends or family, missing cooking meals with my parents or even being part of special occasions. Little did I know, while I was caught up in my own shell, there were brilliant minds out there looking for a solution.

Just a few weeks back I came across the name Anyruns.com, this company had come up with such a splendid idea that I could not help but share with my readers.

They have developed a local start-up which is basically a taxi service for everyday items that allows users to send any item (large or small) to friends, family and loved ones.

For example, if I make my dad’s favourite dish but I cannot meet him in person AnyRuns will deliver it safely without delay.

The need of the hour

I found this superb idea relevant to the needs that require addressing right now.

From personal moments like sharing your favourite dishes with your loved ones and surprising friends and family on special occasions to the survival of local businesses which were affected by pandemic due to the absence of reliable, quick and affordable delivery this idea caters for all.

They operate by partnering with a network of local taxi drivers and takeaway drivers, many of whom were severely impacted by the pandemic and have since lost their jobs. Now with AnyRuns, they are able to work and connect with local communities by delivering items instantly to users.

The idea behind the project

Friends (Ahmed & Abdi) who came together to make a difference by supporting local business and the community to fight off the challenges faced by the pandemic.

We literally started working on the day Boris announced we need to Work From Home!~Ahmed

The concept behind AnyRuns was to connect with each other in these challenging times and to provide a premium service at an affordable rate. Their aim was to provide a service that helps the community keep in touch with itself in a safer manner.

For businesses, they tried to understand how they could help small and local businesses fight off the challenges of the pandemic which has resulted in a long-term trend of declining footfall on the high street.

They wanted to empower small startups with tools that could fight these changes without the need for any initial setup cost, full flexibility (no monthly cost) and a very affordable rate.

Challenges faced

These friends decided to embrace rather than fight the challenges of the pandemic. Remote working and working from home enabled them as start-up to focus on most immediate needs and reduce the fixed cost such as office space. They were able to build a talented team by working remotely which in normal circumstances would have been difficult. They are 100% remote working!

We received an incredibly positive response to our service, whilst there was also a total disbelief that such a service exists! We have seen a drastic increase in usage and a continued customer demand which has now led us to consider further expanding our service to multiple British cities.~Anyruns

According to the founders creating the product quickly and identifying something that solves the issue of not meeting people, adhering to strict local lockdown guidelines & introducing no contact deliveries — through the usage of one-time PIN codes to validate deliveries — rather than a traditional signature is extremely secure and adheres to lockdown guidelines, has been a challenge that they were determined to overcome.

Helping the locals

This project is entirely based on the aim to help locals who can use it to run their errands while focusing their time on more important things in life. Even local businesses can cater to their communities without the need to stretch their budgets or put up any upfront cost.

They ensure premium services such as same-day delivery which once were only affordable by large business or corporates can be used by communities and local business to build back better after a very challenging year.

Future Aims

They aim to expand their services to other cities. Encourage users and local business to embrace AnyRuns and use it as their own logistic arm.

P.S: This article was created after a detailed interview with the owners of Anyruns .