Founder Story: Apoorva Mehta of Instacart

From an empty fridge to a billion-dollar empire, Apoorva Mehta's journey with Instacart is a testament to perseverance and innovation. Born in India, raised in Canada, and forged in Silicon Valley, Mehta turned his personal frustration with grocery shopping into a revolutionary service that would change how millions of Americans buy food. This is the story of how 20 failed startups led to one of the most successful tech companies of the 2010s.

Early Life and Influences

Apoorva Mehta was born in 1986 in Jodhpur, India. His early years were marked by constant movement - from India to Libya, and finally to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 2000 when he was 14 years old. This nomadic childhood instilled in Mehta an adaptability that would serve him well in his future entrepreneurial endeavors.

Growing up in Canada, Mehta developed a strong aversion to grocery shopping. He recalls:

"I remember going to the grocery store with my mom in the freezing cold. It was always a hassle, and I thought there had to be a better way."

This personal pain point would later become the seed of his most successful venture.

Mehta's academic journey led him to the University of Waterloo, where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 2008. His time at Waterloo, known for its co-op program and entrepreneurial spirit, laid the foundation for his future in tech.

From Amazon Engineer to Serial Entrepreneur

After graduation, Mehta's career took off quickly. He worked briefly as a design engineer at Blackberry and Qualcomm before landing a coveted position at Amazon in 2008 as a supply-chain engineer. At Amazon, Mehta gained invaluable insights into e-commerce logistics and the power of efficient delivery systems.

However, the corporate world couldn't contain Mehta's entrepreneurial spirit for long. In 2010, at the age of 24, he made the bold decision to leave his stable job at Amazon and move to San Francisco to pursue his dream of starting his own company.

"I didn't know what my idea was going to be," Mehta later admitted in an interview with CNBC. "The reason why I quit my job at Amazon was because I wanted to become an entrepreneur."

The Failed Ventures That Led Here

Between 2010 and 2012, Mehta launched an astonishing 20 different startups. Each one failed, but provided valuable lessons. His ventures ranged from an advertising network for social games (inspired by Zynga's success) to a Groupon-like platform for food.

One of his more notable attempts was LegalReach, a social networking site for lawyers. Mehta recalls the missteps that led to its failure:

"We built the platform before we even knew if lawyers wanted such a thing. We raised money and gathered a team before realizing the idea was a dead end."

These failures taught Mehta the importance of market research, user validation, and lean startup principles. Each setback only fueled his determination to find the right idea.

A Vision Born from Personal Experience

In the summer of 2012, Mehta found himself staring at an empty refrigerator in his San Francisco apartment. The only item inside was a bottle of sriracha sauce. This moment of frustration became the catalyst for Instacart.

Mehta realized that while he could order almost anything online, groceries remained stubbornly offline. He saw an opportunity to bring the trillion-dollar grocery industry into the digital age.

"It was a lightbulb moment for me," Mehta later wrote on LinkedIn. "I got started coding the first version of the Instacart App."

Within three weeks, Mehta had built the first version of Instacart. To test the concept, he placed the first order himself, went to the store, picked up the groceries, and delivered them to his own apartment. He even gave himself a nice tip.

Building in the Face of Opposition

When Mehta began pitching Instacart to investors, he faced significant skepticism. The ghost of Webvan, a notorious dot-com failure that had burned through $800 million trying to deliver groceries, loomed large.

Mehta's approach was different. Instead of building expensive warehouses and buying inventory, Instacart would use existing grocery stores and employ a network of personal shoppers. This asset-light model allowed for rapid scaling with minimal upfront costs.

To get his foot in the door with investors, Mehta employed an unconventional tactic. He used the Instacart app to deliver a six-pack of beer to a partner at Y Combinator, the prestigious startup accelerator. This creative move landed him a meeting and eventually a spot in Y Combinator's Summer 2012 batch.

At Y Combinator, Mehta met his co-founders, Max Mullen and Brandon Leonardo. Together, they refined the Instacart concept and prepared for launch.

The Unconventional Path to Growth

Instacart's early days were marked by scrappy, unconventional tactics. To solve the chicken-and-egg problem of supply and demand, Mehta and his team invented "ninja shopping."

"We would just go to a store, buy the stuff off the shelf, go to the checkout, and deliver the groceries to the customers," Mehta explained.

