<\/p>\n
Dear Food Tech Unicorn Founders<\/em><\/span> including but not restricted to Deepinder Goyal | Albinder Dhindsa | Saurabh Kumar | Sriharsha Majety | Hari Menon |\u00a0 Aadit Palicha | Kalviya Vohra among others from Zomato | Swiggy |Zepto | Blinkit | Big Basket etc:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n FAST. FURIOUS. FATAL?\u2013 A Love Letter to Our Unicorns on Two Wheels <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0You brilliant minds who’ve revolutionized how India eats and shops \u2013 I’m in awe of your business acumen. Truly. And I’m grateful. The convenience economy you’ve built has transformed our lives in ways we couldn’t imagine a decade ago.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We see them everywhere. Those colorful troops of delivery warriors zigzagging through traffic like their smartphones contain the nuclear codes? I have. Daily. And let me tell you \u2013 it’s not just food they’re delivering; it’s a masterclass in creative traffic violations!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yesterday, as I stood at a signal, I witnessed what can only be described as the “Delivery Olympics<\/em><\/span>” \u2013 a Zomato<\/em><\/span> rider slaloming between cars, a Swiggy<\/em><\/span> compatriot treating the footpath as his personal expressway, and a Blinkit<\/em><\/span> superhero who apparently believed red lights were merely festive decorations. The prize? A few minutes saved. The potential cost? Immeasurable.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But here’s my question, served hot and straight from the heart: Does the future of convenience need to be written in traffic violations and emergency room visits?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When your riders zip through neighborhoods without helmets, when they treat one-ways as suggestions rather than rules, when they view pedestrians as mobile obstacles in their delivery video game \u2013 we have to ask if the 10-minute delivery promise is worth its human cost.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We’ve become a society that can’t wait 15 minutes for food that took 30 minutes to prepare. We need our groceries NOW. We want our coffee YESTERDAY. And in this race to satisfy our impatience, your riders are being pushed to perform delivery miracles.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But here’s the uncomfortable truth: There are no miracles in traffic. There are only physics, vulnerability, and consequences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When your rider zips past my car on the wrong side of the road, helmet-less with one hand on the handlebar and eyes on the GPS, I don’t see efficiency. I see someone’s son, someone’s brother, someone’s provider \u2013 taking risks that no meal or grocery delivery justifies. Does convenience have to come with collateral damage?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am sure we can all see the irony of Customer First<\/em><\/span>. You obsess over NPS, retention, and\u00a0“delight metrics<\/span>.”<\/em>\u00a0But what about the\u00a0Safety NPS<\/em><\/span>? The\u00a0“please don\u2019t die for my biryani<\/span>“<\/em>\u00a0metric?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fact Is<\/em><\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0A rider\u2019s life > a 4.9-star delivery rating<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some obvious red flags<\/em><\/span> to look at here(both literally & figuratively):-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n –<\/strong>No Helmets?<\/em><\/span>\u00a0Bro, even\u00a0Tom Cruise<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>wears one in\u00a0Top Gun<\/em><\/span>. Your riders aren\u2019t Maverick\u2014they\u2019re humans with families.<\/p>\n –<\/strong>Jumping Signals?<\/em><\/span>\u00a0If red = green, maybe we should just let traffic lights\u00a0“pivot<\/span>“<\/em>\u00a0into disco balls.<\/p>\n –<\/strong>Footpath Grand Prix?<\/em><\/span>\u00a0Pedestrians didn\u2019t sign up for\u00a0obstacle racing<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n –<\/strong>Wrong-Side Driving?<\/em><\/span>\u00a0Newton\u2019s third law: Every wrong-side rider\u00a0will<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>meet an angry biker head-on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We love your apps. We love the dopamine hit of Maggi in 10 minutes. We love the convenience of hot food, cold beer, ice cream, condoms, and cornflakes\u2014delivered faster than you can say \u201c30 under 30.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But here’s what we\u00a0don\u2019t<\/em><\/span> love: Your delivery warriors\u2014bless their hustle\u2014riding like Vin Diesel<\/em><\/span> in\u00a0Fast & the Flouting Laws<\/em><\/span>, part 97.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Red light?<\/em><\/span> Just a suggestion.<\/p>\n Helmet?<\/em><\/span> Optional fashion accessory.<\/p>\n Wrong side?<\/em><\/span> Shortcut to productivity.<\/p>\n Footpath?<\/em><\/span> Who needs pedestrians when you have a target to meet?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Every order comes with a free topping of adrenaline and a side of chaos. Are we trying to beat time, or beat death?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s call it out: This is not \u201cdisruption.\u201d This is destruction, dressed in algorithmic urgency.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Unicorns<\/em><\/span>, here’s a thought.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve built some of the most scalable, investable, headline-worthy businesses in the country.<\/p>\n But when did\u00a0safety<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>stop being part of the business model?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n No OKR, no VC deck, no tech stack justifies a 19-year-old risking his spinal cord so I can get my chai latte before my Zoom call.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is not logistics. It\u2019s\u00a0live-sticks<\/em><\/span>\u2014and they\u2019re breaking.