# Doordash Financial Model Real-time local delivery network connecting consumers, restaurants, and independent drivers. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/doordash - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/doordash.xlsx - Category: Marketplace - Model type: Marketplace / GMV - Funding round: Early Stage - Funding: $2.4M - Founded: 2013 - Geography: US (implied; references National Restaurant Association, Grubhub S-1). [DECK slide 1] - Customer: B2C ## About the company DoorDash began as a real-time local delivery network linking consumers, restaurants, and independent drivers. The three-sided marketplace lets restaurants offer delivery without building their own logistics operation, with a longer-term ambition to support local commerce beyond food. In the early deck, the company reported more than $10 million of annualized gross processing volume and a take rate above 21%. Cohort data showed repeat behavior stabilizing after the first order, while the main operating challenge was balancing consumer, merchant, and driver acquisition costs. The model uses monthly customer cohorts, order frequency, average basket, delivery fees, and merchant commission to build GPV. The revenue waterfall applies the take rate and driver payouts, then adds marketing, merchant acquisition, and operating costs. Retention, order density, take rate, and contribution margin determine the path to a scalable local-delivery network. ## What's included - 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions - Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule - Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking - Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check - Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR - Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention ## Product & value proposition - Enables restaurant delivery for restaurants that offer take-out but have no delivery infrastructure. - Also onboards restaurants that manage their own delivery but prefer to outsource. - Three-sided marketplace: consumers place orders, merchants fulfill, independent drivers (Dashers) handle last-mile logistics. - Long-term vision: hyper-local on-demand delivery network for all local commerce beyond restaurants. - Proprietary logistics/batching software cited as a developing competitive advantage. ## Market - US restaurant takeout volume: $67B - Only 15% of restaurants deliver → serviceable market (restaurants without delivery): ~$57B GMV - TAM in revenue (DoorDash take-rate): - At 20% take rate: $11.4B - At 15% take rate: $8.6B - No market growth rate provided in deck. ## Revenue model - Take-rate on Gross Processing Volume (GPV). GPV = order value + commission + delivery charge + driver tip. - Take rate on GPV: >21% - Revenue = GPV × take-rate. - Additional line items within GPV include delivery charge and tip, which flow partially to drivers; net revenue is the commission/fee retained by DoorDash. - No per-order fee or subscription pricing mentioned. ## Traction & metrics - GPV annualized run-rate: >$10M (as of ~March 2014, ~8–9 months in) - Revenue annualized run-rate: >$2M (derived: >21% take rate × >$10M GPV) - Capital raised: $2.4M; net cash remaining: $1.7M - Cohort data (slide 2 - read from image): - GPV by cohort (stacked area, Jul-13 to Feb-14): total monthly GPV growing from ~$50K in Jul-13 to ~$600K+ in Feb-14 - Customer repeat rate: drops from 100% in m0 to ~40% in m1, then stabilizes above 30% through m7 - Per-returning-customer GPV starts at $100–$120 and grows to ~$200 over time ## Unit economics - Contribution margin: claimed 20% before marketing - CAC: Not quantified in deck; cited as main driver of cash burn - Driver acquisition and merchant acquisition also cited as burn drivers ## Competition / moat - Named competitors: Grubhub (marketplace, restaurants that already deliver), Postmates, Caviar, TaskRabbit (tangential) - Grubhub differentiation: marketplace model passes orders to self-delivering restaurants → financially superior but weaker value proposition to restaurants without delivery - Moat claims: 3-sided network effects; proprietary logistics/batching software; capital-efficient operations - Risk flagged by Sequoia: commoditization, race to the bottom if competition is irrational ## Team & funding ask / use of funds - Founders: unnamed except Tony (CEO), who has personal motivation to help local merchants (parents ran a restaurant) - Early hustle: founders drove for Papa John's, UberX, Lyft, Sidecar to study the space - Funding ask: $7M–$10M for 25% equity (Sequoia recommendation) - Use of funds: implied customer, driver, and merchant acquisition (main burn drivers); not explicitly broken down - Prior raise: $2.4M, net cash $1.7M --- ## Recommended financial model - **Archetype + why:** Marketplace GMV / take-rate model. Revenue is a percentage of GMV (= order volume + fees); the business has classic 3-sided marketplace mechanics with cohort-driven retention. A 3-statement model with a GMV waterfall is appropriate for the operating forecast. - **Forecast horizon & granularity:** Monthly for Year 1–2 (company is ~9 months old with monthly cohort data), then quarterly/annual through Year 3–5. Horizon: 5 years. - **Key drivers & assumptions:** | Driver | Value | Source | | -- | -- | -- | | Starting GMV monthly run-rate | ~$600K/month (~$7.2M annualized) | - | | Annualized GPV run-rate (memo date) | >$10M | - | | Take rate | 21% | - | | Monthly new cohort GMV (initial month) | ~$50K–$100K per new cohort | - | | Cohort m1 retention (% of m0 GMV retained) | ~40% | - | | Cohort m2+ retention floor | ~30–35% | - | | Per-returning-customer monthly GMV | $100–$200 growing over time | - | | Monthly new cohort growth rate | 15–20% MoM; consistent with GPV chart shape showing rapid stacking of new cohorts | | Take rate - long-run | 18–20%; near-term pressure from competition likely compresses it slightly below current 21% | | Contribution margin (pre-marketing) | 20% of revenue | - | | CAC (consumer) | $10–$20/user; benchmark for early food delivery startups; primary burn driver per memo | | CAC (driver, merchant) | $50–$200 for drivers, $100–$300 for merchants; one-time or lightly recurring | | Headcount / opex | early-stage lean team; seed-stage opex ~$150–$250K/month inclusive of G&A | | Driver payout % of delivery fee | ~75–80% of delivery charge + tip flows to driver; DoorDash retains commission | - **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):** - **Base:** 15% MoM new cohort growth, 21% take rate, 20% contribution margin, moderate CAC decline over time. - **Bull:** 25%+ MoM new cohort growth, take rate holds at 21%+, network effects reduce driver and customer CAC; expansion into non-restaurant verticals by Year 3. - **Bear:** Competition (Postmates, Caviar, Grubhub) compresses take rate to 15%, repeat rate falls toward 25%, CAC stays elevated, margins turn negative. - **Required sheets / outputs:** 1. **Assumptions** - all drivers in one place, clearly labeled or 2. **Cohort Model** - monthly cohort build: new users per cohort, retention curve, per-user GMV by vintage month → aggregate active users and GMV 3. **GMV → Revenue Waterfall** - GMV × take rate = gross revenue; less driver payouts = net revenue 4. **P&L (Income Statement)** - revenue, COGS (driver costs), gross profit, S&M (CAC × new users acquired), G&A, EBITDA 5. **Cash Flow / Runway** - monthly cash burn, cash balance, months of runway pre/post raise 6. **Scenario Toggle** - single input cell to switch Base / Bull / Bear; key metrics table with side-by-side comparison 7. **Dashboard** - GMV run-rate, revenue run-rate, take rate, contribution margin %, monthly burn, runway ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Doordash financial model free? Yes. The Doordash model is a free Excel download with live formulas. ### Can I change the assumptions? Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.