#166: Nate D'Anna, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Dumpling, on Disrupting the Gig Economy, Raising $10M in Venture Capital, and Growing 20X During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nate D'Anna is the co-founder and co-CEO of Dumpling, which provides the tools, technology, and support people need to run their own local businesses - powering thousands of grocery shopping, delivery, and personal service entrepreneurs throughout 50 states. By pioneering a new approach to local entrepreneurship, dumpling offers communities a more personal, ethical solution to the essential household services that keep homes running. Since its founding in 2017, Dumpling has quickly become the trusted, reliable pathway to starting a local, service business in the United States. Dumpling is built by a diverse and passionate team of change makers, entrepreneurs, and former gig economy workers - all dedicated to ushering in a future where everyone who works can control their own fortune. The company is headquartered in Berkeley, Seattle, and homes across the country.

Connect with Nate D'Anna

• Dumpling
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Some of the Topics Covered by Nate D'Anna in this Episode

• What is Dumpling and how Nate started it with his co-founder Joel Shapiro
• How they approached customer discovery and what they learned from it
• The initial version of Dumpling and how it has evolved into what it is today
• Bootstrapping and knowing when it was time to fund raise
• Early ups and downs and narrowing down the problem to solve
• Early feedback and using it to adapt the business
• Roles and responsibilities among the 3 co-founders
• Customer acquisition for Dumpling
• The process of fundraising for the first time, from a pre-seed round to a series A
• How Dumpling was able to grow after fundraising
• Dumpling's business model and how it has evolved
• Managing short-term execution with long-term vision
• How COVID-19 has led to incredible growth for Dumpling and the challenges that came with having to unexpectedly scale so quickly
• How Nate views competition
• Reality versus expectation of being an entrepreneur
• Where Nate finds support and how he recharges away from work
• Nate's book recommendations

Links from the Episode

• Walmart
• The Home Depot
• Uber
• Instacart
• Target
• DoorDash
• Postmates
• SAFE
• TaskRabbit
• Floodgate
• Ann Miura-Ko at Floodgate
• #134: Zuleyka Strasner, Founder and CEO of Zero, on Building a Convenient Zero-Waste Grocery Delivery Service, Becoming the Largest Sustainability Platform in the U.S., and Growing 15X in 5 Months
• The Innovator's Dilemma by Clay Christensen
• The Innovator's Solution by Clay Christensen