By Angel Feliciano, News Staff

With students running all over campus to get to class on time, waiting for their coffee to brew at Dunkin’ Donuts and passing by Snell Library to use QuickPrint in between classes, Northeastern’s campus is a busy place. This gave junior political science major Ross Donohue the idea for UFetch Delivery.

Donohue said he solidified the idea for UFetch, a campus messenger service providing delivery and errand runs for about a dollar apiece, by conducting surveys asking students if they would pay to have various items delivered to them around campus.

“After that, I saw that there is actually a significant demand that this could actually work,” he said. “We thought it would be cool to create a company that can actually last, and leave a mark here at Northeastern.”

Donohue and his business partner, Chris Ryan, a junior international affairs major, teamed up and developed the rough idea into their spring co-ops.

Donohue said he asked his co-op adviser how he could make the business plan into a co-op and she helped him to put it together. “It’s really easy. She approved it and here we are.”

The company follows in the footsteps of Husky Express, a laundry delivery service founded at Northeastern in 1999 by then-student Adam Jacknow. Husky Express grew into Garment Valet, serving the greater Boston area. Jacknow still owns the company.

Jacknow said he was inspired to hear about more students starting a business and creating their own co-op to do it.

The fact that UFetch is emerging in a very different economic climate than the one Husky Express was founded in was inconsequential, Jacknow said.

“There is always money to be made if you’re satisfying people,” he said. “Just really be motivated out there, you’ll break even and you get to eat more than squash, beans and rice. I’m not really concerned with the economy. Just do your thing.”

The pair has invested a total of $500 in the company, and Donohue said he isn’t expecting to turn a profit in the first year.

In a joint interview, Donohue and Ryan said the process of placing an order is very simple.

Users of the service can send a text, email, or tweet their requests to UFetch including their name, phone number, what they need, and the time and place of delivery. Donohue and Ryan take care of the rest. On delivery, users pay 97 cents to receive their items.

Because it is a co-op, Donohue and Ryan are running UFetch as a two-person operation and have two or three students on call who work for them when both are busy. Ultimately, the pair said, UFetch will hire more students. For the next few months, Ryan said it will likely remain a small operation.

“Right now, we’re just trying to get people aware of the service, that they can, if they need it, order anything from anywhere in campus,” Ryan said, “Something from Wollaston’s or Dunkin’ Donuts, printer ink, if they need a paper printed, they can get whatever they want, they can call us and we can get it for them, and the fee is 97 cents.”

Donohue said UFetch is marketing by telling students about the company around campus and using sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google+, where the company already has accounts.

Kathleen Castro, a middler chemistry major said she thinks the service would be very useful.

“I think that would be perfect for a busy person like me,” she said, “because in between classes, I would want coffee and it would be nice to to have it ready. It would be very convenient, especially when I’m sleep deprived and I forget to do things. I’ll definitely take advantage of this service.”

Donohue said he hopes business will increase as the semester becomes busier for students.

“Right now, it’s a very relaxed period of the semester,” he said, “and it’ll really be useful when you get to have these tests and papers and you don’t have the time to do everything by yourself.”

Cynthia Briceno, a freshman marketing major, said the service would definitely come in handy on her busy days.

“I think this is such an awesome idea especially if you have back-to-back classes and just don’t have the time to go get yourself a snack, tea, coffee or water,” she said. “I would definitely use this service because there are days when my schedule is just so busy and I can’t run to Argo Tea or Starbucks because I have to run to my next class.”

UFetch doesn’t just limit to delivering teas, coffees and essays to classrooms.

“If you want to return a book that you rented online, we can do that as well,” Donohue said. “Just give us the box, labeling and tell us where you want your books returned.”