The DoorDash Mafia

Ivelina

Published

December 19, 2024

DoorDash was co-founded by Tony Xu, Andy Fang, Stanley Tang, and Evan Moore in 2013 to revolutionize local commerce by connecting people with the best of their communities. Tony, a graduate of Stanford Graduate School of Business and an immigrant from China, envisioned creating opportunities for small businesses and delivery drivers while simplifying food delivery for customers. Andy and Stanley, also Stanford graduates, brought their expertise in software engineering and design to build DoorDash’s robust and user-friendly platform.

But internally, DoorDash was more than a fast-growing startup—it was a culture of execution, ownership, and hands-on problem-solving. A culture that inspired a new generation of founders. We interviewed Jeremy Terman, one of DoorDash's earliest employees, to find out more about the inner workings of the company's culture.

Today, DoorDash is led by CEO Tony Xu, whose personal journey as an immigrant and passion for supporting local economies continue to inspire the company’s mission. Under his leadership, DoorDash has expanded to become a global leader in the delivery industry, diversifying its offerings while empowering communities and driving innovation in logistics and technology.

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Stanley Tang: The Great Mind behind DoorDash Delivery Service. — Tony Xu, Andy Fang and Stanley Tang

The DoorDash Mafia

The DoorDash Mafia has founded 29 companies and raised $65M.

PS: Are you a DoorDash Mafia member interested in bringing your community together to invest in innovative ventures (and enjoy potential profits and other perks along the way)? Or perhaps you're part of another dynamic group that could be a fantastic source of startup investments?

😉 Then sign up to our waitlist

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List of all the amazing companies covered:

Future
Airlift Technologies
TruckSmarter
Doorstead
Local Kitchens
Pylon
Darwin Homes
Open (George Jacobs)
Open (Peter Tseng)
Highlight
Maza
Feeling Great
Pillar
Stelo Labs
Shinami
Raspberry AI
Onsite Pro
Ergo
Watto AI
Leafpress
Nowadays
Glazier

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Scaling City by City

Jeremy Terman joined DoorDash in 2017 as one of the company’s early employees, tasked with launching markets across the Midwest.

"I joined in September 2017," Jeremy recalls. "At the time, DoorDash was live in just 30 cities. My first assignment was to launch Cincinnati. I’d fly in, rent a car, map out leads from Salesforce, and spend five days going door-to-door, talking to local restaurants and cold-calling between stops."

It was an all-out sprint. Jeremy helped DoorDash expand to cities like Dayton, Kansas City, and Memphis—places where third-party delivery was still unheard of.

"We were the first delivery service in some markets. It was the right time, and we moved fast," Jeremy says.

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Deep Customer Focus and Work Ethic

DoorDash’s growth was fueled by an intense work ethic and deep customer focus, driven by CEO Tony Xu’s vision.

"Tony was consistent, passionate, and customer-obsessed," Jeremy shares. "Everything we did came back to supporting local economies and delivering for customers. There were no shortcuts, no flashy gimmicks—just execution."

This focus trickled down to every employee.

"Every Friday, we’d hit new record delivery volumes," Jeremy says. "And if something went wrong, we’d jump in. We’d manually take orders, build menus from scratch, and handle customer issues ourselves. No task was too small."

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The IPO: A Turning Point for Employees

DoorDash’s IPO was a turning point for many employees, opening doors to entrepreneurship and angel investing.

"For most of us, the IPO was life-changing," Jeremy explains. "It gave us liquidity and new opportunities. People like Bernard [Liang] and Michael [Bloch], who were already thinking about building something, moved quickly into starting companies. For others, it sparked an interest in angel investing."

The “DoorDash Mafia” emerged—former employees who took their experiences and lessons from DoorDash and applied them to new ventures. Post-IPO, I saw a greater sense of camaraderie among former employees, and I try to help out when I can, whether it’s reviewing pitch decks or connecting people with contacts in my network.

"We stay connected, too," Jeremy adds. "There’s an alumni Slack group where people share advice, talk about new startups, and help each other out."

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DoorDash's Entrepreneurial Culture

Q: What do you think is it about DoorDash’s culture that has led to so many successful founders emerging from the company?

"The work ethic at DoorDash was intense. Tony [Xu] and the leadership team had a way of inspiring everyone to buy into the vision, which was all about supporting local economies and helping restaurants. The core values were deeply ingrained, and Tony was an incredible leader. He was consistent and passionate, which created a strong trickle-down effect—everyone was focused and committed. Even before COVID, DoorDash was growing at an incredible pace, and we had a strategy that drove us to benchmark ourselves against competitors but remain customer-focused. The culture of constant improvement and relentless pursuit of market share was a big part of what made DoorDash successful."

Q: Was DoorDash supportive of employees with entrepreneurial ambitions?

"In the early days, there wasn’t much room to think about side projects—we were all so focused on the growth goals. Many of us were in our first or second jobs, so it wasn’t on our radar the way it might be for people later in their careers. But the work environment was so dynamic that every week felt like a new achievement. Every Friday, we’d hit record delivery volumes, and if needed, employees would jump in to handle customer orders. We’d get on the phone with customers, take orders manually, and even build restaurant menus from scratch. This scrappy, hands-on mentality made us all invested in DoorDash’s success and was one of the core values—no task was too small."

Q: Was there an “aha” moment when you realized DoorDash was going to be massive?

