How to Get Started, Doing Things that Don't Scale, and Press (How to Start a Startup 2014: 8)

TL;DR

Founders of DoorDash and Teespring share insights on the importance of testing ideas, launching quickly, and doing things that don't scale in the early stages of a startup.

Transcript

thanks for having me Sam I'm Stanley I'm the founder of door - and it's it's really amazing to be here because it wasn't naturally that long ago where I sat in in your seats I was class of 2014 graduated in CS as well as my co-founder Andy and for those of you who don't know what doordash is we're building an on-demand delivery network for local ci... Read More

Key Insights

• 📸 DoorDash's founders, Stanley and Andy, built their on-demand delivery network while they were still students at Stanford, and their journey has been incredible.
• 🚗 Small business owners, like Chloe from the macaron store, face challenges with delivery infrastructure, and DoorDash saw an opportunity to solve this problem.
• 📱 DoorDash started with a simple landing page and used their personal cell phone number to test consumer demand for their delivery service.
• 🚗 DoorDash initially did everything manually, from customer support to delivery driving, to gain a deep understanding of their business and gather valuable feedback.
• ⚙️ DoorDash focused on doing things that don't scale, such as hacking together solutions using Square and Google Docs, in order to get their startup off the ground.
• 📰 When seeking press coverage, it is important to have a clear goal in mind and understand your target audience for maximum impact.
• 📰 To secure press coverage, it is necessary to build relationships with reporters, pitch interesting and newsworthy stories, and follow up with reporters to stay on their radar.
• 📰 Press coverage should be seen as a tool to achieve specific business goals, such as reaching certain target markets or gaining customers, rather than a vanity metric of success.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did DoorDash test their delivery idea without having any infrastructure or delivery fleets?

DoorDash created a simple experiment with restaurant delivery by putting together a landing page with PDF menus of restaurants in the area and a phone number for customers to place orders. They manually delivered the orders themselves to learn how the delivery process worked and gain real-time feedback from customers.

Q: What was the motivation for Teespring to provide exceptional user experiences and actively communicate with customers?

Teespring wanted to turn users into champions who would advocate for their products and brand, so they prioritized providing delightful experiences and personalized, real-time communication with customers. This helped them understand customer pain points, gather feedback, and build a strong relationship with their users.

Q: How did DoorDash and Teespring handle growth and scalability in their early stages?

In the early stages, both DoorDash and Teespring focused on getting their ideas off the ground and finding product-market fit. They did things that didn't scale, such as manually delivering orders, using simple tools like Google Docs and Find My Friends for logistics, and personally handling customer support. Once they had demand and a better understanding of their business, they focused on building automated solutions and scaling their operations.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Stanley, the founder of DoorDash, shares the story of how they initially tested the idea of delivery through a simple landing page and manual processes, highlighting the importance of testing hypotheses and launching fast.

• Walker, the CEO and founder of Teespring, emphasizes the significance of doing things that don't scale, such as providing exceptional user experiences and actively communicating with customers, as well as the importance of finding product-market fit through iterative development.

1. Stanley emphasizes that in the beginning stages of a startup, it is crucial to test hypotheses and launch quickly, even if it means doing things manually or with limited resources.

2. Walker shares the importance of building strong relationships with customers by providing exceptional experiences and actively communicating with them, as well as the value of finding product-market fit through continuous iterations and focusing on specific goals.

3. Both founders highlight the significance of doing things that don't scale in the early stages of a startup, such as personally handling customer service, manually managing logistics, and staying close to customers to gather feedback.