Today our team members sat down with Dylan Richter, one of DoorDash's earliest employees, for an inside look at how a small idea can grow into a massive company, and how the people behind that growth build their own careers along the way.

Dylan grew up outside Chicago, where his high school's student population was about the size of the city of Hillsboro itself. As a side hustle, he gave basketball lessons to kids to make some extra money. He attended Washington University, studying business while playing basketball, and later got an internship with the Harlem Globetrotters before landing his first real job after college.

In 2014, Dylan joined DoorDash as one of its earliest hires, working in the company's fourth ever market. He was hired as a community manager after noticing great qualities in the people interviewing him and deciding he wanted to be part of that team. He later moved into marketing, where he learned that growth rarely comes from one big idea. Instead, it comes from trying tons of strategies, most of which won't work, until you find the ones that do.

One theme carried through the entire conversation: be willing to admit when you don't know something, and go find the answer instead of guessing. Our CEO team members are grateful for Dylan's time and honesty, and for the reminder that a career rarely moves in a straight line, but every step still teaches you something worth carrying forward.