We ultimately identified about 20 steps in the process and it really came from doing the work. Youre listening to View From The Top, the podcast. And I think thats really what starting a company really is and so, when I think theres lots of variants and youre learning pretty much on the fly a new job every week in the beginning, later on maybe every month, every six months, you really have to find other maybe first principles that have accumulated in other parts of your life to really get you over the hump at times. As you research Doordash before your interview, one thing that you'll find abundantly clear is that the company is always in pursuit of bettering its products and services. Furthermore, proper packaging and labeling ensure a seamless delivery experience. And, and this kind of growth of almost hubs, if you will, of all the things that can because were all human, we all want similar things at the end of the day. Joy Huang: Thank you both for the questions. For me, my parents journey really is the classic immigrant story and you know many folks, I think, can appreciate coming into this country without much. Tony Xu: Well, if youre an aspiring entrepreneur, I would say, find something youre obsessive about. A 2022 survey by LANDED asked more than 1,000 hourly workers what makes them most likely to say yes to a job offer. Tony Xu: Yeah, well, I think the first lesson that we learned is, whats ultimately the almost overly simplified problem that youre trying to solve and, if you can ask yourself that question very crisply, I think thats a very clarifying way to really test ideas very quickly. Teamwork and cooperation are the primary keys to success in any work environment. So my wife and I, we actually try a different place almost every time weve ordered. Hear career advice from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella or learn how to build your startup team. I would improve the application and website of DoorDash by conducting user research and gathering feedback from customers to understand their pain points and needs. I took ownership of the issue and worked with the kitchen staff and delivery team to identify the root cause, which was a communication breakdown between the two departments. The food delivery app is losing money, battling rivals, facing lawsuits and trying to go public. Combo with drink? So what does it mean to be a world-class CFO? DoorDash competes with companies like Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Postmates. Theres a lot of work thats left to go. DoorDash has forged partnerships with over 340,000 restaurants in more than 4,000 cities, providing customers with an extensive range of cuisines to choose from. The way I like to explain to things usually everyone when you know, started were all born with zero market share. Senior Manager Interview.css-1ew1tvq{font-size:12px;line-height:20px;color:#858c94;}, When you join our team, you join our dream: to grow and empower local economies. Its always been about how do we grow and empower local economies? Because you cant let the uncertainty if you will, necessarily, I guess stop all things, or stop all activity. Theme: We are one team. When it enters a new market, DoorDash adds restaurants that have not signed up for delivery as a way to show restaurant owners the value it can bring, Mr. Xu said. And, Tony, I know you say a lot that you really started DoorDash out of a passion to help small business owners like your mom. Product managers can expect to work . For my mom, it meant working three jobs a day for the first 12 years of her journey here and so, I didnt see them that often and so, most of my time was pretty unstructured and I think as a result that unstructured time was what was able to obviously, I wasnt thinking about becoming an entrepreneur when I was five years old, nor did I ever think what would happen from my unstructured time, but I think some of the benefits really came, Im from trialing a bunch of new things. Are you improving on the skills? And theyre looking for value, I think, in the hours that theyre actually seeking to work on the platform. And I think what most consumers know us for which we bring you lunch or dinner, or now increasingly, convenience items and grocery supplies and things like this. Its been truly a pleasure. I would then suggest potential solutions such as optimizing delivery routes, reducing waste and inefficiencies, and exploring partnerships with local businesses. Data and analytics would help me track delivery times and customer satisfaction and highlight areas for improvement. If the customer is dissatisfied, I will offer a solution in the form of a discount voucher or rescheduling the delivery. Why do you think that's important? We were looking a lot at the input metrics. This is what I mean by skills. DoorDash said it had hired international call center workers to call in the orders, and it has told drivers not to tell the restaurants they were with DoorDash. Some customers really seem to care about a certain type of salad for example, versus what others may just consider to be a mundane meal. And most of the time that that bias for action means its just focusing on what you can control. And Id like to expand on the second point a bit too, because like you mentioned, the four of you drove as drivers for FedEx and Dominos to learn about how delivery works. It's a big banner which has the 12 values organized into 4 themes -. Interested to advertise with us? Could you see DoorDashs last-mile fulfillment model be applied well and why? Mom and dad really came here to make a better life for me and for dad that meant going to school, getting his PhD and working a job actually at a restaurant on campus at the University