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now don\u2019t get me wrong\u2014I\u2019m not here to cancel convenience. I\u2019m not the president of the \u201cBring Back the Dabbawalas<\/em><\/span>\u201d association. I\u2019m just asking for a version update to your mission statements<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One that reads:<\/p>\n \u201cDelighting Customers. Not Endangering Riders. And Other Lives\u201d.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Imagine this:<\/p>\n –Helmets<\/em> <\/span>that are non-negotiable, not photo-ops.<\/p>\n -Delivery timelines that are realistic<\/em><\/span>, not romanticised in pitch decks.<\/p>\n -Riders trained not just in swiping QR codes but also in respecting lanes and lives.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n How about turning \u201c10-minute delivery<\/em><\/span>\u201d into \u201c10\/10 empathy<\/i><\/span>\u201d? Can we be fast<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>without being\u00a0fatal<\/em><\/span>?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To all the unicorn owners reading this\u2014and I hope you are, if your LinkedIn filters include the word \u201cimpact<\/em><\/span>\u201d\u2014you have the power to redefine hustle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because here\u2019s the inconvenient truth<\/em><\/span>: We are building the future of convenience on the broken bones of gig workers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s pivot. Let\u2019s disrupt the idea that\u00a0danger = delight.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n After all, what\u2019s the point of delivering biryani in 9 minutes if one can\u2019t deliver basic human decency at all?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s unbundle the madness.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s decelerate the damage.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s build unicorns that\u00a0don\u2019t leave behind hoof prints on highways<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And hey, we can do it with humor, grace, and better APIs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019ll still order from your apps.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And to us, the consumers feeding this beast with our impatience<\/em><\/span> \u2013 perhaps we need to ask ourselves some questions too if we can make a strategic retreat from being a consumer to being a human<\/em><\/span>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n -Is it worth risking someone’s life to get our paneer tikka 5 minutes faster?<\/p>\n -Can we bear to wait 20 minutes instead of 10 for our groceries if it means safer roads for everyone?<\/p>\n -What responsibility do we bear in this ecosystem of urgency<\/em><\/span>?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our convenience shouldn’t come at the cost of someone else’s safety. And unicorns<\/span><\/em>: You didn\u2019t just build companies\u2014you built\u00a0habits,\u00a0expectations,<\/em><\/span> and an entire\u00a0ecosystem<\/em>\u00a0of urgency<\/span>. Now, it\u2019s time to build\u00a0safety into the algorithm.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And if you permit me a bit of a stretch, here are some thoughts(say masala) for your next boardroom discussion:-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n –Tech That Cares:<\/em><\/span>\u00a0GPS alerts for wrong-side riding, speed governors, mandatory helmet selfies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n –Incentivize Safety<\/em><\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0Reward riders for\u00a0safe<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>deliveries, not just\u00a0fast<\/em><\/span>\u00a0ones.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n –Traffic Rule Bootcamps:\u00a0<\/em><\/span>Because knowing the difference between\u00a0“No Entry”<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0“Challenge Accepted<\/span>“<\/em>\u00a0matters.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n –Customer Education:<\/em><\/span>\u00a0Maybe a pop-up\u2014“Your pizza can wait. Your rider\u2019s life can\u2019t”<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This isn\u2019t a rant\u2014it\u2019s a\u00a0reluctant love letter<\/em><\/span>. I\u00a0admire<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>what you\u2019ve built. But greatness isn\u2019t just about valuation; it\u2019s about\u00a0values<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, dear founders, here\u2019s the challenge: Can you disrupt\u00a0safety<\/span>\u00a0<\/em>like you disrupted hunger<\/span>?<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because right now, the only thing moving faster than your deliveries is the\u00a0risk<\/em><\/span>\u00a0riding pillion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I’m not suggesting we dismantle the beautiful convenience economy you’ve built. I’m simply asking for a recalibration \u2013 one that values human life above delivery metrics.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And no biryani, no matter how fragrant, no groceries, no matter how essential, are worth a life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stay Hungry. Stay Safe. Stay Awesome.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n P.S. <\/em><\/span>If this post saves one life, my job is done. If it gets me free Zomato Gold<\/em><\/span>, well\u2026 that\u2019s just karma.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear Food Tech Unicorn Founders including but not restricted to Deepinder Goyal | Albinder Dhindsa | Saurabh Kumar | Sriharsha Majety | Hari Menon |\u00a0 Aadit Palicha | Kalviya Vohra among others from Zomato | Swiggy |Zepto | Blinkit | Big Basket etc: FAST. FURIOUS. FATAL?\u2013 A Love Letter to Our Unicorns on … Continue reading “The High-Speed, High-Stakes Delivery Game: When 10 Minutes Could Cost a Lifetime”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2092"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2097,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092\/revisions\/2097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}