Deliveroo Founder - From £0 to £5 Billion: Will Shu
This episode features Will, the founder of Deliveroo, discussing his unconventional journey from an idea to a multi-billion dollar company. He shares the immense challenges, personal sacrifices, and the importance of solving a real problem for consumers, rather than just seeking entrepreneurship status.
Deep Dive Analysis
15 Topic Outline
Will Shu's Humble Beginnings and London Move
The Genesis of Deliveroo: A Problem-Solving Idea
The Importance of Timing and Technology for Startups
Early Days of Deliveroo: Co-Founding and Ground Operations
Initial Marketing Strategies and Overcoming Scrutiny
The Starbucks Incident and Rider Treatment Philosophy
The Evolution of Deliveroo's Name and Early Ideas
Co-Founder Departure and the Challenges of a Distributed Team
The Mental Toll and Hardship of Building a Business
Near-Catastrophic Funding Crisis in 2017
The Amazon Investment, CMA Review, and COVID-19 Layoffs
Life as a Founder CEO: IPO and Public Scrutiny
Will Shu's Continued Role as a Deliveroo Rider
Navigating Competition and the Future of Food Delivery
Relationship with Money and Personal Fulfillment as a Founder
4 Key Concepts
Problem-Solving Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs should start businesses to solve a specific problem they care deeply about or to address an inefficiency in an industry they know well, rather than solely for financial gain or the desire to be an entrepreneur. This deep investment helps sustain them through the inevitable challenges.
Timing and Macro Factors
The success of a business idea, especially in technology, is critically dependent on macro factors and timing. Essential infrastructure, like the widespread adoption of smartphones and app ecosystems, must be in place to enable certain business models that would have been impossible earlier.
Lean Startup Approach
Operating with limited funds in the early stages forces founders to make better, more efficient decisions, focusing only on the most important aspects of the business. This scarcity can lead to innovative, unconventional solutions for growth, such as word-of-mouth marketing or creative local promotions.
Emotional Aspect of Food Delivery
The future of food delivery will move beyond transactional efficiency to incorporate the emotional and social experience of food. Successful platforms will find ways to convey the story of chefs and restaurants online, making the interaction more engaging and less purely functional, akin to a physical dining experience.
7 Questions Answered
Will Shu got the idea for Deliveroo on his first day working in London in 2004, when he realized the limited and low-quality food delivery options compared to New York, despite London being a culinary capital.
Will Shu and his co-founder Greg Orlowski focused on solving a problem they believed in, going 'all in' without hedging. They started with a website prototype, no consumer app, and launched in a single London neighborhood (Chelsea) due to limited funds, relying on word-of-mouth and personal deliveries.
In the early days, Deliveroo relied on word-of-mouth, Will personally delivering orders to friends, and a creative 'do not disturb' sign campaign that listed local restaurants and was hung on doors, costing very little.
In 2017, Deliveroo was set to close a 600-700 million dollar funding round with a major fund, but the deal was unexpectedly pulled three days before closing. This forced Will to quickly line up 25 investor meetings globally to secure necessary capital.
Deliveroo faced an 18-month antitrust review by the UK's CMA regarding an Amazon investment, which prevented them from accessing crucial capital. This coincided with COVID-19 causing restaurants to shut down, leading to plummeting growth and the difficult decision to lay off a significant number of employees.
Will Shu continues to do Deliveroo deliveries himself, often five a night, to test the rider app, get exercise, relax, and understand the restaurant experience and rider interactions firsthand. He uses these insights to improve the business.
Deliveroo aims to transcend transactional food delivery by focusing on the emotional and social aspects of food. The vision is to create a platform where users can not only order food but also learn about it, connecting with the stories of chefs and the industry, making it an app for food discovery, not just hunger.
21 Actionable Insights
1. Solve a Problem, Not a Business
Focus on identifying and solving a genuine problem or inefficiency within an industry you know well, rather than just aspiring to be an entrepreneur for its own sake.
2. Go All-In on Your Idea
When starting a business, commit fully without hedging or side projects, especially if you deeply believe in the core problem you’re solving.
3. Love the Problem to Endure
Entrepreneurs must genuinely love and understand the problem they are solving to withstand the inevitable ‘absolute bullshit chaos’ that would make a sane person quit.
