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All the Toppings
Atlanta college student Raymond Qin’s food delivery app helps the community
By Kathy Dean
When the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult
for many people to get meals and groceries, a lot of
people pitched in to help where they could. Raymond
Qin, a 20-year-old metro Atlanta native and C5 Georgia
alumnus, saw a way to use social media to benefit his
community.
The son of first-generation Chinese American
immigrants, Qin is a sophomore at Harvard University —
and he’s also an entrepreneur. His startup — Toppings — is
designed to promote local businesses while giving people
in the community easier access to food.
“Toppings is a social delivery app that encourages
and rewards users for bringing food back for their friends
when they are out grabbing a bite themselves,” Qin
explained. “This is done through a social network where
users can add friends and join different delivery groups.”
With integrated payment processing, splitting
the bill is easy and secure. And, Qin added, there are
“notifications so you never miss an opportunity for free
delivery, and location tracking to make it easy to identify
where your order is and where you can order from.”
The great thing is that there are benefits for everyone
involved. Orderers get free delivery; deliverers earn free
food, in-app rewards, and store credit — and participating
restaurants and stores enjoy profit guarantee and a low
delivery commission of 6-12%.
Get involved
Now Qin is offering an opportunity to other students. He said that Toppings
is currently looking for summer interns with experience in React Native frontend
development. Interested applicants should send their resumes to raymondqin@toppingsapp.
com.
If you’re interested in participating in Toppings, visit toppingsapp.com and sign up for
the waitlist to bring free food and free delivery to your area. QZI
Toppings founder Raymond Qin.
The need for feed
Qin said that his idea for Toppings started at
the beginning of the pandemic when schools began
shutting campuses, and he was sent home.
“At the time, some people in the neighborhood
around me began getting COVID and other
families, especially those with elderly immune-
compromised members, began taking precautions
and limiting going out,” he said. He saw that there
was a serious issue with people being able to get the
groceries and food they needed.
“We actually decided to start a WeChat
messaging group for several families in the
neighborhood so that when someone went out,
others could ask them to bring something back for
them,” Qin continued. “We quickly found this to be
a much better alternative to delivery platforms and
began working on a more robust product.”
The Toppings concept has gone through
OneSixOne’s incubator program, Harvard’s Builder’s
Incubation Program, Harvard i-labs Venture
Program and is currently being beta tested on
Harvard University’s campus, with plans to expand
to multiple campuses in the summer and fall of
2021.
Impact of C5 Georgia
Qin credits C5 Georgia with giving him
the tools to become a leader and innovator.
The nonprofit helps students achieve goals that
include: graduate from high school and pursue college or meaningful employment, acquire
leadership skills, make positive contributions to the community, develop and maintain
positive relationships and respect human diversity.
“C5 Georgia was one of the most transformative experiences from my youth and
continues to inspire me every day,” he said. “Through C5, I was able to experience and live
through lessons of leadership and impact, and I think that’s the biggest difference between
C5 Georgia and other youth programs. It doesn’t just preach lessons and empty statements.”
The program was begun by John Aim,
former President and CEO of Coca-Cola
TYLER PETTY
c. 770.630.5454 o. 404.874.0300
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Atlanta Fine Homes, LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair
Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each franchise is
independently owned and operated.
Enterprises. The program’s concept grew
from a four-week summer camp to a five-
year, year-round leadership development
and college readiness program.
Qin added that C5 taught him
empathy by putting people from diverse
backgrounds together to share stories
and experiences. “It inspired impact by
having students lead service projects and
it built leaders by planting people in
challenging situations,” he said. “I can
confidently say that C5 is what made me
believe that I can lead, impact and inspire
change — all of which drives me towards
entrepreneurship and impact-focused work.”
Today, C5 Georgia is a member of a nationwide network of youth foundations
operating in Los Angeles, New England and Texas with corporate partners/sponsors that
include Coca-Cola, Chick-fil-A, Fulton County, Inspire Brands, Kimberly Clark, Microsoft,
UPS and West Rock. Learn more at c5georgia.org.
34 May 2021 | [d
AtlantalntownPaper.com