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Start for freeIntroduction to DoorDash Strategy and Operations
DoorDash recently held its first strategy and operations (S&O) panel featuring leaders from across the company. The panel provided insights into the role of S&O at DoorDash, key projects, challenges, and advice for those looking to start a career in this field.
The panelists included:
- Lauren Zanitas - Lead of Fulfillment Ops for DoorDash Drive
- Rob - Lead of Drive International team
- Toby Espinosa - Lead of Ads business
- Amani - General Manager of Southeast region
- Cody - Lead of Global Dasher Logistics and Quality
Defining Strategy and Operations at DoorDash
The panelists shared their perspectives on how S&O functions at DoorDash:
- S&O teams are the "glue" that leverages expertise across DoorDash to deliver value to customers (including consumers, merchants, and Dashers)
- Requires understanding customer needs, identifying problems, and using data to make decisions
- Involves extreme ownership - not just finding problems but driving change to solve them
- Focuses on testing quickly, being lean and scrappy, especially for international expansion
- Requires empathy and cross-functional collaboration to bring teams together
Key skills and competencies highlighted as important for S&O roles include:
- Customer obsession and empathy
- Data-driven decision making
- Extreme ownership
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Ability to execute and drive change
- Curiosity and inquisitiveness
Key Projects and Initiatives
The panelists shared examples of impactful projects they've worked on:
Sponsored Listings for Restaurants
Toby discussed building out DoorDash's ads business, specifically sponsored listings for restaurants:
- Allows restaurants to pay to have their listing appear higher in search results and cuisine categories
- Built infrastructure including a second-price auction system
- Innovated by charging restaurants on a cost-per-acquisition basis rather than cost-per-click
- Aligns incentives across restaurants, consumers, and DoorDash
Gas Rewards Program for Dashers
Cody shared the rapid development of a gas rewards program in response to rising fuel prices:
- Identified the problem through conversations with Dashers
- Developed and launched the program in just two weeks
- Focused on solving the acute increase in expenses for Dashers in a meaningful way
- Created a program that scaled with gas usage
Regional Growth Initiatives
Amani discussed her role as GM of the Southeast region:
- Focus on category share growth while maintaining profitability
- Partnered with HBCU Battle of the Bands to drive customer acquisition
- Analyzed data to identify and fix issues impacting profitability, like missing/incorrect orders
DoorDash Storefront
Rob shared the development of DoorDash Storefront:
- Identified merchant need for easy online ordering solution
- Conducted extensive customer discovery calls
- Built initial version through company hackathon
- Now enables merchants to quickly launch online ordering channels
Challenges and Rewards of Working at DoorDash
The panelists discussed both the challenges and rewards of working in S&O at DoorDash:
Challenges
- Prioritization - balancing many opportunities and problems to solve
- Maintaining innovation while managing day-to-day operations
- Extreme ownership - being responsible for both successes and failures
- Rapid pace of change and growth
Rewards
- Ability to have tangible impact on customers' lives
- Ownership and ability to drive initiatives
- Diversity of problems to solve
- Working with smart, driven colleagues
- Rapid learning and growth opportunities
Advice for Those Starting Careers in Strategy and Operations
The panelists shared advice for those looking to start or grow their careers in S&O:
- Just start applying - eagerness to learn and work hard are key
- Evaluate job descriptions and identify transferable skills
- Stay curious and challenge yourself to improve daily
- Think from the customer's perspective
- Pursue excellence, not just goals
- Stay humble and always look to learn from others
For new S&O associates in their first 90 days:
- Focus on learning the business deeply
- Understand key metrics and data
- Learn about cross-functional teams and their objectives
- Don't be afraid to ask questions and challenge assumptions
- Identify your unique strengths and superpowers
Career Pathways from Strategy and Operations
The panelists emphasized that S&O roles can open up many future career opportunities:
- Ability to move into different functions and business areas
- Opportunities to launch and lead new initiatives
- Develop broad business understanding and problem-solving skills
- Build cross-functional relationships
- Identify strengths and interests to guide career growth
Overall, the panelists highlighted that S&O roles provide an excellent foundation to grow within DoorDash or pursue other opportunities, with the potential to take on leadership roles across various functions.
Conclusion
The DoorDash Strategy and Operations panel provided valuable insights into the role of S&O at a fast-growing technology company. Key takeaways include the importance of customer obsession, data-driven decision making, and extreme ownership. For those interested in S&O careers, the panelists emphasized the need to dive deep into understanding the business, stay curious, and be ready to tackle diverse challenges. With its rapid growth and expansion into new business areas, DoorDash offers exciting opportunities for those looking to make an impact through strategy and operations roles.
Article created from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPzk4fxoqtQ
