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  • #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

#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

September 07, 2020

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

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

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