Focusing on Neighbor’s Needs

Julian Yanez Vazquez is proving that youth is no barrier to entrepreneurial creativity and daring.

The 2025 Lely High School graduate is the founder and CEO of Marco-based Julian’s FastDash, a business that takes the business model popularized by national players like Uber Eats and Grubhub, localized it and customized its offerings, all with the Marco Island-Naples markets in mind.

Like the major apps, he offers on-demand deliveries from local restaurants, grocery stores, drug stores, and other businesses. But Vazquez’s approach distinguishes itself from the big companies by being hyper-local, focusing only on businesses not served by the national companies. His business model is also highly personalized.

For private customers, the Julian’s FastDash method provides concierge-type services, among them errands, including multi-stops, store returns, and performing personal assistant duties on a monthly basis.

For commercial clients, there’s delivery support, whether that’s inventory runs, restocking items, picking up necessities, or handling deliveries. For Airbnb hosts and vacation homeowners, Vazquez will restock their properties before guests arrive, pick up packages, handle necessary errands, and even coordinate arrivals.

The personal touch is accentuated and valued, as are customer relationships. To illustrate this point, Vazquez cites the example of a customer who called him to remove her walker from her car’s trunk so that she could meet a friend for lunch at a restaurant on the island.

“I think that really reflects what the business is about,” he said.

As he puts it, he’s “helping fill real community gaps” where services are available to other businesses and people “who need more flexible, on-demand help.”

The one-man operation promises better pricing than the national competitors, no hidden fees, no menu markups, pricing starting at $5, and most deliveries made in under 25 minutes, thanks to his in-depth knowledge of the area.

A Marco resident since the age of four, the now 19-year-old’s business, his first, debuted in January, making for a surprisingly ambitious and daring move for someone of his relative youth.

He points to several factors that have provided the confidence and courage to begin his entrepreneurial career before reaching the age of 20, chief among them his mother, Sarah Yanez Vazquez.

“Mom had a vacation rental business (Beachside Oasis of SWFL) for about two years and shut it down maybe a year ago,” he said. “I was working for her, and she actually inspired me to really push myself to create a business. Seeing my mom flourish and grow and seeing her relationship with the community and owners and renters, it really changed my perspective on how I see business. And I’m also seeing so many young entrepreneurs all over the world and even on Marco Island.”

Vazquez began working part-time when he was 15, first at Publix, then at Cold Stone Creamery, followed by Tony's N.Y. Pizza on Marco, where he’s still on staff. In December, he took on two additional jobs that combined to inspire his new venture: making deliveries for DoorDash and Uber Eats.

“I just really loved it, honestly,” said Vazquez. I just fell in love with helping out neighbors and making connections.”

That impression was so strong that after a brief development period of one month, Julian’s FastDash began doing business.

“I'm a person who when I think of something or I have an idea. I really want to get started with it and push it as soon as possible,” he said.

Julian's FastDash can be reached by calling 239-507-3205, or via text or WhatsApp through the company’s website, juliansfastdash.com, where more information is also available.”