“美國版美團”的挑戰：盛大IPO之后如何盈利
Danielle Abril
2020-12-18
在斯坦福大學外的街邊，一套被當作辦公室的兩臥室公寓塞滿了20名年輕的技術人員。公寓內的家具都是便宜貨，包括一張唇膏紅的沙發、不匹配的桌子和折疊椅。
這家公司專注于為餐廳提供送餐服務，但僅為公寓周邊的8家餐廳提供服務。公司的雇員，不管從事什么工作，都會在一天當中抽出一些時間去送餐，目的是為了了解如何改善這一業務，哪怕只是將訂單送達時間縮短幾秒鐘。
送餐初創公司DoorDash首席執行官徐訊說：“公司所有人都會去送餐，與所擔任的職務無關。”那個時候，這樣做的目的就是想“努力讓員工盡早地成為這方面的專家。”
7年后，DoorDash已經成為了美國送餐服務領域最大的服務商。上周，在新冠疫情引發的送餐熱潮中，公司成了上市新貴。
在迎來了盛大的IPO之后，DoorDash如今的估值約為500億美元，比一些成名已久的大型公司還要高，例如通用磨坊、卡夫亨氏以及福特。
然而，DoorDash必須證明其疫情期間的增長并非只是曇花一現。除了在最近的一個季度出現了短暫的盈利之外，公司多年來一直都在燒錢，2018年虧損了2.04億美元，2019年虧損了6.67億美元，今年前9個月虧損了1.49億美元。
AB Bernstein分析師馬克?施姆里克說：“投資者目前最大的疑問在于，當前的增長態勢能持續多久。送餐已經成為日常生活的一部分，但其可持續性如何？”
周一，另一名分析師曾質疑投資者在公司IPO之后對于公司過于樂觀，DoorDash的股價在盤中應聲下跌12%，降至153美元。DoorDash重現了20年前互聯網泡沫的那段時光，其股價在交易首日飆升了86%。
DoorDash提到了多個能夠佐證其業務順遂的跡象。在多個城市經營數年之后，公司能夠在這些城市盈利，前提是刨掉某些成本。公司還提到已實現正現金流，初創企業通常會拿這個指標來展示自己所取得的進步，當然也得先扣除某些成本。這意味著按照這種情況來看，DoorDash在今年前9個月的進賬要高于支出，這個業績受到了疫情的加速，但并非源于疫情。
不管從哪種情況來看，DoorDash都面臨著多重挑戰，其中包括可能導致雇員成本提升的法規；使用其服務的小商家破產導致客戶數量減少；以及與強大同行的競爭，包括UberEats、Just Eat和Takeaway.com旗下Grubhub。
最終，DoorDash并不希望僅僅止步于送餐服務：公司打算讓自己成為幾乎所有主流街區店面購物和送貨的常用應用。
獲得金主支持
DoorDash在早期奉行的理念是效率和節儉，大都是不得已罷了，一開始只有硅谷初創企業加速器Y Combinator向其提供了僅2萬美元資金。多年來，DoorDash一直在對其業務進行完善，以降低成本。
徐訊說：“從第一天開始，我們像鷹一樣一直緊盯著公司的盈利能力。我們一直在確保我們所打造的業務擁有通向盈利的路徑。”
公司首席運營官克里斯托弗?佩妮說，DoorDash一開始的擴張可謂是郊區與城區并舉，與此同時，傳統的理念認為，送餐公司需要霸占人口密度高的大型城市，因為在那里，大量的客戶都居住在離送餐公司不遠的地方。然而，在Cheesecake Factory請DoorDash為其全美開設的餐廳提供服務之后，DoorDash高管雙倍押注郊區業務，盡管有人擔心公司難以在這些地區盈利。
佩妮說：“當時的情形是，‘我們很快就會將其弄清楚’?；剡^頭來看，我們似乎做出了明智的決策，因為事實證明，DoorDash在郊區的效益與都市環境相差無幾，或者更高?！?/p>
通過專注于郊區，DoorDash的服務延伸至更多的家庭，而這些家庭在每個訂單中又購買了更多的食物。盡管司機的路途有所增加，但他們抵達目的地和停車的速度會更快。
投行D.A. Davidson分析師湯姆?懷特說：“展望未來，這是市場所有增長的動力源。”
郊區戰略幫助釣來了硅谷風投公司紅杉資本，后者于2014年領投了1730萬美元的資金。公司吸引到的另一個人就是徐訊。
紅杉資本的合伙人阿爾弗萊德?林一開始并沒有看好DoorDash，因為這個領域此前曾被投資者認為是超級資本密集型行業。然而，阿爾弗萊德?林最終于2014年同意注資DoorDash，在此之前，林在紅杉資本贊助的晚宴上與徐訊進行了交流。徐訊是華裔移民，他從小到大一直在餐廳刷盤子，他母親也是這個餐廳的雇員。徐訊向林具體剖析了餐廳的業務，甚至連餐廳如何計算餐飲的送餐時間都進行了解釋。然后，徐訊將餐廳的效率與DoorDash進行了對比，并從林那里拿到了這筆投資。