of Illinois. Which I think looks very different, I think in many ways dashers on DoorDash look very similar to consumers in the sense that they value their time as much, or sometimes more than money. However, its vast network of restaurant partners allows the company to offer a wide variety of food options to customers in many different areas. I think by demonstrating that not just to a small group of people at the company, but really to pretty much everyone at the time. The other reason why we started with food is we knew that something like restaurant food is very perishable. By collaborating, we can achieve more than we could individually and create a positive and productive work environment. But thats one half of the goal. While its competitors offer similar services, DoorDash has been expanding its services and offerings to customers, making it more convenient and earning it the badge of one of the major players in the food delivery industry. Because the outcomes may not always be there every month or every week. I know people are probably really eager to hear about all the lessons you learn from the GSB so this might come as a bit of a surprise for some of the MBA students, but you once said that more things growing up as a kid prepared you to start a business than anything else, could you tell us more about that? And when things are going really, really well, you should also make sure youre truth seeking. On this, Mr. Xu pointed to DoorDashs past. Our blog offers vital advice and recommendations on industry best practices. Interview question for Senior Manager.1. Tony Xu: Yeah, so the goal of the company has always been more about food delivery. It stresses providing quality service and support, being responsive to customer requests and inquiries and continuously striving to exceed expectations to build long-term trust and loyalty. Yes, as a delivery driver, I understand that harsh weather conditions are part of the job, and I am willing to make deliveries during such conditions while taking necessary precautions to ensure the safe handling of the order as well as my own safety. Now on the flip side, youre right. I would also plan the delivery route in advance to avoid any delays. And so, I think unless you are maniacally focused on it, I think it is difficult to maybe make it all the way through all the ups and downs and so find something that youre obsessive about. That was Tony Xu, cofounder and CEO of DoorDash. But for us, it was this value choosing optimism and building a plan. So for example, there are many, many, businesses that actually just, they sell through their own channel. He said Mr. Xu often did the jobs no one else would, like 15 consecutive hours of customer support on New Years Day. Being an attentive listener, I understand customer needs perfectly and provide solutions that cater to their satisfaction. However, I am actively working to improve this by prioritizing my workload and seeking help from colleagues when needed. Tony Xu: Yeah, and it goes both ways, right? In such a situation, I would first gather the required data to understand the root cause. And it is in talks to raise debt that would convert to equity when it goes public, said two people with knowledge of the discussions. Once a year, he and Mr. Tang, now DoorDashs chief product officer, race each other in a sprint. I think it shows you the resilience of how cities go through, obviously, economic cycles as well as even, you know, pandemic cycles. You have now synthesized this into a core principle for DoorDash that you call getting to the lowest level of detail. I took ownership of the situation and went to the restaurant to personally retrieve the correct order and deliver it to the customer with a sincere apology and a small token of appreciation. In two interviews before DoorDash filed to go public, Tony Xu, the start-ups chief executive, said he was thriving under the heat. It took some time to figure out how do you actually improve these inputs? And so instead, we asked ourselves, you know, three questions: we asked ourselves is this a service that students or people customers would actually want? And youre almost making tweaks along the way. To ensure that you're up for the . Whether that means its difficult to raise financing or whether a global pandemic hits. It launched in 1978 and is supported in part by the F. Kirk Brennan Speaker Series Fund. Joy Huang: I love your choice of wording, which is you can choose optimism and I think that sometimes we tend to forget that because of the outside validation that we inevitably crave that we forget that it is actually something we can consciously have and then just focus on doing what is right to move forward. Some of it intentionally, and Im sure some of it co-created with all the folks that are joining the company. And over time youre trying to build a repeatable system in which you can take that product to more and more segments of the population. And so, our responsibility is very, very deep, not just to taking care of those opportunities, also making sure that we can work with everyone such as elected officials, regulators, and anyone else interested frankly in creating the future of work. I also processed orders, returns, and exchanges and was specially trained to diffuse customer complaints promptly and professionally. So Ill be quick. Because its hard to get better at all of those things at once. And so our responsibility, I think, is not just to help grow and build the largest local commerce marketplace, but also to teach and actually give these tools so that they dont have to rely on us one day because thats really, really important in order for their longevity. And so, or I mean, I know were in a