JEFF BEZOS TELLS THE FOUNDING STORY OF AMAZON

Jeff Bezos tells the founding story of Amazon , what role his ex-wife played in it and whether he expected Amazon's success. 

The typical New York wind probably whistled through the Manhattan street canyons when Jeff Bezos and his boss David E. Shaw walked animatedly through Central Park. Bezos Shaw, owner of an investment firm, had just explained his idea of   an online bookstore and was waiting for a response from the billionaire. It was then: "This is a very good idea, but it would be a much better idea if you didn't already have a good job." But the later Amazon founder should not be put off by this objection. That same year, Bezos left his boss Shaw and New York City and embarked on a journey that took him to Seattle and topped the list of the richest men in the world.

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Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos found Amazon

It's hard to say whether Jeff Bezos would have founded Amazon without his wife MacKenzie at the time. It is said that he would not have taken the risk without his wife's consent. At the Axel Springer Award 2018 in Berlin, Bezos chatted about the foundation and mentioned that he had got Amazon on the road with it.

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos at the Axel Springer Award 2018 in Berlin. (Photo: Jochen G. Fuchs / t3n)

One day Bezos stood in front of his wife at the time and explained her idea of   running a bookshop over the Internet. The whole story was highly risky, Bezo's idea prompted both of them to give up their highly valued Wall Street jobs - MacKenzie first asked, "What is the internet?" “A year later, they both quit, got in the car and set off for Seattle on a road trip.

Although accounting is not her area of   expertise, Bezo's wife, who is now a successful writer, did all of the accounting for Amazon for the first year.

Even in 2019, during the divorce, MacKenzie Bezos remained connected to Amazon's interests; she now owns around $ 36 billion in company shares. She transferred her voting rights and 75 percent of the common shares to Bezos.

The founding idea

In 1993 Jeff Bezos had no master plan for world domination, as is sometimes assumed today. As the Amazon founder in Berlin says, he had a few possible ranges to choose from on a list. But Bezos had one point in his famous Circle of Growth right from the start: Assortment is growth. Bezos chose the books category at the time because it had more products than any other. At that time there were over three million books, Bezos said. "But even the largest bookstores only had a maximum of 150,000 books." He knew that if he wanted to offer the largest selection in the world, it would have to be books.

This is how the legendary sketch of Amazon's business model should look, which Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is said to have painted on a napkin. (Graphic: Jeff Moore, Amazon.com)

How does a Wall Street manager decide to open an online bookstore?

Bezos provides the explanation for this with an insight into his childhood, especially with a view of his grandfather's ranch Pop. A skilled man who solved most of the problems on the farm himself. Words young Jeff took to heart. Bezos was fascinated as a child about how to improve something, the search for solutions.