林說：“他可能是唯一一個向我解釋其中數學問題的人。他的介紹改變了我的想法?！?/p>
公司的首席人力官薩拉?瓦格納說，徐訊對于效率的癡迷最終匯聚成了Doordash的企業文化。其理念是專注于業務需要改善的領域，迫使雇員不停地尋找他們可以解決的問題。她說：“這種理念我還是頭一次見到?！?/p>
一夜之間的轉變
在經歷了快速增長之后，DoorDash開始將目光瞄向了在2019年初 IPO。今年三月，在DoorDash信心滿滿地提交了IPO申請之后，一件超乎想象的事情發生了：新冠病毒開始在全球蔓延。
隨著病毒的傳播，餐廳因城市整體關停而舉步維艱，其中的一些餐廳僅能夠提供外賣和送餐。很多餐廳迅速與DoorDash這樣的第三方送餐服務商簽訂了協議。
瓦格納說：“數以萬計的商戶在短時間內發布的通告中了解到，它們必須從店內用餐轉變為送餐和取餐模式。徐訊、管理團隊和公司的數千名雇員耗費了數個夜晚、周末及其空余時間……將這些商戶攬入平臺?！?/p>
為了應對新冠病毒，DoorDash臨時取消了新餐廳加入該服務的注冊費用，并為店面數不超過5家的當地餐廳提供服務費五折優惠。公司還花費1.2億美元為司機購買了口罩、手套和洗手液，并取消了對餐廳的收費，同時提供了無接觸送餐選項。在選擇這一服務后，司機會將餐食放在家門口，以避免與消費者近距離接觸。
維克多和達娜?庫克西夫婦是芝加哥燒烤餐廳Krazy Hog的店主，對他們來說，DoorDash就是救世主。Krazy Hog在疫情開始肆虐之后便關閉了門店。然而數周之后，在DoorDash的指引下，餐廳搬到了由第三方運營商所有的共享廚房，僅提供取餐和送餐服務。DoorDash還通過公司所搜集的數據，例如客戶年齡分布和下單頻率，來幫助餐廳吸引更多的客戶。同時，DoorDash還將Krazy Hog的燒烤醬納入了公司于今年早些時候推出的數字便利店。
達娜?庫克西說：“當他們告訴我們這一切時……你知道那個無比興奮的表情符號嗎？我們就露出了這種表情?！彼f自己當時興奮到了極點。
維克多補充說：“在我看來，送餐服務已經發生了徹底的變化。”
但并非所有人都對DoorDash深信不疑。例如，Olive Garden與Yard House連鎖店母公司Darden Restaurants對于第三方送餐服務的銷售和質量普遍感到不滿。Darden表示，公司依然認同首席執行官兩年前有關送餐的聲明：“在我們看來，有鑒于當前的操作方式，這并非是我們現如今希望參與的業務。”
一些餐廳起訴DoorDash在沒有獲得許可的情況下便將其列為服務對象。例如，芝加哥Burger Antics在2018年起訴DoorDash，稱客戶在經歷了長時間等待之后收到了由司機送來的冰冷餐食。In-N-Out Burger在2015年也曾起訴過DoorDash。
DoorDash希望通過列出那些所謂的“非合作方”餐廳，向其證明自己的服務可以提升餐廳業務，從而將這些餐廳轉變為客戶。DoorDash稱，公司在11月叫停了這類做法。
頻遭審查
DoorDash也遭到過不少審查。
一些餐廳抱怨，像DoorDash這樣的送餐服務收取的服務費過高，會削減餐廳的利潤。分析師稱，這筆費用為訂單額的15-20%。這類抱怨吸引了廣泛的注意力，以至于全美各大城市開始出臺送餐服務費上限政策，而其中大多數上限在疫情開始后有所上調。
AB Bernstein的施姆里克說：“我們并不知道這些上限是永久性的還是臨時的。是因為疫情的原因，還是說它將成為永久性的服務費限制規定？”
多個州的監管方已經將目標瞄準了DoorDash及其零工公司，監管方認為司機應被劃分為雇員而不是得不到福利的獨立承包商。加州在這件事上一馬當先，出臺了一部新法，要求公司將其司機重新劃分為雇員。然而，在選民11月投票通過一個名為Proposition 22提案，允許零工工作者保持其獨立承包商的身份，同時能夠拿到一些額外福利，例如最低時薪和醫療保險。
這一主張得到了DoorDash的資助，徐訊對Prop 22提案的通過表示了贊賞，他說自己希望公司在這一方面發揮引領作用，為其他州的司機尋找類似的解決方案。徐訊最近在《商業內幕》的一篇專欄報道中寫道：“我們要站在加州的肩膀上，在其他地方尋找創新的解決方案。”
