The DoorDash Accelerator Program & What It Means For Local Businesses

Episode Summary:

In this episode of Chamber Amplified, Doug Jenkins from the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce sits down with Esther Ladipo Hill from DoorDash to discuss the  DoorDash accelerator program available for local businesses in Findlay. Esther shares insights into the program's objectives, including mentorship, financial grants, and advertising credits designed to help small businesses expand their reach. Local business owners are encouraged to apply by April 21st to take full advantage of this comprehensive support.

This episode delves into the value that the DoorDash accelerator program brings to small, locally-owned businesses. Beyond just being listed on DoorDash, participants will receive a $5,000 grant, a $1,000 ad credit, and access to a wealth of knowledge through various workshops. Esther emphasizes the program's focus on community engagement and how DoorDash serves as both a sales platform and a marketing tool to increase visibility for businesses off the beaten path.

Key Takeaways:

• The DoorDash accelerator program offers mentorship, a $5,000 grant, and a $1,000 ad credit for small businesses in Findlay, Ohio, aiming to support local growth and connectivity with new customers.
• Applications for the program are open until April 21st, with a focus on businesses eager to grow and committed to community involvement.
• The program is open to various types of businesses, including restaurants, flower shops, and convenience stores, emphasizing a broad approach to local commerce.
• Esther highlights the importance of marketing and visibility on DoorDash, where being listed can act as a powerful tool for businesses not located on major thoroughfares.
• The initiative collaborates with local authorities and support organizations to provide workshops that enhance business skills, marketing strategies, and network-building.

Resources:

• Application link for the DoorDash accelerator program: https://doordash.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3qK2CiNK03rUd2S

Music and sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Transcript

0:00:02 - (Doug Jenkins): Hello and welcome to the show. I'm Doug Jenkins from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. On each episode of Chamber Amplified, we're examining issues impacting the local business community. Anything from employee recruitment and retention, marketing, IT issues, current events. It's really anything that can be impacting your business. Our goal is to give our members tips each week on at least one way they can improve operations and thrive in the current business environment.

0:00:26 - (Doug Jenkins): So it's the rare time sensitive episode of Chamber Amplified. There's a deadline if you want to get in on this program that we're going to be talking about, that being the DoorDash accelerator program. You need to have that application filed by April 21st. So we're launching this a little earlier than we normally do. Usually episodes come out on Fridays, but we want to make sure this is out into the community so our local business owners can take advantage of it.

0:00:51 - (Doug Jenkins): This is more than being about on DoorDash. Certainly being listed on DoorDash can be helpful for your restaurant or your retail operation, but this is about more than that. It's a great opportunity for local businesses to secure some funding to learn a little bit more about marketing opportunities that are available to them, secure some advertising dollars. There's a lot that goes into it and the emphasis is on local. This is for really locally owned and operated businesses. We'll talk all about that in the podcast. We'll be joined by Esther Latipo Hill from Doordash to talk all about it. Thanks again for tuning in. Remember, if you're listening on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, you can rate and review the show. It really does help spread the word.

0:01:33 - (Doug Jenkins): Now let's get into it. Let's talk about the accelerator program and what is that?

0:01:39 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): Happy to so the DoorDash accelerator for local Business is a program that's going to support small businesses in Findlay, Ohio, Hancock county, providing them one on one support, mentorship, a $5,000 grant and a $1,000 ad credit. So we're looking to support small local mom and pop, brick and mortar restaurants, flower shops, convenience stores, grocery stores and just provide them with information and education to continue to grow.

0:02:13 - (Doug Jenkins): This is again we mentioned it's just two, two cities in the nation that are part of this program. What made finley appealing to DoorDash for this?

0:02:23 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): Yes, thank you for the question. I think when we started doing research on the markets that we wanted to go to, we looked into markets that were investing in small businesses and we know that Findlay and Hancock county specifically is one of the top micropolitans in the US that are investing in small businesses. So that's why Findlay rose to the top. You have an incredible mayor that is really invested in supporting the small businesses within this community, and we're really looking forward to partnering with her.

0:02:53 - (Doug Jenkins): One of the things about this program is you do not currently have to be signed up with DoorDash. Being interested in it, it's certainly a plus, but it really does, I think, show the value of having your business listed on DoorDash almost is. It's almost as important for my getaway an advertising or exposure standpoint as it is from just a sales standpoint. If you're not on a main road or thoroughfare in Findlay, this is a really good way to get in front of people if they're not driving by your business every day.

