Drizly portland

Drizly, an on-demand alcohol delivery service, began in 2012 when Nick Rellas, BC ’13, and Justin Robinson, BC ’11, wondered why they could not get beer delivered to their dorm when people seemed to have access to nearly every other product through technology. Drizly officially launched in Boston in 2013 and now delivers to 19 major cities across the U.S. and Canada and on April 14, Drizly launched in its 20th city—Portland, Maine. The company hopes to be the best place to buy alcohol, which means having the best prices on the largest selection of products across the Internet. To do that, Drizly looks to continue to grow the team, the network of stores, and the service itself. Their curiosity quickly evolved into a fascination with why technology has not been able to tap into regulated industries like alcohol.Even before he transferred to Boston College from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rellas, the current CEO of Drizly, had reached out to John Gallaugher, an information systems professor, and showed interest in creating value with a business perspective. Gallaugher is the co-adviser of BC Venture Competition (BCVC), which has now been absorbed into Start @ Shea, the student executive team for the new Shea Center for Entrepreneurship that launched last fall. “Nick is not just a smart guy, he also has the emotional intelligence to push forward in a difficult space to do something that no one has ever done before,” Gallaugher said. “He was able to identify a pain and come up with the solution to solve it.” When he first heard about the idea from Rellas, Gallaugher was skeptical because it can be hard to see where ideas will go and how plans will be executed with young entrepreneurs, especially when there are lots of people running the same

BOSTON, Dec. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for the holidays, here comes Drizly: a revolutionary way to shop for adult beverages, available starting today in Ohio. Adults of legal drinking age can simply download the Drizly mobile app (App Store and Google Play), or visit Drizly.com, to shop for hundreds of products right from their smartphones and desktops. Drizly partners with best-in-class local retailers, which deliver orders within one-hour, or at a conveniently scheduled time. There is no price markup on products. Drizly is now available to homes and offices throughout Columbus, Middletown, Akron and the suburbs of Cleveland, through partnerships with Arena Wine and Spirits, Middletown Fine Wine & Spirits, Corkscrew Johnny's, and Chagrin Wine & Beverage.Shopping Drizly goes beyond one-hour delivery. Within the Drizly marketplace you can shop beer, wine and low proof spirits with an endless aisle experience across multiple partner retailers. Browse thousands of bottles, compare prices, and select the delivery method that's right for you. At holiday time, Drizly means entertaining made easy -- no more schlepping heavy six-packs or cases – and gifting made convenient. "With today's launch in Ohio, Drizly is now available in nearly 40 cities across the U.S. and Canada," said Nick Rellas, CEO and co-founder of Drizly. "Our incredible network of top-tier retail partners are excited about partnering with us and helping to shape the future of how alcohol is shopped. Our launch in Ohio today is another step toward bringing adult beverage consumers a completely unrivaled alcohol shopping experience."Drizly is a one-stop shop for adult beverage entertaining, even offering through its retail partners a range of popular soft drinks, juices, ice and other mixers – not to mention, fresh citrus, party cups and other "extras." The Drizly mobile app and website are deep wells of advice for experienced and budding mixologists, packed with cocktail recipes and other pro tips, deep dives on popular adult beverages, and advice from The Drizly Top Shelf Bloggers: best-in-class local experts on alcohol, entertaining and lifestyle. As a special welcome to new users in Ohio, Drizly is offering FREE DELIVERY for all

Navigating the laws have been some of the hardest times, but also some of the most rewarding, when Drizly launches successfully in a new market that may have posed roadblocks early on.While Rellas mentioned that there are many great accelerator and incubator programs in Boston for aspiring entrepreneurs, Drizly was not a product of any of them. “Simply put, we would not be here without the support, encouragement, and nurturing of the Boston community,” he said. “We had to earn the opportunity to be a part of it by getting Drizly off the ground, but once we did the entire village helped raise and grow the company. We’re proud of Boston, Boston’s startup scene, and our place within it.”Gallaugher made the introduction to the first tech outlet that covered Drizly, which put the company on the map and got things rolling. In January 2014, Drizly raised $2.25 million in its first round of seed funding and another $2.5 million in May 2014. Through its series-A funding round led by Polaris Partners, the technology company landed $13 million.Rellas said that less than 2 percent of alcohol sales happen online, but he thinks that this industry will catch up to the rest of the consumer-packaged goods world over the next five to 12 years and approach 12 to 15 percent of total sales happening digitally. This is equal to $12 to 15 billion in potential digital sales and Drizly hopes to be the first to venture into the areaFeatured Image by Drizly

Nick Rellas has stepped down from his role as CEO of on-demand alcohol delivery service Drizly. Nick Rellas, former CEO of DrizlyRellas, who co-founded the Boston-based company in 2012, will move into a key advisory role and remain on Drizly’s board.Cory Rellas, co-founder and current chief operating officer, will take over as CEO.“Having taken on a more critical role in the operations of the company over the past few years, coupled with his experience at Bain Capital, Cory is poised to lead Drizly through the next stage of its growth,” the company said in a statement.“Nick’s leadership has been instrumental in guiding Drizly from its inception to its current role as the clear leader in the world of alcohol e-commerce, with presence in over 100 markets across the US and Canada.”Earlier this year, Drizly expanded its leadership team with a new CMO, CFO and head of HR.Last month, the group purchased alcohol e-commerce company Buttery, allowing it to expand its range and delivery options.

Uber announced Tuesday it is acquiring alcohol-delivery service Drizly for $1.1 billion in stock and cash.Following the completion of the transaction, Drizly's marketplace will be integrated with the Uber Eats app. The company will keep the standalone Drizly app as well, it said. Founded in 2012, Drizly has become the leading on-demand alcohol delivery service in the U.S. and is available in 1,400 cities. The purchase could help drive people to use Uber's app more often. Uber Eats has been a key segment to Uber's business amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has dramatically reduced the number of people leaving their homes. "During this time our delivery business as been growing at extraordinary rates," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC on Tuesday. Drizly said it had more than 300% growth in the past year. The deal is expected to close within the first half of 2021. Uber said that it anticipates that more than 90% of the consideration to be paid to Drizly shareholders will consist of shares of Uber common stock, and the balance will be paid in cash. Uber stock was up more than 8% in the morning.Uber has focused its acquisition efforts on its Eats segment during the coronavirus pandemic. After talks failed to acquire food delivery service GrubHub, Uber acquired Postmates last July. At the same time, Uber has offloaded some of its more cost-eating transportation segments. The company last May transferred its electric bike and scooter business, Jump, to Lime. Uber also sold its self-driving unit, Advanced Technologies Group, to its start-up competitor Aurora Innovation on December 7, valuing ATG at approximately $4 billion at the time. Just a day later, it announced it was selling its flying taxi business, called Uber Elevate. Nominations are open for the 2021 CNBC Disruptor 50, a list of private start-ups using breakthrough technology to become the next generation of great public companies. Submit by Friday, Feb. 12, at 3 pm EST.