Doorman was a privately held American

technology company A technology company (or tech company) is a company that focuses primarily on the manufacturing, support, research and development of—most commonly computing, telecommunication and consumer electronics–based—technology-intensive products and ...

specializing in

logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

services and products. The company managed and operated fulfillment centers and independent driver fleets in densely populated urban areas, addressing the last mile gap between

online retailer Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of t ...

s and their customers. It also developed, marketed and operated the Doorman

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

, which allowed consumers to use their

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

or Android-based

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

to schedule evening delivery of goods purchased online, or arrange pick up of goods intended to be shipped back to an online retailer. The company also offered direct-to-consumer

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

brands fulfillment and same-day

package delivery Package delivery, or parcel delivery, is the delivery of shipping containers, parcels, or high-value mail in single shipments. The service is provided by most postal systems, express mail, private courier companies, and less-than-truckload shipp ...

services through the use of its

application programming interface An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that des ...

. By May 2016, Doorman operated locations in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City. Citing financial difficulties and operating at a loss Doorman ceased to operate on October 6, 2017.

History

Doorman was founded in 2013 by Zander Adell and Kapil Israni and is headquartered in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. In February 2014,

500 Startups 500 Global (previously 500 Startups) is an early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator founded in 2010 by Dave McClure and Christine Tsai. The fund admitted a first "class" of twelve startups to its incubator office in Mountain View, Californ ...

announced that Doorman would take part in Batch 8 of its

business accelerator Startup accelerators, also known as seed accelerators, are fixed-term, cohort-based programs, that include mentorship and educational components, and (sometimes) culminate in a public pitch event or demo day. While traditional business incubato ...

program. In October 2015, the company expanded its operations to Chicago. In November 2015, the company expanded its operations to New York City.

Funding

In June 2015, the company raised $1.5 million in seed funding, led by Motus Ventures and included participation from WTI, MicroVentures, and VGO Ventures. In September 2015, Doorman raised an additional $1.5 million in seed funding from Matrix Partners, Structure Capital, VGO Ventures and others.

Product

Users must download the Doorman app to their

or Android-based phone, sign up, enter a valid phone number, and enter a valid form of payment to utilize the service. Upon signing up, the user is given a unique shipping address (similar to a

P.O. Box A post office box (commonly abbreviated as P.O. box, or also known as a postal box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office. In some regions, particularly in Africa, there is no door-to-door delivery ...

) at their local Doorman warehouse to have their goods shipped to. Doorman then notifies the user when it receives the users package via its smartphone app. When a user wants their package(s) delivered, he or she opens the app and schedules package delivery during the one or two-hour delivery window of their choice. In January 2016, Doorman announced the ability for customers to request the pickup of return items they purchased online.

In Mass Media

CEO Zander Adell pitched Doorman on Season 6 Episode 13 of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

investment television show ''

Shark Tank ''Shark Tank'' is an American business Reality television#Investments, reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on American Broadcasting Company, ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 2012)Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank ...

'' (which also featured fellow San Francisco startup

Coffee Meets Bagel __NOTOC__ Coffee Meets Bagel is a San Francisco–based dating and social networking service. History Coffee Meets Bagel was created by three sisters: Arum, Dawoon, and Soo Kang. Arum first had the idea for the app in 2011, and the sisters launc ...

), where it got an investment from shark Robert Herjavec. Adell frequently appears on both regional and national television broadcasts around the holidays. Adell has appeared on

CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...

's ''

Squawk Box ''Squawk Box'' is an American business news television program that airs from 6 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Zone, Eastern time on CNBC. The program is co-hosted by Joe Kernen, Rebecca Quick, Becky Quick, and Andrew Ross Sorkin. Since debuting in 19 ...

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

, and regional news broadcasts in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York on CBS, ABC, FOX, and NBC.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doorman Companies based in San Francisco Logistics companies of the United States Defunct online companies of the United States IOS software Android (operating system) software 500 Startups companies American companies established in 2013 American companies disestablished in 2017 Transport companies established in 2013 Internet properties established in 2013 Transport companies disestablished in 2017 Internet properties disestablished in 2017 Transportation companies based in California 2013 establishments in California 2017 disestablishments in California Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area