pandemic, but post pandemic, wheres the last, you know, parking space in San Francisco or Los Angeles? With that, will now turn to student Q&A, I believe that Jenna is up first. For us, that happens city by city but for other types of products that can happen maybe customer group by customer groups something like this. For me, that meant language, that meant earning income to buy Nintendo. Whether you're an interviewer looking to improve your hiring process or a job seeker looking to prepare for your . Christopher Lee for The New York Times. Hungry people. Get started with your Free Employer Profile. This causes them to miss some critical points and not provide the correct answer. As is clear from the tasks listed above, it is quite a challenging job that includes a lot of decision-making. Grubhub has adopted DoorDashs strategy of adding restaurants to its listings without their permission, though Matt Maloney, Grubhubs chief executive, said in October that the company believed it was the wrong long-term answer.. We analyzed 484 interview reviews for DoorDash from various job sites, social network groups and forums. Last question: in just one sentence, what would be your word of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs at the GSB? As the market matures, they start making money, he said. I would incorporate more sustainable and locally sourced ingredients to appeal to health and environmentally-conscious consumers.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'projectpractical_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',150,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-projectpractical_com-medrectangle-4-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'projectpractical_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_3',150,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-projectpractical_com-medrectangle-4-0_1');.medrectangle-4-multi-150{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}. Armed with that funding, the company began spending to grow. I know Tony, many of us have been following DoorDash for a while, and seeing the wildly successful IPO that you recently had congratulations on that, by the way. Many candidates will begin formulating their answers as soon as the interviewer begins asking the question. I would first carefully read and confirm the order details and then prioritize the organization of the order to ensure timely and accurate delivery. Soon, a new group Wall Street investors will pick a side. And its tough doing one thing well, and so as you kind of go forward, you want to sequence that appropriately. If a resolution is not possible, I would apologize for the inconvenience and take note to help improve the customer service experience in the future. SVS IT Solutions is a software and IT development company. I had some skepticism as to whether it would work, said Charlie Morrison, Wingstops chief executive. Find Your Dream Job: Interview Techniques and Resume Writing Stanford GSBs View From The Top is the Deans premier speaker series. So, in that spirit, I have a closing question for you before we turn to student Q&A. And I believe at the time we said, would they pay $6 for it? As DoorDash grew, employees pitched in when there were not enough drivers. Obviously, you have minutes to get this right and if you get a wrong you kind of have to solve it then in there, you cant, wait to, give you your password the next day or something. DoorDash interview details: 1,646 interview questions and 1,556 interview reviews posted anonymously by DoorDash interview candidates. And so, I think a lot of this obviously starts from preparations that you made a long time ago, such as building great people up, allowing them to make many decisions prior to when a big moment like this happens. And in fact, the company almost ran out of money by the end of 2017. And thats really I think the spirit of how DoorDash operates. Could you help us first understand what this principle means? Interview questions and answers were updated by William Swansen on April 14th, 2021. I think its a maniacal focus on making sure that we can work the inputs to each one of these branches. I think none of us really had a background in logistics or delivery. Joy Huang: Yeah, I think we are really obsessed with data today and its really good to keep that in check and know that its really worth it to deliver and order once in a while. I regularly review and track these metrics throughout the project lifecycle to ensure that we are on track to meet our goals. Nobody thought it was a good idea.. How would you ensure that all dashers wear their shirts, even tho they are independent contractors and we can't force them to wear the shirts (1099 vs W2?" Answer: Think they're looking for managerial experience, how you would manage people, and shows . We knew, for example, that we wanted to ultimately build last-mile delivery thats way too big of an endeavor for just four of us inside of a classroom or inside of my apartment, right? I value some healthy friction in debates as it uncovers new areas and broadens our perspectives. That they can create their own digital channels. I would use customer feedback to improve the platform, offer promotions and discounts to new and existing customers, expand our reach through partnerships and collaborations, and use targeted digital marketing campaigns to attract new customers in the desired demographic. 12495. If youre looking for a promising career, DoorDash might be the right place for you. Deciding on the features for the company's products. And true to this lean startup MVP methodology, you and your co-founders were really scrappy at the beginning. 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