When Will Tregenza was a sophomore at Cal Poly studying business administration, he felt something in the air: opportunity. With the help of his co-founder Matthew Menno, Quickie Delivery launched in November 2021.
Quickie Delivery was an essential items delivery service for college students aimed to be fast, affordable and eco-friendly. “Flashers,” or employees, delivered food and supplies to a student’s doorsteps on e-bikes and e-scooters.
On Aug. 20, Quickie Delivery posted on its Instagram that they will cease operations and not return to campus this fall.
Founders Tregenza and Menno credited their start to resources including the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and the Hatchery. They were also involved in the summer accelerator program in 2022.
“I highly recommend that as a student, you pair your education with trying to start a business,” Tregenza said. “It’s going to teach you ten times more than anything in the classroom and use support resources like the hatchery and the CIE. They’ll help you a ton and they helped Quickie grow immensely.”
Through the summer accelerator program, Tregenza said they gained more connections to advisors and funding.
“Slowly but surely, [Quickie] grew into something much, much bigger with a ton of really dedicated staff, team members and a huge customer base that just loved our product and loved what we had to deliver,” Tregenza said. “Overall, my experience has been very, very positive.”
Business administration senior Chandler Long started working at Quickie in January 2024 as a delivery driver.
After becoming close with Tregenza and Menno, Long took on more responsibility—he modeled for their merchandise, took on an active role in their social media by conducting public interviews and helped with Quickie’s app design.
Long’s favorite memory at Quickie was when they set up a booth on Dexter Lawn with a prize wheel. One of the prizes was a hug from Long, and he recalled that it seemed like every single person seemed to land on that prize.
“That was one of my favorite experiences because [we spread] positivity to campus,” Long said.
Interdisciplinary studies senior Peyton Branch said Quickie was the best college job she could ever ask for. She thought of her bosses, Menno and Tregenza, as friends and always had fun with them.
“Quickie truly was like having a big family,” Branch said. “We were all so close and I got so many friends out of the experience. It taught me how to really interact with so many different kinds of people.”
Branch worked as an “expo,” where she packed and put funny messages on delivery bags four times a week. Branch delegated tasks to other employees and practiced customer service, which she recounts as difficult at times but fun.
“I used Quickie as a way to escape the stress of classes and just live in the moment, which was really valuable for me,” Branch said.
Tregenza and Menno sat all the employees down to announce Quickie was closing, according to Branch.
“I think that we all know we’re not going to be able to find another job in college that’s going to [have] that same atmosphere that Quickie had,” Branch said, feeling bittersweet about the announcement.
Civil engineering junior Owen Chang, a customer of Quickie, was devastated when he heard the news that Quickie would not be returning to campus.
“Quickie was the last price of joy in that tasteless prison,” he commented.
“Quickie has just been like a keystone in the community of Cal Poly,” Chang said. “I’ve always felt like they were the best delivery service to supply students with snacks and supplies.”
Tregenza said Cal Poly is a great place to start a business and encouraged students to take a shot at a business model they have.
“As we ran Quickie, we always told ourselves that even if this doesn’t pay us a single dollar, we’ve learned so much invaluable information, trying this hands-on and [gaining] that experience,” Tregenza said. “I highly encourage anyone, no matter what your major is, to look into starting a business endeavor and see what you can do with it.”