Maintain Startup Urgency

Instacart balances rapid growth with operational excellence through their company values and culture of urgency.

Core Company Values

• "Solve for the Customer" - #1 priority value

  • All decisions must benefit paying customers first
  • Creates foundation for marketplace success
  • Enables job creation for shoppers and sales for retailers

• "Every Minute Counts" - represents hustle/urgency

  • Focus on maximizing time efficiency
  • Question if tasks can be done faster
  • Critical for startups with limited resources
  • Helps compete effectively against competitors

• "This is Your Baby" - ownership mindset

  • Employees must fully own their work
  • Put their name behind deliverables
  • See projects through to completion
  • Used as hiring criteria

Balancing Speed vs Quality

• Speed is important but secondary to customer experience
• Must maintain quality while moving quickly
  • Can't risk ruining important customer moments
  • Grocery delivery requires high accuracy first time
  • No ability to "edit" mistakes after delivery

Growth Strategy

• Focused on rapid geographic expansion
  • Quick expansion beyond San Francisco
  • Targeted top 15-20 cities initially
  • Extended into suburban areas
• Required significant capital investment
  • Raised over $1B to fund growth
  • Enabled coverage of more areas faster
  • Built war chest to handle setbacks
• Goal: Become largest grocery delivery marketplace
  • Need maximum coverage to achieve scale
  • Must build supply and demand simultaneously
  • Density critical in each geography

This framework emphasizes maintaining startup speed while ensuring operational excellence through clear values and priorities.