Elizabeth Yin said she had once advised against an early Instacart investment because the valuation was too high; DoorDash is acquiring the company for about $17 billion
Venture capitalist Elizabeth Yin posted on X on November 6 that DoorDash is acquiring Instacart for about $17 billion. She recalled that at her previous company, her boss asked whether they should invest in Instacart at a $10 million post-money valuation, and she advised passing because the valuation seemed high and the business was capital-intensive.
Yin calculated that from a $10 million post-money valuation to a $17 billion exit, that is a 1,700x return before dilution. Taking later-round dilution into account, she estimated the fund may have held about 15%, corresponding to an approximately 250x return. Based on a roughly $100,000 check, the fund could recover about $25 million. She explained the carry mechanism: after the fund’s investors recover their principal, the fund keeps about 20% of the profit and distributes it to the team.
Yin said that as a partner rather than a founder or managing partner, her carry share was in the low single-digit percentage range, and carry typically vests over seven years; she had not fully vested when she left. She said that the actual cost of a paper mistake worth several million dollars was closer to $10,000. She also noted that if she had invested $1,000 as an angel, the return would have been about $250,000, far higher than the carry share in a fund role.
Original source:
Title: DoorDash is buying Instacart for about $17B... Publisher: Elizabeth Yin (@dunkhippo33) Publication date: 2026-11-06 URL: https://x.com/dunkhippo33/status/2118766171080061300 Source type: social media original post (thread) Verification status: original post read in this report and Reuters confirmation of the acquisition, verification date 2026-11-06 Supporting content: supports all personal experience, return calculations, and carry explanation in the body
ABAB AI Insight
Venture capitalist Elizabeth Yin posted on November 6 that DoorDash is acquiring Instacart for about $17 billion. She recalled that she had once advised passing on the investment at a $10 million post-money valuation because the valuation was high and the business was capital-intensive.
In terms of the return and carry path, Yin calculated that from a $10 million post-money valuation to a $17 billion exit, the return would be 1,700x before dilution; after later dilution, the fund may have held about 15%, corresponding to about 250x. Based on a roughly $100,000 check, the fund could recover about $25 million. She explained carry as about 20% of the fund’s profits; as a partner, her share was in the low single digits, and it vested over seven years, with her not yet fully vested when she left. The actual cost was closer to $10,000.
Compared with angel investing, Yin noted that a $1,000 angel investment could potentially return about $250,000. The similarity is that both involve early-stage investing; the key difference is that a fund role’s carry share and vesting restrictions leave the individual return far below direct angel investing. DoorDash and Instacart announced the approximately $17 billion transaction on October 29, and it is expected to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028.
For Yin, this reflection underscores the limited real scale of personal carry in a fund role. For venture capital, the long-term impact of passing on an early investment depends on the ownership stake and vesting. For the market, the Instacart acquisition reflects consolidation in delivery, but Yin’s calculation is based on her personal estimate.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
Yin once advised passing on Instacart at a $10 million post-money valuation, and DoorDash is acquiring it for about $17 billion.
She estimated the fund may have held about 15%, corresponding to about a 250x return, but her personal carry share was limited and not fully vested.
A paper mistake worth several million dollars had an actual cost closer to $10,000.