INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
On-demand delivery is painfully difficult
The margins are usually razor thin, each market is wildly different, and the business can be largely dependent on retailers& willingness to
jump into the digital age.But DoorDash, which launched in 2013 out of Y Combinator, has been a dominant force in the space.That why we&re
absolutely thrilled to have DoorDash CEO Tony Xu join us at Disrupt SF in September.In the five years since it launched, DoorDash has
expanded to hundreds of markets in the U.S
The company, which offers delivery services for restaurants, liquor stores, and even gadget retailers like b8ta, has also penned
partnerships with big retailers like Walmart for grocery delivery.In fact, DoorDash has raised more than $700 million and has achieved
unicorn status in its relatively short life.Much of that success can be attributed to founder and CEO Tony Xu
The son of immigrants, Xu worked in his parents& restaurant before heading off to Stanford
He then worked at McKinsey, eBay, and Square before bringing his knowledge and experience into the entrepreneurial realm.This isn&t the
first time we&ve hung out with Xu on the Disrupt stage
In 2016, Xu biggest focus was balance.&Hardest part is keeping everything in balance,& he said
&There a couple dimensions to this: how do you invest the company capital effectively; how do you best serve the marketplace of three
audiences, consumers/merchants/dashers; and how do you keep that in check
If you have too many of one, it a challenge, and we have the unique challenge where we have to solve product market fit across three
audiences.&While that challenge will always be a factor in DoorDash business, we&re particularly interested to hear about the company move
into the evolving world of grocery delivery
There is plenty to discuss with Xu, and we hope you will join us at the conference, which runs September 5 to September 7.Thefull agenda is
Passes for the show are available at the Early Bird rate until midnight tonighthere.
