DoorDash delivery service

DoorDash co-founder and CEO Tony Xu describes how the company found its first idea by working alongside small businesses and learning from their unsolved delivery needs. Early tests with customers, merchants, and drivers helped the founders decide to keep going, while a cash crunch and a disastrous delivery night tested their commitment to customer service. Xu explains how DoorDash created a new market by enabling delivery for restaurants without their own fleets, and why customer demand led the company to focus on suburbs. He also discusses difficult fundraising years, DoorDash's COVID-era decisions, and the long-term opportunity to help physical businesses and cities grow.