[Good Companies Rising] Delivery Fee 0 Won Platform 'Doit'... How It Survives Between Baemin and Coupang Eats

Launched in April This Year... 20% of Population in 4 Neighborhoods of Gwanak-gu, Seoul Subscribed
Zero Delivery Fee, 10% Lower Commission, Minimum Order Amount 7,000 Won
Hashed, BDC Accelerator, and Others Raise 2.6 Billion Won in Seed Investment

Lee Yoon-seok, CEO of Doit.
Photo by Kwak Min-jae

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Minjae] “During lunchtime, when you look at apartments and officetels, you often see two or three riders boarding the elevator carrying similar food. Is it efficient for so many riders to deliver separately at similar times? Could the high delivery fees we pay for food delivery be due to this inefficiency? These thoughts came to me. Inspired by the idea of group purchasing products, I founded a zero-delivery-fee platform to try group purchasing for everyday meals.”

Awakened to the Positive Functions of Startups While Working at Coupang and Toss

Lee Yoonseok, CEO of the food delivery platform 'Doit,' was not initially interested in starting a business. While attending KAIST, he served as the student council president and was deeply interested in social issues. As a so-called activist, after graduating, he worked as a developer and product owner (PO) at Coupang and Toss (Viva Republica), where he began contemplating entrepreneurship.

He said, “Working directly at startups made me realize that companies can genuinely improve people's lives. To positively change as many lives as possible, I chose a delivery platform to transform consumption habits.” Launched in April this year, Doit has gained popularity by securing about 20% of the population as members in four neighborhoods of Gwanak-gu, competing with established platforms like Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats.

The biggest feature of Doit is that the delivery fee is zero. Doit achieves zero delivery fees by real-time tracking of delivery food demand from neighbors near users and optimizing delivery routes through grouped deliveries. For example, if someone living in an officetel is hungry and wants Korean food, they can open the Doit app and start a ‘team order.’ When three people nearby want to order delivery food, the team order is confirmed, the order is sent, and once the food is prepared, a dedicated rider picks up all orders at once and delivers them to each home. The minimum order amount is set at 7,000 won, which is lower than established platforms. There is no case where a single-person order is avoided due to delivery fee concerns on Doit.

The commission fee charged to partner stores is also 10% lower than that of established platforms. The number of partner stores is limited to ensure profitability for small business owners. Lee said, “When I met small business owners, their biggest concerns were high commissions and uncertain sales. Doit lowers commission burdens and limits the number of partner stores to 3-5 per category to prevent excessive competition, ensuring their profitability.” He explained that small business owners do not have to pay marketing costs unwillingly just to compete excessively within the platform and appear at the top.

Since the number of stores is limited, each store is carefully selected through strict criteria. If a store is listed on other platforms, reviews are first checked, followed by a visit to taste the food personally. Limiting the number of stores also guarantees riders’ earnings.

He said, “By limiting the number of stores, riders can perform grouped and short-distance deliveries. Compared to single deliveries, they can earn more than twice as much per hour, and currently about 1,000 riders are registered.”

A Structure That Generates Profit as ‘User Density’ Increases

Can Doit make money while offering zero delivery fees, 10% lower commissions, and a minimum order amount of 7,000 won? According to CEO Lee, profitability is guaranteed as user density increases.

He explained, “Ultimately, Doit operates on a commission per delivery basis. As user density increases, neighbors nearby order more frequently, riders’ routes are shortened, deliveries can be grouped more, and the number of deliveries per hour rises, which improves Doit’s profitability.”

Doit is focusing on customer convenience to increase user density, even if it means short-term losses. If fewer than three people join a team order, after 10 minutes, the restaurant starts preparing the food and delivers it directly to the customer’s home regardless. CEO Lee believes that even if there are short-term deficits, trust in Doit will grow, and as more people use the service, cases where team orders cannot be matched will become very rare. Although the Doit app has been available for eight months, the reorder rate among customers exceeds 60%.

So far, Doit has raised 2.6 billion won in seed investment from Hashed, VDC Accelerator, and others. The plan is to secure Series A funding in the first half of next year and expand business to the entire Gwanak-gu and four other districts in Seoul.

CEO Lee said, “People around me often say Doit is like a combination of Baedal Minjok, Coupang, and Danggeun Market because it delivers food like Baedal Minjok, improves consumption efficiency at low prices like Coupang, and connects neighbors like Danggeun Market. Doit believes in the idea that ‘better consumption is possible together’ and will continue striving to realize this belief.”