0:03:23 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): We agree. We believe that DoorDash is an incredible accelerator in itself for businesses, connecting them to new customers, connecting them to new communities. So we really look forward to inviting businesses that are currently on our platform and businesses that are interested in joining our platform to join this program.

0:03:42 - (Doug Jenkins): You mentioned it's not just restaurants, and I think that's really important to highlight for this. Flower shops are some examples. But beyond just that, that quick service or whatever, it doesn't, I guess it doesn't have to be quick service can be any type of restaurant. What are those types of businesses that would be included?

0:04:01 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): Yeah, beyond like the categories that I spoke to earlier. Restaurants, place, flower shops and grocery. We're really looking for small businesses that are interested and eager and growing. We're looking for businesses that are really invested in their community and that want to network with other small businesses that are looking to grow on and off the DoorDash platform. And like, so far we've gotten some really great applications.

0:04:26 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): I'm really excited to continue reading them and the stories that we're reading. From the investment that folks are already making in their communities to the networks that they're already building, we're really looking forward to just building upon the great work that the city has already done.

0:04:41 - (Doug Jenkins): One of the things that I really like about this is it's not just a hey, sign up and be on door dash. There are workshops. There's a ton of education that goes into it that's beyond just being on the platform itself. This is a really, really valuable resource to our local retailers and restaurants.

0:05:00 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): Absolutely. We are looking forward to working with the mayor's office. She's provide connected us with a ton of other local support organizations that are going to be able to provide one on one support and in person workshops. So we'll be hosting three workshops with business support organizations local to the Hancock county area, including the local Chamber of Commerce. We'll have some real estate workshops. Just a ton of different topics that were hand selected by the city office because they believe that these are the topics that they hear from their constituents, they hear from business owners that they want to learn more about marketing.

0:05:38 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): So we'll have A and R Marketing, which is local to Hancock county, that'll be going over how to improve your marketing on and off the platform. So we are looking forward to working with local business support organizations to make this as tangible and as localized as possible.

0:05:56 - (Doug Jenkins): I think they're certainly on the money with that. I know just through our work that we do here at the chamber, anytime we put out there, hey, what's something you'd like to learn a little bit more about? Marketing is always top one or two spots in there. So definitely that's going to be a valuable resource to it. Obviously, the $5,000 grant that goes to businesses, that's going to catch people's attention.

0:06:16 - (Doug Jenkins): What are the things that that grant can be used for?

0:06:19 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): Great question. It can be used for whatever they would like. I've been running this program for the last four years and we've always had a grant component be part of this program. And typically we see our business owners use it to cover perhaps launching a new location, adding a new food truck, adding a new revenue stream, buying some new equipment, perhaps hiring new staff. So we don't have any restrictions. They're able to use it for what their business needs.

0:06:47 - (Doug Jenkins): When you look at just the impact that this can have, what do you look at for. And you said you've done this for four years. What have you seen out of this program as you've worked on it?

0:07:00 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): Thank you for the question. I think our program has shifted a bit every year to really meet merchants in the moment, which is how we describe it. And we try to focus the program on what we're hearing from what merchants need. So our program last year was focused on launching new revenue streams. So we were in two different markets in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in Washington, D.C. helping around 20 businesses launch a new revenue stream. So for example, let's say they own a barbecue restaurant and they want to package their barbecue sauce.

0:07:34 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): We provided them with education on how to do that. So we had many examples of that last cohort of folks that were able to, whether it's start a catering company as a spinoff. From their restaurant or start a consumer packaged good company. So we had 100% of our last cohort say that they would recommend the accelerator to a fellow business owner. And across our 11 cities that we've been to since 2021, we have a 90% plus approval rating of the so we know that our merchants enjoy working with each other. They enjoy the networking aspect and the local factor of the program as well. So really looking forward to coming to Hancock county and networking with all of the business owners and seeing how they learn from each other, from the city and from DoorDash.

0:08:25 - (Doug Jenkins): So this is way more than a hey, beyond DoorDash type of program. This is a here's how you can grow your business. Here are some resources that are available to you. Here's how you can use those resources to do something that you did not, may not have otherwise had the opportunity to do. That's awesome to see that type of investment in the community.

