It wasn’t always that way. 

In a new Fortune feature, tech correspondent Jason Del Rey rode along with DoorDash CEO Tony Xu on a delivery run and got a front-seat look at how Xu built the scrappy upstart into an unexpected powerhouse in the cutthroat meal delivery industry. The startup founded in 2013 by Xu and three fellow Stanford students once had less than $30,000 left in its bank account. Now, thanks to grit, ingenuity, and a heaping serving of luck, it’s on track to generate more than $13 billion this year.  

Here a few lessons other leaders can learn from DoorDash and CEO Xu:

Zig when others zag: Early on, DoorDash distinguished itself in the crowded meal delivery space by enlisting gig workers to pick up—and sometimes even order—food, whereas then-rivals Grubhub and Seamless only partnered with restaurants that had their own delivery drivers.

Obsess over your customer: Xu prides himself on sweating the small stuff to improve service. For instance, DoorDash now highlights desserts on orders because they are the most likely to be forgotten. Its app also advises “Dashers” on where to park and which building entrance to use.

Stay in touch with the front-line experience: Every corporate DoorDash employee in the U.S. must do four delivery shifts a year. On Jason’s ride-along, CEO Xu attempted to deliver four orders in San Francisco. He managed to drop off three and earned $19 for the hour’s worth of work. (DoorDash would top up that amount.) Xu’s hands-on experience stands out in a world in which the ultra-wealthy are living increasingly private lives.  

Strike when there’s blood: When Uber Eats’ parent was rehabilitating its culture and imposing financial discipline in the late 2010s, DoorDash went on a spending blitz. It poached several UberEats executives and expanded from 1,500 locations to 6,000, including into mid-tier cities and suburban towns that rivals had neglected. 

Be ready when opportunity hits: DoorDash’s investment in the suburbs paid off when the COVID pandemic pushed convenience-obsessed consumers out of cities and turned sit-down restaurants on to delivery. DoorDash’s business more than tripled in 2020.

Jason cautions that DoorDash’s lead isn’t safe. It could “be displaced by a competitor like Uber—or an AI-native company that may not yet even exist.” But for now it’s won the meal delivery wars and is moving into new markets, like grocery delivery, where the battle for dominance may be just as fierce.

You can read the full feature here. —Claire Zillman

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

Top news

Trump to announce Fed chair pick

U.S. President Donald Trump says he’s decided who will succeed Jerome Powell as Fed chair. “We’ll be announcing it,” he said Sunday. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is reportedly the frontrunner for the job but declined to address whether he was the top candidate in an interview Sunday. 

Gen Z penny-pinching

Gen Z shoppers, those in their teens to early 20s, plan on spending less this holiday season as economic uncertainty takes hold. A Deloitte survey shows they plan to cut spending 34% this year, steeper than any other cohort. Only Gen Xers, aged 45 to 60, plan to spend more.

Frozen salaries

Major consulting firms like McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group have frozen starting salaries for the third straight year as AI imposes more cautious hiring practices in the industry. AI is making junior employees more productive, putting downward pressure on their pay. 

Smartphone risks for kids

A new study in the journal Pediatrics finds that children who had a smartphone by age 12 were at higher risk of depression, obesity, and inadequate sleep compared to their phoneless peers. The research included 10,500 kids in the U.S., making it the largest long-term look at children’s brain development in the country to date. 

AI job displacement

An MIT study published last week found that nearly 12% of the U.S. workforce could already be replaced by AI systems. The report notably found that AI models can complete tasks in finance and health care, not just in technology or coding. 

Great Wealth Transfer won’t be a ‘big bang’

Northwestern Mutual CEO Tim Gerend told Fortune that the Great Wealth Transfer between Baby Boomers and younger generations won’t be a “big bang” like many expect but instead will come gradually. For young people who are “really anxious” about the economy, per Gerend, waiting for that inheritance only adds to their unease.

The markets

S&P 500 futures are down 0.55% this morning. The last session closed up 0.54%. STOXX Europe 600 was down 0.44% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.03% in earning trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.89%. China’s CSI 300 was up 1.10%. The South Korea KOSPI was down 0.16%. India’s NIFTY 50 is down 0.10%. Bitcoin was down at $87K.

Around the watercooler

Ford workers told their CEO ‘none of the young people want to work here.’ So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder’s playbook by Sasha Rogelberg

Harvard professor says leaders have a responsibility to be happy at work because it can affect your stock price by Dave Smith

From Martha Stewart to Dockers to Toys “R” Us, brand managers are raking in billions betting on classic American names by Amanda Gerut

McDonald’s promoted its new $8 nugget combo meal, then got blasted online with complaints about affordability, quality and service by Nino Paoli

CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams and Claire Zillman.