From a college student looking to make some extra cash to VP of Operations, Christian Hilty has had quite the ride here at DeliverThat.
Like many other college students at The Ohio State University, Christian was in need of some weekend cash. After seeing a new company in the food delivery space, Christian jumped on the opportunity. At the time, DeliverThat was just beginning to expand, in fact, Columbus, Ohio was the first major market DeliverThat launched back in 2017.
Back then, DeliverThat was still doing market launches in person, which meant sending a team member to the desired city to conduct ride-alongs, meet with potential restaurant partners, and grow the team in that market. Columbus being the first expansion city, DeliverThat founders, Aaron Hoffman & John Zinno led the charge.
After signing up on DeliverThat’s website, Christian was instructed to meet at Qdoba Mexican Grill at 10:00 AM sharp to go on a “Ride Along” to learn DeliverThat’s policies and procedures. Little did Christian know, his “Ride Along” would be conducted by DeliverThat’s CEO and CO-Founder. “I was so caught off guard by the fact that I was doing my Ride Along with the CEO! It also spoke to me that the CEO of a company would be on the front lines of his business to ensure that the quality of the drivers on DeliverThat’s platform was up to his standards” said Christian.
“During my ride along, Aaron and I clicked. We shared the same values, drive, and determination” said, Christian. After the ride along Christian and Aaron kept in touch while Christian continued to deliver catering orders around Columbus. “Around the end of my senior year, Aaron asked me to join the DeliverThat team in a higher capacity and I couldn't say no,” Christian explained.
Upon graduation, Christian moved west out to Phoenix, Arizona in June of 2018, where DeliverThat would begin its western expansion. Bringing the DeliverThat experience out to Phoenix, this metro quickly became a powerhouse for DeliverThat all thanks to Christian’s efforts. Christian would also launch Chicago, Denver, and Seattle.
With the business growing faster than anyone could imagine, DeliverThat needed to establish a headquarters, what better city to plant the DT flag in than the founder's hometown of Canton, Ohio. Now having an office and a team, the right person needed to direct the day-to-day operations. CEO, Aaron Hoffman had the perfect person in mind for this role, no one other than Christian Hilty. “When I received the offer from Aaron, I was back in Canton in two days.”
"Aaron and John had a brilliant, industry-changing idea and business model and some amazing partners. At the time, our direction for expansion lacked clarity. It was a risk to move to Phoenix with a young company but I did it for the people. The leaders of this company have always been transparent and encouraged growth. This got me in the door and to this day is my reason for passionately pushing our business to new heights," said Christian.
Now the VP of Operations for DeliverThat, Christian lives DeliverThat’s slogan: By Drivers, For Drivers