How it all began
Back in 2012, the owners of a small macaroon store were challenged with a problem that many small business owners face daily. They had many delivery orders to fulfill, but had no delivery drivers to meet the demand. To ensure that this problem was real, they surveyed 200 other restaurants in the area and came to the conclusion that most restaurant owners feel that deliveries are frustrating. They needed a way to find delivery drivers on demand when an order came about. This is what drove Tony Xu to create DoorDash, one of the most popular delivery apps on the market today.
What makes DoorDash stand out?
Before the creation of DoorDash, restaurants were obligated to hire their own delivery drivers as employees of the company. This was a challenge for many companies, because often times there weren’t enough available employees to meet the delivery demand. DoorDash wanted to solve this issue, and create a way for delivery drivers to be available at all times of the day. This app allows delivery drivers to be on demand, and deliver for any restaurant rather than only working for one. Tony Xu used entrepreneurial traits such as looking at other successful companies, and learning how to implement their strategy into his own. He looked at the success of FedEx, and wanted to model his business in a similar on way.
DoorDash Innovation
Tony Xu began experimenting with this delivery process in a company called Palo Alto Delivery. This company was the same as DoorDash today, but on a much smaller scale. It focused on a very small market around the Stanford University area. After months of success on a small scale, the owners knew it was time to allow restaurants all over the country to start using the app. The delivery app slowly implemented its availability to different parts of the country, offering the service initially to urban areas with a higher delivery demand. With the continued success, most citizens in the United States today have access to DoorDash’s services, including those in rural areas.
My takeaway from DoorDash
The story of DoorDash has taught me that many problems in the world are shared within a majority of people, and can be solved through entrepreneurship. The problem in a small macaroon shop with delivery demand was a very common issue among other restaurants. All it took was one person to act on this issue and create a solution that benefited many businesses within the country. This story also inspired and taught me that entrepreneurship can open up doors in other innovative areas that weren’t originally intended. For example, the creation of DoorDash was originally intended to solve an issue for food delivery restaurants. As a result, many other restaurants that hadn’t used delivery prior such as Mcdonald’s and other fast food now use DoorDash to deliver food and create a larger market. I am excited to see other innovations that DoorDash will implement into their service, and see how the delivery market shifts through time.