0:08:43 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): Thank you for saying that. Yes, we believe that DoorDash is a tool and a small business owner's toolkit. We totally understand that we are not the only tool, but we do believe that we are a powerful tool and we look forward to providing these small business owners even more tools in their toolkit, which will come with one on one support, mentorship, our ad credits and mentorship and networking with other small business owners as well, in addition to the educational workshops.

0:09:11 - (Doug Jenkins): Really looking forward to being able to get this out in front of the community. And that's just looking at how DoorDash has grown over the last. I don't know, how long has DoorDash been around now? A decade longer?

0:09:22 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): Yeah, a little bit over a decade.

0:09:24 - (Doug Jenkins): And it's crazy because we all think about how we used it five years ago. We won't mention why we were using it so much five years ago, but it was quite helpful. But it's so much more than what it was even then. Can you talk just a little bit about how the platform itself has grown over the last five, ten years?

0:09:40 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): Absolutely. I think this program is a great reflection of showing how the platform has has grown. So in 2021, when we originally launched this program, it was just for restaurant owners. And since then it's been able to grow to support consumer packaged goods with this specific cohort launching and supporting any small business that has a brick and mortar space and that speaks to DoorDash. Right now, it's not just your restaurants that are on there. There's convenience stores, there's grocery stores, there's pharmacies.

0:10:10 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): We really are trying to bring more to folks's door and more, including not just food, but your everyday essentials as well.

0:10:19 - (Doug Jenkins): So the deadline to apply is April 21. What do people need to have in front of them when they go to do that application?

0:10:27 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): Yeah, that's a great question. I would come prepared to share your business story. Why did you launch your business? Why are you interested in the accelerator? What difference have you made in your community? We won't ask for a ton of your, like, business verification information at the specific application because we really want you just to come prepared with your story. And if you're selected, that's when we will ask for, you know, your business bank verification and things like that. So I wouldn't be too concerned to have that on the outset, but I would come prepared with just your story, your why, and specifically why you're interested in this accelerator.

0:11:08 - (Doug Jenkins): All right, we will put the link to the application in the show notes for the podcast as well. Esther, we really appreciate your time today. This has been really informative. It's an exciting time for a community and thanks for being a part of it.

0:11:20 - (Esther Ladipo Hill): Thank you so much for having me.

0:11:23 - (Doug Jenkins): And remember the deadline to apply for that program April 21st. We'll have a link to the application in the show notes for this podcast. Make sure you take care of that. It Sounds like about 30 local businesses have already applied, so a good number so far. But we'd like to see that number a little higher if we can get there. And remember, it's a $5,000 grant for each business that gets approved. So that is a great way to secure some funding. That, again, as you heard Esther say, can go toward anything. If you're looking to hire, you could apply it to that. Maybe you have some equipment you need to buy, you could apply to that. It's really whatever you want to do with it.

0:11:56 - (Doug Jenkins): And for those who are maybe hesitant for being on DoorDash, I get it. Although I do look at it like, and we talked about this with Esther a little bit. If you are not on Main street, if you are not on Trenton Avenue, if you're not on Tiffin Avenue and you don't have that traffic that's just driving by on a daily basis, just being listed on DoorDash can serve as a de facto advertisement for you, whether or not you even get the orders, especially from a retail standpoint. It just is another way to let the community know that you're there.

0:12:27 - (Doug Jenkins): Kind of almost works like a billboard in that point. Maybe they're not thinking of, let's say, your barbecue restaurant. Maybe they're not thinking of barbecue that night, but if they use doordash enough and they see that you oh, hey, you know what I'm thinking? Barbecue tonight. They're aware of your restaurant, even if you're not on a main thoroughfare through town. So it's an interesting way to look at it. Something worth looking into.

0:12:48 - (Doug Jenkins): Chamber Amplified is a free podcast for the community. Thanks to the investment of members from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce and because of our robust membership, we're able to focus on providing timely information to the Findlay and Hancock county business community, run leadership programs for adults and teenagers, and to be an advocate for the area, all while providing tools to help local businesses succeed. If that sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, just let me know and we can talk about how an investment in the Chamber not only strengthens your business business, but the community as a whole.

0:13:16 - (Doug Jenkins): That'll do it for this week's episode. If you have ideas for topics you'd like to hear covered in the future, just send me an email. Djenkinsindleyhancockchamber.com thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time on Chamber Amplified from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce.