DoorDash Metrics: Define a Marketplace North Star and Its Supporting Metric Set

Imagine you lead product for all of DoorDash. Choose the single north-star metric you would track for the company, define it precisely, and defend it against the alternatives. Then name the other metrics you would prioritize alongside it and explain what each one tells you. ```hint Count value for every side An order is a win only if the customer, the merchant and the Dasher all come away better off. Look for a metric that rises only when that happens, and test whether it could rise while the experience gets worse. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Does the scope cover the whole company, including grocery and retail delivery, the DashPass subscription and merchant tools, or only restaurant delivery? - Is the company optimizing mainly for growth or for profitability this year? - Should the metric set weigh consumers, Dashers and merchants equally, or is one side the current priority? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - DoorDash's model as a three-sided marketplace and the value each side gets from an order - A precisely defined north star with a time window, and why it beats gross order value, revenue or active users - Prioritized supporting metrics for consumers, Dashers and merchants, plus marketplace efficiency - Guardrails that stop the north star from being gamed, covering order quality and unit economics - A decomposition of the north star that helps diagnose why it moves ### Follow-up Questions - The north star rises for a quarter while Dasher earnings per active hour fall. What do you do? - Would your north star change if the company made grocery and convenience delivery its main bet? - Which metric would give you the earliest warning that a newly launched city is in trouble?