In 1994, Amazon was founded in Seattle by Jeff Bezos and has since become the largest online retailer in the world, as well as one of the most valuable companies with a current stock value over $500 billion. The company started off selling books online and has since diversified into just about every type of product imaginable. It even runs its own online service where customers can buy everything from lawn mowers to restaurant gift cards and have it delivered right to their door step! With all of the success that this company has seen over the past two decades, what are some things that other entrepreneurs could learn from Jeff Bezos? Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon
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Early Life
Jeff grew up in a family which struggled to make ends meet. His father was an alcoholic and abusive. He attended Miami Palmetto High School and was valedictorian there. He studied at Princeton University and then joined Wall Street as a financial analyst with D.E Shaw. After doing his MBA from Harvard Business School he worked at Bankers Trust in NY for four years as a hedge fund manager. Finally he founded amazon in 1994
| Name | Jeff Bezos, |
| Born | Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Education | Princeton University (BSE) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneurmedia proprietorinvestorcomputer engineer |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Title | Founder and Executive Chairman of Amazon Founder of Blue Origin Founder of Bezos Expeditions |
| Spouse(s) | MacKenzie Scott (m. 1993; div. 2019) |
| Partner(s) | Lauren Sánchez (2019–present) |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Mark Bezos (brother) George Strait (cousin) |
How He Started His Company
Jeff Bezos was working on Wall Street when he decided to start an online bookstore. He left his job at a New York City hedge fund and relocated to Seattle in 1994 to launch his company in his garage. In 1998, he began selling books internationally and opened new offices. The company now has warehouses across North America, Europe and Asia.
The Culture at Amazon
The goal at Amazon is to build an enduring institution that customers love. The way you do that is by working hard and inventing on behalf of customers. This can’t be a motto. It has to be woven into every fiber of your being—even if you are only building a website or offering customer service. Everything you do needs to start with, What’s best for our customers? Our number one priority — and almost everything we do — is to serve customers.
Advice From Jeff Bezos
You Can’t Look Back : The key thing is to always look forward. Anybody who looks back, even a year is going to be a failure. That would be true whether you are running a company or in any relationship. You have to be focused on what you want and building out those steps you need to achieve it… [H]ow do I know that?..