"The fundraising rounds were eye-opening. Every 9 to 12 months, we’d raise another round, often with investors approaching us. Tony once said they weren’t planning to take one of the rounds, but they couldn’t turn down the capital. It became clear that we had a unique momentum, and each round solidified that DoorDash wasn’t slowing down. We’d keep raising funds, gaining market share, and expanding into new areas like grocery and retail. When we started preparing for the IPO, it was a confirmation that DoorDash was on a path to an enormous exit."

Q: Is there a way former DoorDash employees stay connected?

"There’s a Slack group for alumni, though it’s not very active. Personally, I keep in touch with many former colleagues, especially those from sales. Some are still at DoorDash, while others have moved to other restaurant tech companies. There’s a sense of camaraderie—at restaurant tech events, I see many familiar faces from DoorDash, now working at companies like Olo and Toast."

‍Q: Finally, what advice would you give to a new restaurant tech startup looking to scale?

"Focus on your ideal customer profile and only sell to them. Too many startups spread themselves thin by trying to sell to everyone. Identify if you’re SMB, mid-market, enterprise, or focused on franchises, and build for that specific customer. At Seven Shifts, we’re very clear on who our customers are and what their needs are. It’s important to know your niche and stick to it. Trying to serve everyone dilutes your product and can result in unhappy customers and wasted resources. Be diligent in building for those who truly benefit from your solution."

The DoorDash Mafia: Founders & Startups

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Future

Founder: Andrew Munday

DoorDash Role: Director of Operations

Capital Raised: $110.5M

Investors: Kleiner Perkins

Stage: Series C

Future is an online fitness platform that offers customized personal training and workout programs, as well as tracks user's daily progress.

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Airlift Technologies

Founder: Usman Gul

DoorDash Role: Senior Manager, Head of Enterprise Partnerships

Capital Raised: $109.2M

Investors: First Round Capital

Stage: Series B

Building a world of self-empowerment with technology-backed logistics solutions.

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TruckSmarter

Founder: Daniel Kao

DoorDash Role: General Manager, Canada

Capital Raised: $94M

Investors: Bain Capital Ventures

Stage: Debt Financing

TruckSmarter provides a free load board connecting drivers to loads from hundreds of brokers through a simple mobile app. This helps drivers maximize earnings and brokers access a larger driver pool, improving efficiency and quality of life for all users.

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Doorstead

Founder: Bernard Liang

DoorDash Role: Software Engineer || Engineering Lead

Capital Raised: $37.3M

Investors: Avanta Ventures

Stage: Series B

Doorstead uses data and operations technology to provide landlords with upfront guaranteed rent and full property management service.

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Local Kitchens

Founder: Jon Goldsmith

DoorDash Role: Software Engineer

Capital Raised: $25M

Investors: General Catalyst

Stage: Series A

Local Kitchens is a micro food hall that lets you mix-and-match your favorite local restaurants in one easy order.

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Pylon

Founder: Robert Eng

DoorDash Role: KPCB Engineering Fellow and Infrastructure Software Engineering Intern

Capital Raised: $20.3M

Investors: Y Combinator

Stage: Series A

Pylon is a real-time customer operations platform helping B2B companies scale customer success and support over Slack, Teams, and Discord.

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Darwin Homes

Founder: Ryan Broderick, Zachary Kinloch

DoorDash Role: Head of Merchant / Founding Team, Director of Growth

Capital Raised: $19M

Investors: Khosla Ventures

Stage: Series A

Darwin Homes is the property management platform that elevates the rental experience for property owners and residents.

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Open

Founder: George Jacobs

DoorDash Role: Head of Drive / Product Operations Manager (DoorDash Drive Founding Team)

Capital Raised: $14.4M

Investors: Sequoia Capital

Stage: Series A

Open is on a mission to help every independent restaurant get the benefits of scale. They believe that local restaurants should be able to stay small while getting access to the tools, power, and resources of being big.

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Highlight

Founder: Nathaniel (Nat) Emodi

DoorDash Role: Head of Caviar & GM, Premium

Capital Raised: $11M

Investors: Haun Ventures

Stage: Seed

Highlight is a no-code toolkit that lets anyone create a Web 3 community with non-fungible tokens (NFT).

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Maza

Founder: Robbie Figueroa

DoorDash Role: General Manager, Puerto Rico (pre-IPO -> listing)

Capital Raised: $8M

Investors: Global Founders Capital

Stage: Seed

Maza is a mobile app that offers financial products and digital banking services.

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Feeling Great

Founder: Jeremy Karmel

DoorDash Role: Director, Growth

Capital Raised: $8M

Investors: Lux Capital

Stage: Seed

Feeling Great app quickly reduces negative feelings, boosts joy and self-esteem and blows your mind.

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Pillar

Founder: Michael Bloch

DoorDash Role: Director, Strategy & Operations

Capital Raised: $7M

Investors: Kleiner Perkins

Stage: Seed

Pillar was a fintech startup that helped people get out of debt.

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Stelo Labs

Founder: Aman Dhesi

DoorDash Role: Tech Lead, Machine Learning

Capital Raised: $6M

Investors: First Round Capital

Stage: Seed

Stelo Labs likens web3 risks to buying coffee with a chance of losing all your money, prompting the use of separate wallets for coffee, shopping, and secure storage.

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