Amazon is a treasure trove of books, movies, music, electronics, and more. It has become one of the most successful online retailers in the world and it isn’t stopping anytime soon. Learn about how Amazon was founded in the beginning and what is next for this company.
This post will introduce you to how the company started, its proper name (it originally went by Cadabra), what prompted Bezos to create Amazon, as well as some important things that have happened since then.
The Beginning of Amazon
When Amazon was first founded, it went by the name Cadabra. Jeff Bezos found out that there was another company called Cadabra and decided to change his company’s name to avoid confusion. The decision to change the name of his company came after he received a letter from a book retailer which stated that they were going to sue him for using the same word in their name. The Amazon headquarters is in Seattle, Washington, US.
After changing the name, Amazon focused on selling books because it was the most popular item at the time. They started by selling used books and then expanded into new books as well. When people wanted CDs or DVDs for their children, Amazon made sure those items were available in their warehouse stock so there would be no delays in shipping them out.
What’s in a Name?
The name Amazon started as Cadabra. This was because Bezos wanted to keep the company’s identity private so that competitors couldn’t steal its idea. The name changed to Amazon in 1994 when it went public and has been called “the world’s most innovative company” ever since.
Bezos and Amazon’s Early Years
The history of Amazon is a long and storied one, but it all started with Jeff Bezos. Bezos had been working on Wall Street in New York City as an investment analyst and then he found himself at work on September 5th, 1994. That day, Bezos stumbled across an article in the Wall Street Journal about how to start an online bookstore. The next day he went back, read more articles, and decided that he wanted to create a website that would allow people to buy books online.
After brainstorming ideas with his wife MacKenzie, they came up with “Cadabra,” which was just a temporary name for the company until they could come up with something better. They received permission from their boss, who was also their landlord at the time, and leased them space in a garage for $4/month, which was only $2 more than what they were paying for rent in New York City.
From the beginning, Amazon’s business plan was to sell products exclusively through third-party sellers rather than have its inventory — this meant that the company didn’t have to pay taxes or storage fees since there would be no inventory on hand if everything sold out within 24 hours. In addition to this idea being successful because it allowed Amazon to keep costs low and profit high, it has also proved itself beneficial because it encourages new businesses to sell on Amazon without having to worry of getting stuck with a lot of unsold goods like many traditional retailers face.
Amazon Today Continue reading to learn about the future of this company.
Amazon started as a book-selling website called Cadabra. In 1995, Jeff Bezos and his wife were living in New York City while he was working at a Wall Street firm. Due to their interest in books, they looked for an opportunity to build a company that sold books online.
Unfortunately, no one wanted the idea because it was too late for the Internet to take over what people were used to shopping for offline.
Bezos then came up with the idea of Amazon and its now-famous smiley-face logo. While he worked on looking for investors, Bezos took a few months off from work and created Amazon as a hobby.
In 1997, Amazon has been accepted by the public market, but at this point, it did not have any physical stores or employees. The first store opened in Seattle and there are now more than 50 cities around the world with an Amazon store to fulfill customer orders and offer them a convenient place to shop online.
Conclusion
This article provides a brief history of Amazon founders, Jeff Bezos and how the company grew to become what it is today. Amazon has continued to grow through innovation and expansion, but the company’s roots remain as strong as ever. Now that you know the basics of Amazon’s history, it’s time to learn what’s next in the company’s future.
