Economics

Cash Burns Fast for Uber-Like Startups That Grow City by City

Will They End Up Like Webvan and Kozmo.com?

Operations Inside The Good Eggs Distribution Center

Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

When Good Eggs Inc. began delivering fresh, locally farmed food in San Francisco two years ago, the Web startup leased a warehouse and hired a team. Total cost: as much as $1 million.

The need for cash escalated as CEO Rob Spiro moved into Los Angeles, New Orleans and Brooklyn. To fund the expansion, investors backed Good Eggs with $2 million in April 2013, $8.5 million five months later, and $21 million a year after that, in September 2014.