Apoorva Mehta @apoorva_mehta Twitter profile

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Apoorva Mehta

2 years

There is much to celebrate today @instacart , so I thought I’d share a few defining moments since we launched 10 years ago. A thread 🧵

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

8 months

More than a decade ago, I was sitting in my apartment in San Francisco bemoaning the fact that the only thing I had in my refrigerator was hot sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love hot sauce, but you can’t exactly make it a meal.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

1 year

1) I'm working on something really exciting and looking for excellent engineers to join. Come build best-in-class products for a very early stage co that has the potential to transform a massive industry. Will share more live.

Instacart Co-Founder Raises $30 Million for New Healthcare Company

The large check shows the privileges still given to certain founders in Silicon Valley and comes with heightened risks amid the market rout

www.wsj.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

1 Today I’m announcing that once @instacart becomes a public company, I’ll be stepping down as Executive Chairman and transitioning off the board of directors

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

3 years

I’m excited to share that we’ve recruited @fidjissimo to join us as Instacart’s new CEO as I transition to Executive Chairman on August 2. As one of the most formidable consumer tech leaders in the world, I’m thrilled to partner with Fidji. Read more:

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

8 months

Today, the company I founded in my kitchen is now publicly traded ($CART)! I’m immensely grateful to the team that built @instacart . I also want to thank the hard-working community of shoppers, our incredible customers, our retail and CPG partners and our CEO @fidjissimo

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

16 days

Last year, I assembled a small team and began incubating products in the digital health space. This work has resulted in the creation of two companies, Bridge and Sunrise Health. A few updates:

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

8 months

Finally, none of this would have been possible had my parents not made countless sacrifices as we immigrated from India to Libya and then to Canada – all so that one day my brother and I might have a chance to pursue our dreams.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

These are just a handful of the memories I have from building Instacart. We would not be here today without the extraordinary work of so many people. I'm incredibly grateful to our shoppers, customers, partners and team members who made this possible. Happy Birthday @instacart !

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

YC initially rejected Instacart. Not wanting to take no for an answer, I sent @garrytan a 6-pack of beer using our service. He immediately grasped the company’s potential and the next day I was invited to interview at @ycombinator

How Instacart Hacked YC | TechCrunch

Editor’s note: Apoorva Mehta is the founder of YC-backed Instacart, a startup that's taking on 1-hour grocery delivery. He previously worked on supply chain infrastructure at Amazon.com. Getting into...

techcrunch.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Proud of the way our team has executed and excited about our new milestone:

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

8 months

Truly grateful for @shiftb and @Max who have been critical in building @Instacart .

Suhail

@Suhail

8 months

What a $10B+ winning team looks like in year 1. Congrats @apoorva_mehta 💪🏾

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

8 months

My empty refrigerator was an ongoing problem - and a source of inspiration. It was 2012 and I could shop for everything online except groceries. That was a lightbulb moment for me, and I got started coding the first version of the Instacart App.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

3 months

Having a hard time keeping up with the daily advancements in AI. Don't think we have ever experienced anything like this in tech before. Unreal.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

8 months

While this is an important milestone, the work @instacart is only just beginning. I can’t wait to see how the team continues to transform the grocery industry. Onward!

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

Our solution: we decided to buy one of every item in a grocery store, take it to a studio and have it photographed to list it in on Instacart. Customers loved the ability to shop their favorite brands and the stores loved the sales.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

Growing safely at this rate was insanely tough to do – with PPE hard to come by and our systems struggling to keep up with the unprecedented demand. What kept us going? It was a picture one of our shoppers sent from a customer’s home:

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Proud to announce that today @Instacart is accessible to 70% of all households in the US - congrats to our teams on this milestone! Excited by our momentum & continued expansions:

Instacart is now available to 70 percent of U.S. households | TechCrunch

Toward the end of 2017, Instacart penned a partnership with one of the country's biggest grocery retailers, Kroger. At the time, it was a smaller deal

techcrunch.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

The online grocery market hit a tipping point in 2017 and we couldn’t be more excited to be part of it. Excited to announce @Instacart Series E round to transform grocery shopping!

