Season 2 Episode 1: Doordash Hiding Tips and Is Para Dead?

We are back finally for season 2!

Today we have David Pickerell back again to talk about Para, the little app that forced a giant to change their programming.

You may have heard of Para, especially if you deliver Doordash. Doordash has been notorious for hiding part of the tip on delivery offers. David's team at Para was able to figure out a way to identify what the actual pay amount would be for Doordash offers and show it as a notification to Dashers.

It worked great until it didn't. Doordash showed they were pot committed to keeping Dashers in the dark on delivery offers, updating their app so that the total payout information is no longer available.

Today's Guest:

David Pickerell is cofounder and CEO of Para. an app designed for delivery drivers and independent contractors. David was a guest on Episode 102 and joins us again to talk to us about what happened with Para and tip transparency, what does the end of Tip Transparency mean, and what happens next?

What we Talk About

The elephant in the room.

Before we dive into the interview, I talk about the seven month gap between our last episode and today. What happened? What's up with the new season? I talk about transitioning into more work on EntreCourier and better identifying the purposes of both the website and the podcast. 

Setting up the interview

It starts with Para. David introduced Para to us 7 months ago with his vision for an app to help drivers. Since then, Para has introduced some features here and there.

But the big thing in the news was Para's Tip Transparency feature. If you deliver for Doordash, you're aware they like to hide part of the delivery pay when offering a trip. Para was able to identify the total pay amount and display that to drivers via an app notification.

Doordash figured it out and changed their programming so that it was no longer possible to identify the full pay. This of course shut down Para's Tip Transparency feature. Is this the end for Para?

The interview

David shares what happened with Para. He shares how they knew something was changing, what Doordash did to disable Tip Transparency, and how Para responded. He identifies some of the features Para is working on next as well as where they are going next with their app development.

My thoughts.

I think there are two important questions that come out of this:

What does it mean for Para?

What does it mean for us?

We talk about the importance of identity and the big picture, and how it's that concept of the big picture that means that this is NOT the end for Para. I also share why I think that the big picture needs to become a point of focus for Para if they do want to grow from this.

Then I talk about what we do when Doordash or any other app doesn't provide the information we want, or when an important app quits working. The important takeaway from this?

Take control.

More about the EntreCourier

David's previous appearance on Episode 102

Show notes on EntreCourier for this episode

Article on Para Tip Transparency

Article on Is Para Dead?

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