SU alumnus helps launch goPuff, an online convenience store
Courtesy of Daniel Folkman
Daniel Folkman, who graduated from Syracuse University in 2012, runs business development for goPuff. He works to eliminate the middleman to expedite and have better control of the customer experience.
Updated: March 28, 2017 at 10:34 p.m.
GoPuff is an on-demand online convenience store rising in popularity among college students. It allows consumers to order products through a website or app and it guarantees delivery in only 30 minutes.
Daniel Folkman, a Syracuse University alumnus, is an essential component in the success of this company. He runs the business development for goPuff, which requires him to manage major partnerships with other companies such as Coca-Cola and Hershey’s.
About three years ago, two roommates at Drexel University, Yakir Gola and Rafael Ilishayev, realized they were constantly running errands for their whole house with only one car. They knew there should be a better way to get their necessities, and goPuff was born.
“After a couple months they realized, this is not the most efficient way of getting what we need, there’s got to be a better way,” Folkman said in reference to the founders of goPuff.
Folkman graduated in 2012 with a dual major in entrepreneurship emerging enterprises and finance and a minor in economics. After graduation he spent time working on different startup companies in Manhattan and Philadelphia. There he discovered his passion of working with early-stage technology startups. Last March, Folkman reconnected with a friend of his — one of the goPuff founders. They discussed building up goPuff’s business development team, a task Folkman thought was a natural fit for him in terms of responsibility.
“I love bridging the gap between larger corporations and emerging technology companies,” Folkman said.
He appreciates the opportunity to assist longstanding brands in learning novel techniques for running their company. Folkman utilizes his contemporary knowledge to help goPuff and other companies evolve.
Folkman said he supports goPuff wholeheartedly because he sees it as an on-demand space set apart by the fact that they eliminated the middleman — controlling the customer experience from start to finish.
He reflected on his experience coming full circle with his recent return to Syracuse to help launch another goPuff market here at the university. The company currently has 17 markets running and hopes to have 30 by the end of the year.
Published on March 28, 2017 at 9:28 pm
Contact Chloe: cjgreenw@syr.edu