Instacart Blog

www.instacart.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

In the next 6 mos., we removed any obstacle that prevented a grocer from partnering with us. We launched Instacart Enterprise and expanded into 100+ markets. Result: Whole Foods became <5% of our sale and 8/10 grocers began working with us.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

Team drilled into every detail of the Instacart experience and found 20+ levers that slowly started to add up. Result: we hit the goal before deadline. More importantly, we started to understand the biz at a forensic level, a key competitive advantage that continues today.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

1 year

4) We will work from my house in the Bay Area until we have an office. I'll serve lunch. Email me at apoorva.mehta @gmail .com and include your Github, Blogs and/or Linkedin

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Proud of the investment we’re making in Toronto to launch @Instacart North - we’re now accessible to more than 50% of all households in Canada & excited to hire 200+ more engineers in Toronto to help us shape the future of grocery.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

Can’t think of a better person than @garrytan to lead the next chapter at @ycombinator . He is not only one of the nicest ppl around, he also deeply understands what it means to be an early stage founder

Y Combinator

@ycombinator

2 years

Today we're excited to announce that Garry Tan will be YC's next president and CEO. Welcome home, @garrytan .

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

But no matter how well you execute, it is impossible to control everything. In June 2017, the CEO of Whole Foods called me to say Amazon had just bought them. In other words, our main partner was now owned by our main competitor.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

1 year

Highly recommend working with @garrytan and team. @ycombinator was a game changer for us.

Garry Tan

@garrytan

1 year

I would love to work with you at YC. If you're thinking of starting a company, now's the time to submit an application.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

3 So why leave? Since I transitioned from CEO to Executive Chairman a year ago, I realized that I want to pursue a new mission and I want to do it with the same singular focus that I had while building Instacart. Stepping off the board will allow me to do just that.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

We made it into YC but solving the chicken & egg problem (pun intended) remained exceedingly difficult. How do you sign up grocers when you have no customers? How do you get customers when you have no grocers?

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

This visual galvanized our whole team. Result: we helped millions of families safely get groceries, enabled 100s of thousands of shoppers to earn an income when much of the world was shut down and offered grocers a way to continue to serve their customers.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

In 2015, the funding environment went from growth-at-all-costs to zero tolerance for losses in a matter of weeks. Our gross margins at that time were -$16/order. We needed to change. I set a wildly optimistic goal to get to breakeven gross margins in . . . 8 months.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

In the beginning, VCs struggled to understand what @instacart was and dozens rejected us. In fact, a VC handed me a floppy disk with Webvan’s business plan on it to demonstrate that Instacart would never work.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

I called an all hands and shared that we are entering Wartime and we had to focus on only one thing: bringing every major grocer in North America onto the Instacart platform. Everything else could wait.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

Nothing could have prepared us for what happened when the pandemic hit. Everything changed overnight. We saw volume growing at 10% DAY-OVER-DAY, basket sizes were up 50% and everyone’s grandma was in search of a delivery slot.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

1 year

Suhail

@Suhail

1 year

My dad spent 10 min at dinner tonight gushing about @apoorva_mehta and towards the end he said “gosh, I don’t know how people start from scratch to make a successful company.” (Also said “that guy is good looking too”) Glad I have something to aspire to.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

1/6 As an immigrant who grew up in one of the countries that was banned, I'm sad and angry with what is happening.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

Making @Instacart accessible to more people by expanding aggressively & making memberships free in Texas & Midwest

Flush with funding, Instacart accelerates US expansion | TechCrunch

Grocery delivery startup Instacart recently closed a $400 million Series D round of funding at a valuation of $3.4 billion. Now, the company is putting that capital to work by accelerating its...

techcrunch.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Thank you @bizcarson for the thoughtful write up about @Instacart

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

4 I know the company will continue to thrive and is in the capable hands of @fidjissimo . Instacart has an enormous opportunity ahead and I have confidence in the team’s ability to achieve its full potential. Onwards!

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

16 days

So, we built @Use_Bridge – a one click checkout for health insurance. Bridge gives telehealth companies the ability to accept insurance within a matter of weeks. It will be launching with several pilot customers in the next few months.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

8 months

Thank you for the kind words, @davehclark . This means a lot, especially coming from you. There are very few people in the world who understand at-scale complex logistics as well as you do.

Dave Clark

@davehclark

8 months

Congrats @apoorva_mehta @fidjissimo and the whole Instacart team…as an observer from afar for a long time it’s super impressive what you built. Many won’t ever appreciate the complexity you had to overcome in grocery they will just enjoy the magic which is what makes it great!…

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

2 I care deeply about Instacart. It’s the one thing I have thought about for every waking minute of the last decade! This is what made it an incredibly difficult decision and something that I have been struggling with for months.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

This was a crucible moment for Instacart and our team delivered. 🙏

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

4 years

1/ The events of the past week have created a flashpoint for awareness, action, and change -- one that we at @Instacart recognize is long overdue. We want to help, and to that end will be investing $1M to support our internal teams and help support actionable change.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

Yet again the odds were against us. Many others had tried – but no company had ever made same day grocery delivery profitable.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

We @Instacart are partnering with @cvspharmacy to start delivering from their stores nationwide!