4. Experience Your Frontline Role
Founders should personally experience the frontline roles of their business to deeply understand the challenges and perspectives of their employees or service providers, fostering empathy and better decision-making.
5. Regularly Engage with Operations
Continue to personally engage with the core operations of your business (e.g., making deliveries) to test products, gain insights into customer and partner experiences, and find moments of relaxation.
6. Limited Funds Drive Efficiency
Operating with limited funds in the early stages forces founders to prioritize the most important tasks and be highly efficient, which can lead to better decision-making than having excessive budgets.
7. Innovate Marketing with No Budget
When faced with no marketing budget, challenge conventional methods and think creatively to find innovative, low-cost ways to reach a large audience, like leveraging emerging platforms.
8. Inform Locally, Directly
To gain initial traction, directly inform potential customers in a specific neighborhood about your service and the local options available, even with simple, low-cost methods like door hangers.
9. Cultivate Indifference to External Opinion
Developing a genuine indifference to what others think can be a ‘superpower’ for founders, helping overcome embarrassment and public scrutiny to pursue goals and maintain personal happiness.
10. Obsess Over the Business
Focus your obsession on the specific business you are building and the problem it solves, rather than the abstract idea or status of being an entrepreneur.
11. Maintain Emotional Evenness
Strive for emotional stability, avoiding extreme highs or lows, as this can help navigate the intense challenges and pressures of building a business.
12. Practice Stress-Reducing Activities
To manage stress, engage in activities like breathing exercises, long walks, or reading, which help clear your mind and provide a mental break from constant business thoughts.
13. Prioritize Business Growth Over Stock
After going public, maintain focus on the fundamental growth and strategic direction of the business, rather than being overly concerned with short-term stock price fluctuations or media scrutiny.
14. Embrace Continuous Innovation
Maintain a constant focus on continuous innovation and improvement, driven by a ‘paranoid’ mindset that competitors are always seeking to do better.
15. Address Service Issues Directly
When encountering poor service or operational inefficiencies, address them directly with partners, focusing on improving processes and encouraging respectful interactions, rather than just complaining.
16. Prioritize Emotional Connection in Service
To excel in service industries, move beyond transactional interactions by focusing on creating an emotional connection with customers, leveraging content and feedback to enhance the overall experience.
17. Expand Beyond Core Utility
Evolve your product or service to offer value beyond its primary function, aiming to become a resource for learning and engagement, not just a tool for immediate needs.
18. Understand Regulatory Precedent Setting
Be aware that government institutions or regulatory bodies may use your company as an example to set precedents, leading to unpredictable and prolonged challenges outside of your direct control.
19. Acknowledge Obsession’s Trade-offs
Recognize that an obsessive focus on business can fill your mental capacity, potentially leaving less room for other aspects of life like relationships, and understand the trade-offs involved.
20. Create Space for Self-Reflection
Actively create dedicated space and time for self-reflection and discussion about the personal impact of entrepreneurship, as founders often get consumed by urgent crises and lack opportunities for such introspection.
21. Take Regular Breaks and Holidays
It’s crucial to take regular, extended breaks (longer than four days) to step away from work and engage in completely different activities, allowing for mental rejuvenation and a fresh perspective.
7 Key Quotes
I'm not one of these people that was like, oh, I need to start a business. I'm like, I need to solve this problem, which I think is pretty different in my mind.
Will Shu
You can't do something that you're not actually fully invested in.
Will Shu
I definitely know what it was like to walk in their shoes. I did that job for a long time. I did, you know, five deliveries last night. And that's why, you know, treating riders with respect and making sure their voices are heard is so important to me.
Will Shu
It doesn't get easier. I'll tell you that. Right. So, I mean, the business is really, you know, six significantly sized business now, but I wouldn't say it gets easier. They're just different.
Will Shu
The job is like, I'm so proud of what we built and I'm so excited about the future, but like it is a hard, hard job. And anyone that tells you otherwise is either having an exceptional experience or, or they're not being honest.
Will Shu
I don't think about the stock price. I actually think about the business.
Will Shu
Food is social. Food is emotional, right? Yeah. At the core.
Will Shu