The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch 20VC: The Insane Story of DeliveryHero: Losing $200M on a Gorillas Investment | Winning the Emerging Markets Delivery War with 35 Acquisitions | Competing with Uber and Doordash in a Capital Arms Race with Niklas Östberg
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Mar 27, 2025 
Niklas Östberg, the visionary Founder and CEO of Delivery Hero, shares his insights from leading a global food delivery powerhouse. He discusses the costly $200M loss on Gorillas and the lessons learned from 35 acquisitions, including the strategic purchase of Glovo. Östberg explores the tough competition against giants like Uber and DoorDash while shedding light on why emerging markets are ripe for investment. He emphasizes the importance of operational excellence, resilience, and adapting to market dynamics in the fast-paced world of quick commerce.
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Gorillas Investment
- Investing $200 million in Gorillas, a quick-commerce company, was a mistake due to changing market conditions.
- Trusting cohort analysis and fundamental business metrics is crucial, even when short-term results seem promising.
Buy vs. Build
- Delivery Hero prefers building rather than buying companies now due to high valuations and potential distractions.
- Acquisitions must significantly improve the rest of the business to be worthwhile.
Cohort Analysis in M&A
- Cohort analysis, including repeat rate, customer acquisition, and margin prediction, is crucial for evaluating acquisitions.
- Glovo's strong cohorts and predictable margins made it a valuable acquisition despite initial losses.