盡管其他州依然在考慮這個方案，D.A. Davidson的懷特說：“司機的劃分將依然是個難題。”DoorDash曾稱，公司在其他地區實施Prop 22之后亦能存活，但到目前為止，公司的工作大多忙于計算假定的業績和成本。任何由州和聯邦監管者做出的不利決策都有可能推遲DoorDash在未來幾年實現盈利的計劃。
2019年，DoorDash收到了客戶對一項小費政策的抗議，該政策似乎能夠讓DoorDash獲取本應給司機的小費。迫于壓力，DoorDash撤銷了這項政策，公司稱實施該政策的初衷是為了提升司機收入。
除了應對批評之外，DoorDash還必須應付競爭對手。公司的主要競爭對手UberEats給出了第三季度營收（14.5億美元）增長125%的財務業績。作為對比，DoorDash同一季度的營收為8.79億美元，增幅達到了268%。
隨著DoorDash向國際擴張（已在澳大利亞和加拿大設立業務），公司面臨的競爭對手越來越多，包括英國的Just Eat和Deliveroo。UberEats還通過以26.5億美元收購競爭對手Postmates，以及成為拉美百貨送貨初創企業Cornershop大股東，拓展了其業務覆蓋范圍。
隨著DoorDash進軍百貨送貨以及便利店等其他領域，競爭對手名單則變得越來越長。結果，公司可能會面臨來自于百貨專營巨頭Instacart和塔吉特旗下Shipt的競爭，甚至是電商巨頭亞馬遜。
有利于DoorDash的一點在于，公司的服務已經吸引了超過1800萬用戶以及超過39萬家商戶。施姆里克說：“公司在今后丟失市場份額的可能性不大，但唯一的問題在于，DoorDash是否能滲透至上述其他領域，還是會拱手將這些市場份額讓給他人?！?/p>
盡管面臨著增長和不斷增長的挑戰，徐訊說自己的關注點依然是餐廳、用餐的人和業務，而IPO只不過是錦上添花罷了。
他說：“當我們創建這家公司時，我并沒有想到要進行IPO。我想的是，‘除了我用自己的本田車運送鷹嘴豆之外，如何才能確保今晚有足夠的猛沖者（公司為其送餐工作人員起的外號）前往送餐’，當時的情形有點讓人難以置信?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W）
澄清：本文對原文進行了更新，以提供更多有關DoorDash在疫情期間的開支詳情。
譯者：馮豐
審校：夏林
在斯坦福大學外的街邊，一套被當作辦公室的兩臥室公寓塞滿了20名年輕的技術人員。公寓內的家具都是便宜貨，包括一張唇膏紅的沙發、不匹配的桌子和折疊椅。
這家公司專注于為餐廳提供送餐服務，但僅為公寓周邊的8家餐廳提供服務。公司的雇員，不管從事什么工作，都會在一天當中抽出一些時間去送餐，目的是為了了解如何改善這一業務，哪怕只是將訂單送達時間縮短幾秒鐘。
送餐初創公司DoorDash首席執行官徐訊說：“公司所有人都會去送餐，與所擔任的職務無關。”那個時候，這樣做的目的就是想“努力讓員工盡早地成為這方面的專家?！?/p>
7年后，DoorDash已經成為了美國送餐服務領域最大的服務商。上周，在新冠疫情引發的送餐熱潮中，公司成了上市新貴。
在迎來了盛大的IPO之后，DoorDash如今的估值約為500億美元，比一些成名已久的大型公司還要高，例如通用磨坊、卡夫亨氏以及福特。
然而，DoorDash必須證明其疫情期間的增長并非只是曇花一現。除了在最近的一個季度出現了短暫的盈利之外，公司多年來一直都在燒錢，2018年虧損了2.04億美元，2019年虧損了6.67億美元，今年前9個月虧損了1.49億美元。
AB Bernstein分析師馬克?施姆里克說：“投資者目前最大的疑問在于，當前的增長態勢能持續多久。送餐已經成為日常生活的一部分，但其可持續性如何？”
周一，另一名分析師曾質疑投資者在公司IPO之后對于公司過于樂觀，DoorDash的股價在盤中應聲下跌12%，降至153美元。DoorDash重現了20年前互聯網泡沫的那段時光，其股價在交易首日飆升了86%。
DoorDash提到了多個能夠佐證其業務順遂的跡象。在多個城市經營數年之后，公司能夠在這些城市盈利，前提是刨掉某些成本。公司還提到已實現正現金流，初創企業通常會拿這個指標來展示自己所取得的進步，當然也得先扣除某些成本。這意味著按照這種情況來看，DoorDash在今年前9個月的進賬要高于支出，這個業績受到了疫情的加速，但并非源于疫情。
不管從哪種情況來看，DoorDash都面臨著多重挑戰，其中包括可能導致雇員成本提升的法規；使用其服務的小商家破產導致客戶數量減少；以及與強大同行的競爭，包括UberEats、Just Eat和Takeaway.com旗下Grubhub。
最終，DoorDash并不希望僅僅止步于送餐服務：公司打算讓自己成為幾乎所有主流街區店面購物和送貨的常用應用。
獲得金主支持
DoorDash在早期奉行的理念是效率和節儉，大都是不得已罷了，一開始只有硅谷初創企業加速器Y Combinator向其提供了僅2萬美元資金。多年來，DoorDash一直在對其業務進行完善，以降低成本。
徐訊說：“從第一天開始，我們像鷹一樣一直緊盯著公司的盈利能力。我們一直在確保我們所打造的業務擁有通向盈利的路徑?！?/p>
公司首席運營官克里斯托弗?佩妮說，DoorDash一開始的擴張可謂是郊區與城區并舉，與此同時，傳統的理念認為，送餐公司需要霸占人口密度高的大型城市，因為在那里，大量的客戶都居住在離送餐公司不遠的地方。然而，在Cheesecake Factory請DoorDash為其全美開設的餐廳提供服務之后，DoorDash高管雙倍押注郊區業務，盡管有人擔心公司難以在這些地區盈利。
佩妮說：“當時的情形是，‘我們很快就會將其弄清楚’。回過頭來看，我們似乎做出了明智的決策，因為事實證明，DoorDash在郊區的效益與都市環境相差無幾，或者更高。”
通過專注于郊區，DoorDash的服務延伸至更多的家庭，而這些家庭在每個訂單中又購買了更多的食物。盡管司機的路途有所增加，但他們抵達目的地和停車的速度會更快。
投行D.A. Davidson分析師湯姆?懷特說：“展望未來，這是市場所有增長的動力源?！?/p>
郊區戰略幫助釣來了硅谷風投公司紅杉資本，后者于2014年領投了1730萬美元的資金。公司吸引到的另一個人就是徐訊。
紅杉資本的合伙人阿爾弗萊德?林一開始并沒有看好DoorDash，因為這個領域此前曾被投資者認為是超級資本密集型行業。然而，阿爾弗萊德?林最終于2014年同意注資DoorDash，在此之前，林在紅杉資本贊助的晚宴上與徐訊進行了交流。徐訊是華裔移民，他從小到大一直在餐廳刷盤子，他母親也是這個餐廳的雇員。徐訊向林具體剖析了餐廳的業務，甚至連餐廳如何計算餐飲的送餐時間都進行了解釋。然后，徐訊將餐廳的效率與DoorDash進行了對比，并從林那里拿到了這筆投資。
林說：“他可能是唯一一個向我解釋其中數學問題的人。他的介紹改變了我的想法?！?/p>
公司的首席人力官薩拉?瓦格納說，徐訊對于效率的癡迷最終匯聚成了Doordash的企業文化。其理念是專注于業務需要改善的領域，迫使雇員不停地尋找他們可以解決的問題。她說：“這種理念我還是頭一次見到?！?/p>
一夜之間的轉變
在經歷了快速增長之后，DoorDash開始將目光瞄向了在2019年初 IPO。今年三月，在DoorDash信心滿滿地提交了IPO申請之后，一件超乎想象的事情發生了：新冠病毒開始在全球蔓延。
隨著病毒的傳播，餐廳因城市整體關停而舉步維艱，其中的一些餐廳僅能夠提供外賣和送餐。很多餐廳迅速與DoorDash這樣的第三方送餐服務商簽訂了協議。
瓦格納說：“數以萬計的商戶在短時間內發布的通告中了解到，它們必須從店內用餐轉變為送餐和取餐模式。徐訊、管理團隊和公司的數千名雇員耗費了數個夜晚、周末及其空余時間……將這些商戶攬入平臺。”
為了應對新冠病毒，DoorDash臨時取消了新餐廳加入該服務的注冊費用，并為店面數不超過5家的當地餐廳提供服務費五折優惠。公司還花費1.2億美元為司機購買了口罩、手套和洗手液，并取消了對餐廳的收費，同時提供了無接觸送餐選項。在選擇這一服務后，司機會將餐食放在家門口，以避免與消費者近距離接觸。
維克多和達娜?庫克西夫婦是芝加哥燒烤餐廳Krazy Hog的店主，對他們來說，DoorDash就是救世主。Krazy Hog在疫情開始肆虐之后便關閉了門店。然而數周之后，在DoorDash的指引下，餐廳搬到了由第三方運營商所有的共享廚房，僅提供取餐和送餐服務。DoorDash還通過公司所搜集的數據，例如客戶年齡分布和下單頻率，來幫助餐廳吸引更多的客戶。同時，DoorDash還將Krazy Hog的燒烤醬納入了公司于今年早些時候推出的數字便利店。
達娜?庫克西說：“當他們告訴我們這一切時……你知道那個無比興奮的表情符號嗎？我們就露出了這種表情。”她說自己當時興奮到了極點。
維克多補充說：“在我看來，送餐服務已經發生了徹底的變化。”