To build their product catalog, the team took an extreme approach:

"We went to many different stores and picked up one of every single thing from the store, took it to a studio, photographed everything, and then uploaded all that onto Instacart."

This $50,000 investment in inventory photography allowed Instacart to bootstrap its supply and immediately offer a compelling selection to customers. The strategy paid off - demand doubled overnight for the first store they fully cataloged.

Pivotal Partnerships

As Instacart grew, forming partnerships with major grocery chains became crucial. In 2014, Instacart announced its first national partnership with Whole Foods Market. This deal legitimized Instacart in the eyes of both consumers and other potential retail partners.

Mehta's approach to partnerships was strategic:

"We're not trying to compete with grocers; we're trying to empower them. Our technology allows them to offer online ordering and delivery without building the infrastructure themselves."

By 2015, Instacart had partnerships with major chains like Costco, Kroger, and Safeway. These relationships allowed Instacart to expand rapidly across the United States.

The Fundraising Journey

Instacart's growth attracted significant investor interest. After raising $2.3 million in seed funding through Y Combinator, the company secured increasingly large rounds:

Series A: $8.5 million (June 2013)
Series B: $44 million (June 2014)
Series C: $220 million (December 2014)
Series D: $275 million (January 2017)
Series E: $200 million (February 2018)
Series F: $225 million (June 2020)
Series G: $265 million (March 2021)

By 2021, Instacart's valuation had soared to $39 billion, making it one of the most valuable private companies in the United States.

Crisis and Transformation

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 presented both a massive opportunity and a significant challenge for Instacart. As lockdowns were implemented across the country, demand for grocery delivery skyrocketed.

Instacart had to scale rapidly, hiring 300,000 new shoppers in a matter of weeks. The company also had to implement new safety protocols, including contactless delivery and providing personal protective equipment to shoppers.

Mehta reflected on this period:

"We saw five years of growth in a matter of five weeks. It was both exhilarating and terrifying. We had to completely transform our operations while maintaining service quality."

The pandemic accelerated the adoption of online grocery shopping, cementing Instacart's position as a essential service for millions of Americans.

Leadership Philosophy

Throughout Instacart's growth, Mehta maintained a leadership philosophy centered on innovation and customer-centricity. He often emphasized the importance of "thinking big" while staying focused on solving real customer problems.

"We're not just a delivery company," Mehta would say. "We're a technology company that's reimagining the way people shop for groceries."

Mehta also prioritized building a strong company culture. He implemented initiatives like "Hack Week," where employees could work on passion projects, and emphasized the importance of diversity and inclusion in hiring.

Industry Impact

Instacart's success has had a profound impact on the grocery industry. The company has:

Accelerated the adoption of online grocery shopping (from 3% pre-pandemic to over 10% by 2021)
Forced traditional grocers to invest heavily in their own digital capabilities
Created a new gig economy job category for personal shoppers
Pioneered new revenue streams for grocers through its advertising platform

Instacart's model has also inspired similar services in other retail categories, showing how technology can bridge the gap between online convenience and brick-and-mortar inventory.

Legacy and Future Vision

In July 2021, Mehta stepped down as CEO of Instacart, transitioning to the role of executive chairman. He handed the reins to Fidji Simo, a former Facebook executive, to lead the company through its next phase of growth.

Reflecting on his journey, Mehta said:

"I'm incredibly proud of what we've built at Instacart. But I also believe that to continue innovating, sometimes you need fresh perspectives."

Mehta's entrepreneurial spirit remains strong. In 2022, he founded Cloud Health Systems, a new venture in the healthcare space. While details are scarce, it's clear that Mehta continues to seek out big problems to solve.

Closing Thoughts

Apoorva Mehta's journey with Instacart is a masterclass in entrepreneurial perseverance and the power of solving personal pain points. From an empty fridge to a multi-billion dollar company, Mehta's story embodies the Silicon Valley dream while also highlighting the very real challenges of building a disruptive business.

Perhaps the most valuable lesson from Mehta's experience is the importance of resilience in the face of failure. His 20 failed startups before Instacart serve as a powerful reminder that success often comes after multiple setbacks.

As Mehta once said:

"Entrepreneurship is about solving problems. The bigger the problem you solve, the bigger the opportunity. But you have to be willing to fail, learn, and keep pushing forward."

In an era where instant success stories often dominate headlines, Mehta's journey reminds us that true innovation often requires years of hard work, countless iterations, and the courage to keep trying even when the odds seem stacked against you.