Instacart's Fidji Simo | What's in Store | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Instacart's CEO, Fiji Simo, shares her vision of transforming the grocery industry through technology and becoming the technology backbone for the trillion-dollar industry.

Key Insights

• 🤪 Instacart's vision goes beyond online grocery delivery, aiming to become the technology backbone for the entire grocery industry.
• 🤩 Collaboration with grocers and being an enabler for their growth is a key focus for Instacart.
• 🙈 The company sees continued potential for growth in the online grocery delivery market, despite the shifting macroeconomic climate.
• 💯 Instacart maintains a balance between investing in future growth and ensuring efficiency and resource management in its core business.
• 📺 Transitioning from a founder to a CEO role can be challenging, but Simo sought advice from existing leaders within the company to align her vision with the established culture.
• 🧑‍🏫 Simo's experience at Facebook taught her the importance of making non-obvious bets to drive career and company growth.
• 🤩 Sharing context and adding value to teams are key qualities of the best managers and leaders according to Simo.
• 👻 Socio-economic initiatives can be integrated into the core business, allowing for greater impact and investment.
• 🤔 Shopify's approach of starting from first principles has influenced Simo's thinking, highlighting the importance of unique solutions and constant improvement.
• 👻 Racing against oneself and carving a unique path is more fulfilling and allows for unleashing one's creativity and purpose.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How does Instacart plan to balance investment and growth in the current economic climate?

Instacart recognizes the potential for steady growth in the online grocery delivery market and plans to make strategic investments in building technology for stores. Simo also emphasizes the importance of efficiency and resource management to prepare for potential economic changes.

Q: What led Fiji Simo to join Instacart after her tenure at Facebook?

Simo was drawn to the opportunity to transform an entire industry and create positive impact by leveraging technology in the food supply chain. She also sought the advice of Instagram co-founders to align her vision with the existing culture of the company.

Q: How does Instacart approach social good initiatives like Instacart Health while balancing shareholder expectations?

Instacart integrates social good with its core business, aiming to solve America's food problems through improved food access and nutrition. Simo believes that aligning the core business with social good initiatives allows for greater impact and investment in solving important problems.

Q: How does Fiji Simo build high-performing teams at Instacart?

Simo focuses on attracting and assessing the right talent, considering both the magnet-like qualities of recruiting and the bouncer-like role of evaluating cultural fit. She also emphasizes the importance of enabling individual growth, creating an environment of shared best practices, and multiplying the impact of each team member.

Summary

In this video, Fiji Simo, CEO of Instacart, discusses the company's ambitions, growth, and strategies. She talks about Instacart's vision to become the technology backbone of the grocery industry and how they aim to power every grocery transaction. Fiji also shares insights on the current economic climate and how Instacart is balancing investments and resources. She reflects on her transition from being on the board of Instacart to becoming its CEO and the opportunities she saw in transforming an entire industry. Fiji also discusses her experience at Facebook and the key moments that shaped her leadership skills. Additionally, she provides insights on building high-performing teams and the importance of attracting the right talent. Lastly, Fiji talks about Instacart's initiative called Instacart Health, which aims to improve access to nutritious food and how it aligns with the company's core business.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does Fiji define Instacart's ambitions?

Fiji sees Instacart as more than just an online grocery delivery service. She envisions Instacart as the technology backbone of the entire grocery industry, with the aim to power every grocery transaction. This ambitious vision goes beyond online delivery and includes building technology for stores as well.

Q: How has the economic climate affected Instacart's growth?

Fiji acknowledges that Instacart experienced significant growth during the pandemic but anticipates a more tempered growth rate moving forward. While the pandemic boosted online grocery delivery, there is still room for growth as the grocery industry is the least penetrated online. She highlights the importance of being responsible, efficient, and adaptable in the current macro environment.

Q: What led Fiji to join Instacart as CEO after being on the board?

Fiji joined Instacart's board to learn more about different businesses and spent time understanding the company and its potential for growth. The opportunity to transform an entire industry and solve crucial problems related to food and the food supply chain convinced her to take on the role of CEO. She also sought advice from Instagram's co-founders on aligning her vision with the company's existing culture.

Q: How did Fiji grow as a leader during her time at Facebook?

Fiji mentions two key moments at Facebook that helped her grow as a leader. The first was leading ads inside news feeds and mobile, which involved taking non-obvious bets and making them work. This taught her the importance of making unconventional decisions and challenging common wisdom. The second moment was the launch of Facebook Live and Facebook Watch, where she learned the value of being persistent in driving the right outcomes while being flexible in the journey to achieve them.

Q: How does Fiji assemble high-performing teams and ensure they work seamlessly together?

Fiji believes in attracting the right talent by being a magnet that attracts suitable candidates but also acting as a bouncer to ensure the right fit. She spends time validating candidates' fit with the company culture and values. Fiji also emphasizes the need to understand each individual's magic and unleash it as part of the leadership team. She encourages the sharing of skills, best practices, and collaboration among team members to foster a culture of excellence and support.

Q: How does Instacart balance investing in social good initiatives while considering shareholder wishes?

Fiji doesn't see a tension between social good initiatives and the core business. She believes that the best way to do social good is to align the core business with positive outcomes in the world. Instacart Health, for example, aims to improve access to nutritious food, which is a massive social good. This aligns with Instacart's core business of delivering food and can result in both positive impact on the world and business growth.

Q: What advice does Fiji have for herself in 2017?

Fiji would advise herself in 2017 to focus more on running her own race and being the best version of herself rather than comparing herself to others and competing with them. She realized that it is important to unleash one's own creative power and embrace uniqueness, as constantly chasing and imitating others can hinder one's own growth and impact.

Takeaways

Fiji Simo, CEO of Instacart, envisions the company as the technology backbone of the grocery industry. They aim to power every grocery transaction and collaborate with partners to lift up the entire ecosystem. Despite the current economic climate, Instacart sees steady growth opportunities in the online grocery market. Fiji emphasizes the importance of attracting the right talent, validating their fit with the company culture, and unleashing their unique skills. She believes in aligning the core business with social good initiatives for greater impact. Additionally, Fiji highlights the significance of running one's own race, focusing on personal growth, and embracing uniqueness rather than competing with others.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Instacart aims to be more than just an online grocery delivery service, seeking to become the technology behind every grocery transaction and enable the growth of its partners.

• Simo emphasizes the importance of growing the overall industry and collaborating with grocers to create a better food supply chain.

• Despite the uncertainty of the macro economy, Instacart plans to invest in building technology for stores while maintaining efficiency and productivity in its core business.