但并非所有人都對DoorDash深信不疑。例如，Olive Garden與Yard House連鎖店母公司Darden Restaurants對于第三方送餐服務的銷售和質量普遍感到不滿。Darden表示，公司依然認同首席執行官兩年前有關送餐的聲明：“在我們看來，有鑒于當前的操作方式，這并非是我們現如今希望參與的業務?！?/p>
一些餐廳起訴DoorDash在沒有獲得許可的情況下便將其列為服務對象。例如，芝加哥Burger Antics在2018年起訴DoorDash，稱客戶在經歷了長時間等待之后收到了由司機送來的冰冷餐食。In-N-Out Burger在2015年也曾起訴過DoorDash。
DoorDash希望通過列出那些所謂的“非合作方”餐廳，向其證明自己的服務可以提升餐廳業務，從而將這些餐廳轉變為客戶。DoorDash稱，公司在11月叫停了這類做法。
頻遭審查
DoorDash也遭到過不少審查。
一些餐廳抱怨，像DoorDash這樣的送餐服務收取的服務費過高，會削減餐廳的利潤。分析師稱，這筆費用為訂單額的15-20%。這類抱怨吸引了廣泛的注意力，以至于全美各大城市開始出臺送餐服務費上限政策，而其中大多數上限在疫情開始后有所上調。
AB Bernstein的施姆里克說：“我們并不知道這些上限是永久性的還是臨時的。是因為疫情的原因，還是說它將成為永久性的服務費限制規定？”
多個州的監管方已經將目標瞄準了DoorDash及其零工公司，監管方認為司機應被劃分為雇員而不是得不到福利的獨立承包商。加州在這件事上一馬當先，出臺了一部新法，要求公司將其司機重新劃分為雇員。然而，在選民11月投票通過一個名為Proposition 22提案，允許零工工作者保持其獨立承包商的身份，同時能夠拿到一些額外福利，例如最低時薪和醫療保險。
這一主張得到了DoorDash的資助，徐訊對Prop 22提案的通過表示了贊賞，他說自己希望公司在這一方面發揮引領作用，為其他州的司機尋找類似的解決方案。徐訊最近在《商業內幕》的一篇專欄報道中寫道：“我們要站在加州的肩膀上，在其他地方尋找創新的解決方案。”
盡管其他州依然在考慮這個方案，D.A. Davidson的懷特說：“司機的劃分將依然是個難題?！盌oorDash曾稱，公司在其他地區實施Prop 22之后亦能存活，但到目前為止，公司的工作大多忙于計算假定的業績和成本。任何由州和聯邦監管者做出的不利決策都有可能推遲DoorDash在未來幾年實現盈利的計劃。
2019年，DoorDash收到了客戶對一項小費政策的抗議，該政策似乎能夠讓DoorDash獲取本應給司機的小費。迫于壓力，DoorDash撤銷了這項政策，公司稱實施該政策的初衷是為了提升司機收入。
除了應對批評之外，DoorDash還必須應付競爭對手。公司的主要競爭對手UberEats給出了第三季度營收（14.5億美元）增長125%的財務業績。作為對比，DoorDash同一季度的營收為8.79億美元，增幅達到了268%。
隨著DoorDash向國際擴張（已在澳大利亞和加拿大設立業務），公司面臨的競爭對手越來越多，包括英國的Just Eat和Deliveroo。UberEats還通過以26.5億美元收購競爭對手Postmates，以及成為拉美百貨送貨初創企業Cornershop大股東，拓展了其業務覆蓋范圍。
隨著DoorDash進軍百貨送貨以及便利店等其他領域，競爭對手名單則變得越來越長。結果，公司可能會面臨來自于百貨專營巨頭Instacart和塔吉特旗下Shipt的競爭，甚至是電商巨頭亞馬遜。
有利于DoorDash的一點在于，公司的服務已經吸引了超過1800萬用戶以及超過39萬家商戶。施姆里克說：“公司在今后丟失市場份額的可能性不大，但唯一的問題在于，DoorDash是否能滲透至上述其他領域，還是會拱手將這些市場份額讓給他人?！?/p>
盡管面臨著增長和不斷增長的挑戰，徐訊說自己的關注點依然是餐廳、用餐的人和業務，而IPO只不過是錦上添花罷了。
他說：“當我們創建這家公司時，我并沒有想到要進行IPO。我想的是，‘除了我用自己的本田車運送鷹嘴豆之外，如何才能確保今晚有足夠的猛沖者（公司為其送餐工作人員起的外號）前往送餐’，當時的情形有點讓人難以置信?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W）
澄清：本文對原文進行了更新，以提供更多有關DoorDash在疫情期間的開支詳情。
譯者：馮豐
審校：夏林
