There was a time when we had to rely on local markets and shops to stock our daily groceries. For an individual who lives alone and works most of the time, it is a rather difficult task to fit into their daily schedule. Plus, there were days when the markets would remain closed for various reasons and on days like that, a person would probably have to survive on the bare minimum.
However, things have been made very convenient for us by companies who offer services to deliver daily groceries to our doorstep. Such services are available across the world. In India, we have companies like Swiggy Instamart and Big Basket. In the US, there’s Instacart which was founded in 2012 by an Indian named Apoorva Mehta.
The idea for Instacart came to Apoorva Mehta because of an empty fridge. He took to LinkedIn to share the interesting story. He revealed that more than a decade ago, he was in his apartment in San Francisco and the only thing that was in his fridge was hot sauce. He couldn’t cook a meal for himself and that was exactly when he had a lightbulb moment.
He realised that it would be great if people could order groceries online and it would be delivered to their doorstep.
“More than a decade ago, I was sitting in my apartment in San Francisco bemoaning the fact that the only thing I had in my refrigerator was hot sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love hot sauce, but you can’t exactly make it a meal. My empty refrigerator was an ongoing problem – and a source of inspiration. It was 2012 and I could shop for everything online except groceries. That was a lightbulb moment for me, and I got started coding the first version of the Instacart App,” he wrote.
He went on to add, “Finally, none of this would have been possible had my parents not made countless sacrifices as we immigrated from India to Libya and then to Canada – all so that one day my brother and I might have a chance to pursue our dreams.”
Have a look at the full post here:
People online congratulated Apoorva for bringing Instacart so far from a simple idea. Some even shared how the app made their lives easier. Here’s what some of them said:
Apoorva Mehta recently earned 1.1 billion USD following the company’s initial public offering, reported Economic Times. At only 37, he is now a billionaire.
Sometimes, solving small problems can lead to big things!