Instacart Blog

www.instacart.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

1 year

Thank you @jeff_jordan for everything you have done for us at @Instacart . Can't wait to see what you do next!

Jeff Jordan

@jeff_jordan

1 year

I’ve adored my time working in the technology start-up world, as an operator and an investor. Magic happens with absurdly high frequency here! Now, after 12 years at @a16z , it’s time for the next adventure. To the a16 team, the founders we’ve funded and our LPs – thank you for…

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

16 days

As to what’s next for me, I’ll continue to explore and build. More to come!

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

1 year

3) Skills: full-stack and ability to move fast on a rails, postgres, aws stack with strong software engineering / distributed systems fundamentals.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

1 year

2) About you: have an unrelenting sense of urgency and the capabilities to move fast, can take full ownership of shipping finished products, can deal with ambiguity and love working hard.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

. @Instacart 3/6 We will be donating $100k to the ACLU.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Super excited to add @SamsClub as a partner on @Instacart to bring retail online and make instant delivery the default.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Welcome @davesabota , Varouj Chitilian, @champagneshane0 & the @mightysignal team to the @instacart family -

Instacart nabs Google execs as VPs of engineering and corp dev, acqui-hires MightySignal | TechCr...

After raising $600 million at a $7.6 billion valuation a few weeks ago, Instacart is doubling down on expanding its talent pool to square up against

techcrunch.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Welcome to the team @davidhahn -

Instacart names David Hahn as new Chief Product Officer | TechCrunch

Instacart, the on-demand grocery delivery platform that finds itself at the center of ever-increasing competition, has today announced that David Hahn

techcrunch.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

Excited to share about our new round of financing! @instacart

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

. @Instacart 5/6 We will be expediting all the GreenCard and H1B visa applications for all the employees.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

16 days

So, we built @findsunrise , a product designed to make obesity care accessible through physicians and if medically appropriate, access to GLP-1 medications. Over the last 15 months, Sunrise has helped 200k+ patients and is doing $XXm in ann rev, is profitable and growing

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

16 days

We learned early on that there is no equivalent to Stripe in telehealth! Every digital health company must individually contract and integrate with 100s of regional plans to accept insurance as a form of payment.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

1 month

One of the best products I have tried out in a while! Really cool.

Hume

@hume_ai

1 month

Meet Hume’s Empathic Voice Interface (EVI), the first conversational AI with emotional intelligence.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

9 years

Proud to announce the conversion of our in store shoppers to PT employees in Boston and Chicago - http://t.co/c6FWdFuNQg

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

We @Instacart are coming to small town America

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

Big problem + excellent team. Very excited about what @bradmenezes @ranmz8 will do with @superblocks

Brad Menezes

@bradmenezes

2 years

Excited to announce @superblocks $37M funding round led by @kleinerperkins , @sparkcapital , @MeritechCapital & Greenoaks alongside world-renowned operators We’re on a mission to save developers 1000s of hours building custom internal tools. A thread 👇

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

16 days

So what’s next? Bridge and Sunrise are going to be led by world-class leaders from the founding team. Bridge will be led by @keatonbedell and Sunrise will be led by Jacob Gilson. I will continue to support as a co-founder and advisor.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

Thank you @OfekLavian for your hard work. Because of your work on EBT Snap, millions of families who use food stamps will be able to have the accessibility of Instacart. Excited about what you do next!

Ofek Lavian

@OfekLavian

2 years

Celebrating 10 years of @Instacart 🥕today! One of the greatest stories, led by a legendary founder @apoorva_mehta . Grateful to have witnessed a small part of this journey.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Fascinating read on how we overvalue education

The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone

Students don't seem to be getting much out of higher education.

www.theatlantic.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

10 years

Today, we are announcing our partnership with Apple. Customers will be able to pay with Apple Pay on @instacart - http://t.co/OUxinyLrpo

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

4 years

3/ We are making a $250k donation to @FeedingAmerica & @FoodBanksCanada to support communities of color that are disproportionately struggling with food insecurity. We're also donating $250k to @eji_org , an organization that challenges racial and economic injustice.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

4 years

Thoughtful write up about Instacart by @kydoh @htaneja

General Catalyst

@generalcatalyst

4 years

Consumers expect a frictionless digital experience that rivals the best apps, the convenience & personal recognition of the corner store, & quality that beats the farmers market. That's @Instacart and we're thrilled to welcome them to the GC family.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

. @Instacart 4/6 We will be funding office hours with immigration counsels for employees and their families in need.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

3 years

Really great to see @RonConway and @svangel recognized. They have been incredibly helpful to @Instacart as well.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

8 years

We @Instacart just partnered with @Publix - one of the largest and best in class grocery stores in the world. Truly excited!

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

5 years

Rick Steves Wants to Save the World, One Vacation at a Time

Rick Steves Wants to Save the World, One Vacation at a Time (Published 2019)

The travel guru believes the tiniest exposure to other cultures will change Americans’ entire lives.

www.nytimes.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

3 years

Excellent article about the importance of seeking out a coach -

The Coach in the Operating Room

Outside ears, and eyes, are important for concert-calibre musicians and Olympic-level athletes. What about regular professionals?

www.newyorker.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Proud to rollout the new Instacart Pickup product - another important step as we work to provide more choice for busy consumers & more flexibility for our valued retail partners 🥕 -

Instacart expands a pickup option for grocery orders across the US | TechCrunch

Online grocery delivery service Instacart has expanded the availability of a 'click and collect' pickup service it's been trialing for a few months in the

techcrunch.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

So proud to be Canadian.

Justin Trudeau

@JustinTrudeau

7 years

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Excited to welcome @Instacart 's new CTO Mark Schaaf - looking forward to partnering with Mark to support & double our engineering teams. via @techcrunch

Instacart brings on Mark Schaaf as Chief Technology Officer | TechCrunch

Instacart has brought on Mark Schaaf as Chief Technology Officer. Schaaf previously held positions at AdMob, which was acquired by Google in 2009 for $750

techcrunch.com

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

2/6 @Instacart we will be doing a few things to help:

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

4 years

2/ We’re prioritizing the safety of our shoppers by investing $500k to compensate in-store shoppers and teams for any disruption to their shifts due to store closures or local curfews, and provide additional tools and features that support shopper safety.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

How @Instacart is using Deep Learning to pick groceries faster

Jeremy Stanley

@jeremystan

7 years

#deeplearning with 🍪🍫🍕🍖☕ (not math) - how @instacart learns to sort shopping lists with #Keras

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

At the beginning of the pandemic, our team members were working 18 hour days / 7 days a week from their kitchen tables (in many cases with no child care) as we ramped up to support our community during the pandemic. This was incredibly inspiring to see. Thank you

Jagannath Putrevu

@jputrevu

2 years

The hardest and the most rewarding period of my time at Instacart - helping millions of people stay safe and get their groceries delivered and providing income opportunities to hundreds of thousands of shoppers. Most of us worked 18hr days and didn’t take weekends off for a month

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

. @Instacart 6/6 But, this is not enough. We want to do more. Tell us what we can do!

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Excited to read this. @eladgil is a gem!

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

8 months

@jeff_jordan @fidjissimo @Instacart @a16z Jeff - It's been a real pleasure to work with you and the entire @a16z team. Thank you for being supporters and believers from the very early days.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

Thank you @yukihiro_matz for visiting us @Instacart . It was inspiring to hear your story of the creation of Ruby and the path ahead.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

16 days

As a result, most telehealth companies end up requiring patients to pay directly via credit card - making these services unaffordable for many people, arguably those who may need them the most.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

16 days

Secondly, we looked at how telehealth could help combat obesity, which is the root cause of so many serious conditions. By 2030, more than half of all adults in the US will be considered obese. This is a national epidemic.

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

7 years

We are open sourcing some @Instacart data. Check it out here

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

2 years

These were extremely difficult problems to solve. Incredible job by you and the team.

Jon Hillis (🏕️,🏘️,🌆)

@JonathanHillis

2 years

so proud to have been on the team that took @Instacart • from -$16/order to the profitability party in eight months • from Amazon-Whole Foods to partnerships with every major retailer in six months • from COVID to onboarding 400k shoppers in six weeks pure grit and execution

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

5 years

This #GivingTuesday on 11/27, your @AldiUSA orders on @Instacart will help feed families in need. We’re grateful to team up with retail partner ALDI & @FeedingAmerica to give the gift of groceries this holiday season:

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Apoorva Mehta

@apoorva_mehta

6 years

Great piece on the current state of brain machine interfaces