Down the street from Stanford University, 20 young techies crammed into a two-bedroom apartment that served as their office. Their furniture, bought on the cheap, included a lipstick-red couch, mismatched tables, and folding chairs.
The company was focused on providing food delivery for restaurants—in this case just eight in the neighborhood. Employees, no matter their job, spent part of their day shuttling food to front porches, in an effort to learn how to improve the business, even if it meant shaving only a few seconds off the time it took to get orders to their destinations.
“Everyone in the company did deliveries—it didn’t matter what you were,” said Tony Xu, CEO of the delivery upstart, DoorDash. Back then, it was about “trying to become an expert early on.”
Seven years later, DoorDash has become the biggest player in U.S. food delivery. And last week, amid a food delivery boom fueled by the coronavirus pandemic, it became a newly minted public company.
Following a blockbuster IPO, DoorDash is now valued at around $50 billion. That’s more than big established companies like General Mills, Kraft Heinz, and Ford.
Still, DoorDash must prove that its growth during the pandemic was no fluke. Other than a profitable blip in one recent quarter, it has hemorrhaged money for years, losing $204 million in 2018, $667 million in 2019, and, in the first nine months of this year, $149 million.
“The biggest questions investors have is how durable the current growth levels are,” said Mark Shmulik, an analyst at AB Bernstein. “Food delivery has become a part of normal life, but at what sustainable level?”
On Monday, DoorDash’s shares slid 12% to $153 in midday trading after another analyst questioned whether investors had been too optimistic following the company’s IPO. In a reprise of the dotcom boom days of 20 years ago, DoorDash’s shares had soared 86% on their first day of trading.
