Instacart

Apoorva Mehta's 21st startup idea succeeded where his previous 20 failed because of germination timing, not a better idea. In 2012, environmental factors aligned: smartphone penetration exceeded 50%, GPS accuracy improved, Stripe launched payment infrastructure, the gig economy was normalized by Uber and TaskRabbit, and professionals were willing to pay for convenience. The same seed planted in 2007 would have died; planted in 2015 would have faced Amazon Fresh competition. As of 2025, Instacart has a market cap of approximately $9.7 billion.