Entrepreneur launches a new food delivery app in his hometown

Brett McElwee is the creator and owner of RoadRunnerApp.com, a delivery service company based in Ville Platte. Although the company is in its infant stage, it is quickly picking up traction to become the next big thing in deliveries.
McElwee started the business to fill a need for the public. Many people either do not have transportation, or simply do not have the time to pick up their orders, so RoadRunnerApp.com is a way to bring businesses and customers together. McElwee said other popular delivery services, such as DoorDash and Waitr, have a different business model from his. First of all, the other services just deliver food. RoadRunnerApp.com delivers food from restaurants and grocery stores, and also deliveries from pharmacies, law offices, florists, corporate offices, parts stores, and even personal deliveries.
“Our drivers aren’t required to work if they don’t want to,” said McElwee. “Other competitors, I think their drivers are required to work a minimum of 20 hours a week, so they actually pull shifts. With our business model, our drivers remain independent. It gives them flexibility. They get text notifications over the phone letting them know there is a delivery in their area. If they want it, they go into the app and accept it.”
How does it work? “The customer can go into the app and set up the delivery, or the store owner can set up the delivery,” said McElwee. The one who sets it up, gets charged a nominal delivery fee, starting at $10.00.
Another difference is McElwee’s business services more rural areas whereas the popular services are found in larger cities. RoadRunnerApp.com is not far behind, though, as they will soon be branching out to Lake Charles.
He graduated from Sacred Heart High School and then went on to U.L. Lafayette, where he graduated in nursing. “Science was my thing. I knew I wanted to work in the medical field.” He worked as a nurse for a few years but the hours were tough. “I was working nights and every other weekend. When I got out of nursing, I went into marketing for a home health company. It didn’t take me long to figure out I needed to be in business for myself, and I never looked back.” McElwee is no stranger to being an entrepreneur. He started First Choice, a nurse staffing service, with Daniel Fuselier about 15 years ago.
McElwee is married with two children, Layla and Alex who both attend Sacred Heart. His wife, Kristi, is a driver for RoadRunner.
When asked what he sees for the future of his company, McElwee said, “I don’t know where the future’s going. I like to start things from scratch, and I like to build them into something. I think we solve a common problem in society with RoadRunnerApp.com. It’s a convenience app. People’s live are busy. And a lot of industries can now add delivery to their customer services, and it won’t cost them a dime. They don’t have to hire a truck or buy one, they don’t have to hire a driver. They just outsource it to RoadRunner. I just wanted to bring the big city technology to the rural markets.”