‘Magic’ Makes Everything On-Demand (For The Wealthy)

Imagine being able to receive almost anything you want at the drop of a text message.

Silicon Valley startup Magic is making that happen but for a price.

Magic allows consumers to order services, food and products simply by texting the service, making anything from booking flights to grocery shopping a breeze for couch potatoes and overworked multitaskers alike.

On-demand delivery services, like Postmates, are not novel, but reports note that Magic’s business model is unique — and perhaps risky — because it uses other delivery services to fulfill its own jobs. Magic partners with GrubHub, Eat24 and Postmates, among others, to facilitate the delivery order.

The company’s new premium concierge service, Magic+, charges $100 per hour for the use of its “Magicians,” AKA the concierge assigned to complete the requested task.

While the original Magic service is still available and, as CNNMoney reported, currently has a wait list with over 50,000 people, the premium offering is designed to offer service that is more akin to having a personal assistant.

“It’s better than having a real assistant in your office … It’s sort of like Jarvis meets Pepper Potts,” Magic CEO Mike Chen told CNNMoney. “Magic+ never gets sick, never goes on vacation, never forgets anything. It gives people the raw power to get stuff done.”

The service is admittedly geared towards those that are not only super busy but also very wealthy. But Chen said his goal is to “continually drive the price down” in order to make the premium service affordable for more people.