DoorDash points to a couple of signs that suggest its business is sound. After operating in certain cities for several years, it’s able to make a profit in them, excluding certain costs. The company also points to being cash flow positive, a metric often touted by startups to show progress that also excludes certain costs. It means that the company, in this case, over the first nine months of this year, had more cash coming in than going out, a result that was accelerated, but not created, by the pandemic.
Whatever the case, DoorDash faces a number of challenges. Those include regulation that could increase employee costs; the demise of mom-and-pop restaurants, which is reducing the number of merchants using its service; and competition with well-funded rivals including UberEats and Just Eat Takeaway.com–owned Grubhub.
At the end of the day, DoorDash wants to deliver more than just food: It wants to be the go-to app for shopping and delivery from nearly all Main Street stores.
Getting buy-in
DoorDash’s early days were driven by efficiency and frugality—mostly out of necessity. Starting with just $20,000 from Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator in 2013, DoorDash has spent years tinkering with its operations to lower costs.
“We watched profitability like a hawk from day one because we had to,” Xu said. “We always made sure we built a business that had a path to profitability.”
Initially, DoorDash expanded in urban markets in addition to suburban ones, said Christopher Payne, the company’s chief operating officer. At the time, the conventional wisdom was that delivery companies needed to dominate big, dense cities, where lots of customers live within short distances, to be successful. But after the Cheesecake Factory asked DoorDash to serve its restaurants nationwide, DoorDash executives doubled down on the suburbs despite concerns about making those areas profitable.
“We were like, ‘We’re just going to figure it out,’” Payne said. “In hindsight, it looks like we were brilliant because it turns out that DoorDash works as well or better in suburbs as it does in urban environments.”
By focusing on the suburbs, DoorDash reached more families, who in turn bought more food per order. Though drivers traveled farther, they often reached their destinations and parked faster.
“Fast-forward, and those are the markets all growth is coming from,” said Tom White, an analyst at investment bank D.A. Davidson.
The suburban strategy was partially what helped lure big Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, which led a $17.3 million funding round in DoorDash in 2014. The other attraction was Xu.
After initially passing on DoorDash—the category was once viewed as too capital intensive by investors—Sequoia partner Alfred Lin was finally sold in 2014 after speaking with Xu at a Sequoia-sponsored networking dinner. Xu, a Chinese immigrant who grew up washing dishes in a restaurant that also employed his mother, dissected the restaurant’s operations for Lin, even going so far as to explain how the restaurant timed the delivery of its food. Xu then tied the efficiency of the restaurant to that of DoorDash, sealing the deal for Lin.
“He was probably the only person to talk to me about the math of it all,” Lin said. “It changed my mind.”
Xu’s obsession with efficiency eventually trickled down into what has become the culture at DoorDash, said Sarah Wagener, the company’s chief people officer. The idea is to focus on areas where the business needs improvement, forcing employees to constantly look for problems they can solve. “It’s not like anything I’ve seen,” she said.
An overnight shift
Following rapid growth, DoorDash began eyeing an initial public offering in early 2019. Then in March, after filing for an IPO confidentially, the unimaginable happened: The coronavirus became a global pandemic.
As the virus spread, restaurants grappled with citywide shutdowns, some of which limited them to takeout and delivery. Many restaurants quickly signed up with third-party delivery services like DoorDash.
“Thousands and thousands of merchants were realizing in a moment’s notice they had to switch from a dine-in to delivery and pickup-only model,” Wagener said. “Tony, the management team, and thousands of employees across the company spent nights, weekends, their spare time…onboarding merchants onto the platform.”
To respond to the coronavirus, DoorDash temporarily waived sign-up fees for new restaurants joining the service and cut commission fees in half for local restaurants with five or fewer locations. It also spent $120 million on masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer for drivers plus the waiver of the fees it charges restaurants, and built a no-contact delivery option, in which drivers leave food on the doorstep to avoid close contact with consumers.
For Krazy Hog, a Chicago-based barbecue restaurant, DoorDash became vital. Owned by husband-and-wife duo Victor and Dana Cooksey, Krazy Hog shut its doors after the pandemic hit. But just weeks later, with guidance from DoorDash, the restaurant moved into a shared kitchen owned by a third-party operator and set up for pickup and delivery alone. DoorDash also helped the restaurant lure more customers through the use of the data it collects, such as customer demographics and ordering frequency, and is working to include Krazy Hog’s barbecue sauce in DoorDash’s digital convenience store that debuted earlier this year.
