Tony Xu speaks at YC dinner with DoorDash founder

🚚 From Immigrant Hustle to Silicon Valley Giant – The Story of DoorDash & Tony Xu 🇺🇸🇨🇳 What started as a simple idea to help local businesses deliver food turned into DoorDash, a $30+ billion delivery giant serving millions of users across North America. 🎓 Tony Xu , a Chinese immigrant who washed dishes at his mom’s restaurant, went on to study at UC Berkeley and earn an MBA from Stanford. In 2013, with 3 friends, Tony co-founded DoorDash, driven by one mission: ➡️ Empower local economies. Since then: 📈 DoorDash went public in 2020 🍔 Supports over 500K merchants 📦 Now delivers groceries, pet supplies, and more 💡 Acquired companies like Caviar, Wolt His journey is a masterclass in: ✅ Hustle ✅ Purpose-driven innovation ✅ Scaling local to global 🌍 In a world rushing to go big, Tony Xu proved that real disruption starts with small businesses. 🔁 Tag a startup founder who’s building something meaningful. #DoorDash #TonyXu #StartupJourney #SiliconValley #FoodTech #Founders #Entrepreneurship #VentureSynopsis

🎙 This Week on Startup to Storefront: Caroline D’Amore aka Pizza Girl, Inc. She went from reality TV to building a bold, pink, unapologetic food brand taking over grocery shelves. Caroline D’Amore grew up in her family’s legendary pizza restaurants, but turning Pizza Girl into a nationally recognized name? That was all her. From selling out her pizza ovens in two weeks to launching her Venice Beach storefront, she’s rewriting the rules of food entrepreneurship. Full episode drops tomorrow at 8am on Spotify and YouTube. #StartupToStorefront #PizzaGirl #CarolineDAmore #VeniceBeach #DTCBrand #OrganicSauce #FemaleFounder #FoodStartup #WomenInBusiness #CulinaryEntrepreneur #MarinaraWithAMessage

🎙 This Week on Startup to Storefront: Caroline D’Amore aka Pizza Girl, Inc. She went from reality TV to building a bold, pink, unapologetic food brand taking over grocery shelves. Caroline D’Amore grew up in her family’s legendary pizza restaurants, but turning Pizza Girl into a nationally recognized name? That was all her. From selling out her pizza ovens in two weeks to launching her Venice Beach storefront, she’s rewriting the rules of food entrepreneurship. Full episode drops tomorrow at 8am on Spotify and YouTube. #StartupToStorefront #PizzaGirl #CarolineDAmore #VeniceBeach #DTCBrand #OrganicSauce #FemaleFounder #FoodStartup #WomenInBusiness #CulinaryEntrepreneur #MarinaraWithAMessage

Tommy Habeeb was speaking to the C-Suits Network group about one of his early startups and landing JC Penney’s and Walmart as a customer. Tommy Habeeb took a risk and landed Walmart and JC Penney's. In this behind-the-scenes moment, Tommy shares the untold story of one of his earliest ventures, and how bold move and relentless hustle led to landing the retail giants like Wal-Mart and JC Penney's as clients. This just isn't about business it's about belief, strategy, and playing at the highest level. #tommyhabeeb #Walmart Jeffrey Hayzlett

🔥🚀 FROM ZERO TO LESS BROKE: HOW I LEARNED TO EMBRACE FAILURE BEFORE FUNDING In this post, I’ll walk you through how disruptive ideas actually take root — not in boardrooms, but in the messy grind of real life — and what founders really go through when building something from nothing. 1️⃣ DISRUPTION DOESN’T START WITH A LIGHTBULB — IT STARTS WITH A PROBLEM YOU CAN’T IGNORE   I remember sitting at a coffee shop in 2018, watching my cofounder argue with a local restaurant owner about delivery fees. The guy was getting crushed by third-party platforms. That moment sparked our idea for a more transparent, fairer delivery model — one that didn’t just copy UberEats or DoorDash, but rethought the whole damn system. Angela Duckworth talks about grit being more important than talent, and honestly? That’s exactly what kept us going. It wasn’t genius, it was stubbornness. We weren’t smarter than the big players — we were just more annoyed, and more willing to try stupid stuff over and over. 2️⃣ FAILURE ISN’T A STEP — IT’S THE ENTIRE PATH   Robert Kiyosaki wrote in Rich Dad Poor Dad that “the size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire, not by your diploma.” That hit hard after we had to shut down our first product version. Burned six figures. Lost two team members. And yet, the best lessons came from those dumpster-fire moments. Gary Vaynerchuk always says, “You have to kiss a lot of frogs,” and man, did we get chapped lips. But every no, every pivot, every time someone told us “this won’t work” forced us to refine, rethink, and eventually build something people actually wanted. Failure wasn’t a milestone — it was the road itself. 💬 What’s your founder story? Have you ever built something out of sheer frustration or necessity? Let’s talk — drop your thoughts below 👇  #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship #FounderJourney #Disruption #RealTalkBusiness #StartupStruggles Found this valuable? ♻️ Repost to your network 🔔 Follow Michael Ferrara for more insights ☕ Buy Me A Coffee: https://lnkd.in/eimmd4pM 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿! I recently came across Getscreen, which might be just what you're looking for. You can check them out here: https://lnkd.in/e5WcSPJn. In a nutshell, Getscreen is a browser-based, cloud-based remote desktop software platform designed for quick and easy remote access to computers, servers, and mobile devices, ideal for IT administration, technical support, and remote work. Thank you for your support and for trusting my recommendations—your success is my inspiration!

🍸 ANNOUNCEMENT #1 🍸 Well, the good news if anyone was following my last post is that I DO have some announcements I'm excited to share, coming to you with the first one. One of my nearest and dearest friends, David Quisumbing (DQ to most) has been working hard for the last 3+ years inventing and patenting a new cocktail shaker to innovate the bartending & mixology space, and I've had the fortunate opportunity to partner with him to bring this great product to the masses! Introducing the SpeedTin! Link: https://lnkd.in/enADgAuw The short story: the SpeedTin reimagines the traditional cocktail shaker, allowing bartenders, mixologists, and even home cocktail enthusiasts to craft drinks effortlessly with one hand... eliminating the usual complexity of multiple parts. (make two cocktails at once! lookout Vegas!) For businesses and industry professionals, this also means speed, efficiency, physical ease, and ultimately, increased revenue opportunities. I know it might be surprising that this hasn't been invented before, trust me I was surprised too when Dave first brought his idea to me. This is truly new territory for the industry. BUT - this isn't a post about new accomplishments. It’s the beginning of our sleeves getting rolled up. There’s a lot of work ahead to scale this product globally, and our driving force is Dave’s vision to genuinely help people and businesses. The fun-filled nature of the bartending industry is just the cherry on top. (or at the bottom of the glass, depending on what you're drinking!) At this crucial stage, we need help across our communities. Check out the video below, hit the Kickstarter page, share it with friends, family, coworkers or anyone who loves a great cocktail (or mocktail!)... even add it to your holiday wish lists! Any little bit helps us build an entirely new company. Let's toast to seeing SpeedTin at a local bar, restaurant, or kitchen table near you soon! (maybe even Shark Tank 😉) #Partnership #Innovation #Startup #Speedtin #Kickstarter #Entrepreneurship #Bartending #Mixology

Josh Lachkovic built a brilliant wine startup that completely blew up during lockdown, but then just as he had built the company to grow and thrive. He watched it unravel just as fast. Hired, raised, scaled, and then the market sobered up and decided we all want to go out again and actually see each other. Turns out product market fit isn’t real if it only works during a global crisis, and dishy Richi is offering to eat out to help out. #startuplessons #productmarketfit

I waited one hour in the freezing cold for a burger. No VIP table. No bookings. Just a line that wraps around the block. Fergburger does ~$15M/year From one shop. In a town of 3,000 people. It’s the most profitable restaurant of all time. No funding. No marketing team. Just burgers. Lines down the street, every day. Gladly. Here’s what I think founders can learn from it: 1. Be unreasonably good Most startups die in the middle. Too good to ignore takes longer. But once it hits, it’s unstoppable. 2. Nail one thing, not ten One product. One brand. One experience. Perfected over two decades. Ferg didn’t launch loaded fries. He made the burger sacred. 3. The moat is madness You can copy a product. You can’t copy obsession. Fergburger isn’t a menu. It’s a pilgrimage. Founders who make magic are dangerous. $15M from one shop. Imagine what your startup could do with that level of conviction.

"Why San Francisco Startups Are Choosing Recurring Meal Plans Startups move fast — and that speed shouldn’t stop when it’s time to eat. More and more companies in San Francisco’s startup scene are choosing to partner with corporate catering providers like NutriGastro to fuel their teams while they build, code, pitch, and innovate. Here’s why recurring meal plans work for them: ⚡ Predictable, easy scheduling 🌱 Healthier, energizing menus 🙌 No more Slack messages about who’s ordering lunch 💼 Feels like a real company benefit — without breaking the budget If you’re growing a team and want to build a culture that feels supported, organized, and well-fed — corporate catering might just be your secret weapon. 📲 Message us to set up a free tasting or sample plan. #StartupCulture #SanFranciscoStartups #TeamPerks #RecurringCatering "

Cloud kitchen startup Curefoods, which owns brands like EatFit and CakeZone, reported a net loss of INR 169.9 Cr for FY25, almost unchanged from INR 172.6 Cr the previous year. However, its operating revenue grew 27.4% to INR 745.8 Cr. The company is looking to raise up to INR 800 Cr in its IPO, which includes a fresh issue and an #OfferforSale (OFS) of 4.85 Cr equity shares. Curefoods follows a "house of brands" approach, owning or controlling multiple brands like Krispy Kreme through franchise agreements. Founded in 2020, #Curefoods has expanded rapidly and diversified its revenue streams, with over 25 brands in its portfolio. It earned INR 740.9 Cr from food sales and INR 3.45 Cr from service income in FY25. Total expenses rose by 17% to INR 944.2 Cr. #lossMakingStartups #Losses #CloudKitchenStartups #curefoods #losses #startupUpdates #startupro