“When they told us about all this…You know the little emoji with the brains being blown out? It was that,” Dana Cooksey said, suggesting she was mind-blown.
“I view the delivery totally different now,” Victor added.
But not everyone is sold on DoorDash. For one, Darden Restaurants, the parent of the Olive Garden and Yard House chains, has been unimpressed by the sales and quality of third-party delivery services generally. Darden said it still stands by a statement its CEO, Gene Lee, made two years ago about delivery: “We just don’t see this as something that we want to get involved in today with the current way it’s being executed.”
Some restaurants have sued DoorDash for allegedly adding their eateries to the service without permission. For example, Chicago-based Burger Antics filed a lawsuit against DoorDash in 2018, saying that customers claimed they had received cold food from drivers after long waits. And In-N-Out Burger sued DoorDash in 2015.
By listing what the company calls “non-partner” restaurants, DoorDash hoped to convert those restaurants into customers by proving that its service increased their business. DoorDash said it stopped the practice in November.
No stranger to scrutiny
DoorDash has had its share of scrutiny.
Some restaurants have complained that food-delivery services like DoorDash hurt profits by charging excessive commissions, which analysts say amount to 15% to 20% per order. The complaint has received so much traction that cities nationwide have started implementing caps on delivery commission, most of which have been added since the pandemic started.
“We don’t know how permanent or temporary these caps are,” said Shmulik of AB Bernstein. “Is this just the pandemic, or is this going to be a permanent thing that is going limit them?”
Several state regulators have also targeted DoorDash and its fellow gig companies, arguing that drivers should be classified as employees rather than independent contractors who get no benefits. California has taken the lead on the matter, enacting a new law that would have required companies to reclassify their drivers as employees. But that law was nullified after voters approved a November ballot initiative called Proposition 22 that lets gig workers remain independent contractors while receiving a few additional benefits like a minimum hourly wage and medical coverage.
Xu touted the passage of the proposition, which DoorDash helped fund, and said he hopes that the company leads the effort on finding similar solutions for drivers in other states. “We need to build upon what began in California to find innovative solutions elsewhere,” Xu recently wrote in an op-ed for Business Insider.
Though other states are still considering their options, “driver classification is certainly going to remain an issue,” said White of D.A. Davidson. DoorDash has said it can survive the adoption of Prop 22–like laws elsewhere, but so far the company has mostly been working through hypothetical outcomes and costs. Any adverse decision by state or federal regulators may delay DoorDash’s plans to become profitable in upcoming years.
In 2019, DoorDash faced a customer revolt over a tipping policy that appeared to allow DoorDash to pocket tips that were meant for drivers. Under pressure, DoorDash reversed that policy, which it said was initially implemented to increase driver earnings.
Beyond criticism, DoorDash must fend off rivals. The company’s main one, UberEats, reported a 125% gain in third-quarter revenue to $1.45 billion. By comparison, DoorDash had $879 million in revenue during the same period, a gain of 268%.
As it expands internationally—DoorDash currently operates in Australia and Canada—it faces growing competition including from the U.K.’s Just Eat and Deliveroo. UberEats has also extended its reach through a $2.65 billion acquisition of rival Postmates and by taking a majority stake in Latin American grocery-delivery startup Cornershop.
As DoorDash expands into other categories like grocery delivery and convenience, the list of rivals is growing. As a result, it could face competition from grocery-focused giants Instacart and Target-owned Shipt, and even e-commerce behemoth Amazon.
Working in DoorDash’s favor is that it has already attracted more than 18 million users to its service and more than 390,000 merchants. “It’s hard to see how they lose share moving forward,” said Shmulik. “The only question is, can they penetrate these other categories or do they leave the door open for others to gain that share?”
Despite the growth and mounting challenges, Xu said his focus remains on restaurants, diners, and operations. And the IPO, well, that’s the icing on the cake.
“When we started the company, I wasn’t thinking about an IPO; I was thinking about, ‘How I am going to make sure we have enough Dashers on the road tonight, in addition to me schlepping hummus from my Honda,’” he said, using the company’s terms for its delivery workers. “It’s a bit of an incredulous moment.”
Clarification: This article was updated from the original to provide more detail about DoorDash’s spending during the pandemic.
