Entrepreneur Bio: Jeff Bezos Of the many entrepreneurs that have succeeded in their ventures, Jeff Bezos stands in a class of his own. His major claim to fame is being the founder and CEO of Amazon.com, which first started as an online bookstore, and then proceeded to expand into other products. Amazon.com eventually became the largest retailer on the Internet and a prime example for e-commerce.
The Early Years Bezos was born Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His mother divorced his father shortly after his birth, and later married Miguel Bezos, who legally adopted Jeff after the marriage. As a young boy, Jeff Bezos showed in interest in science. One of his earliest science projects was rigging an electric alarm to keep his siblings out of his room. The family moved to Miami where Bezos attended high school and was valedictorian.
College and Work Bezos attending Princeton University where he initially planned to major in physics, but eventually decided to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree. After college, he began working on Wall Street in the computer science field. He was employed at a company called Fitel, where he was tasked to build a network of international trade. His next job was at Bankers Trust where he became vicepresident, and then moved onto the computer science division at D.E. Shaw & Co.
Amazon.com Origins Bezos wrote up the plans for Amazon.com while making a cross-country drive from New York to Seattle. He literally started the company in his garage and left his high paying job at a New York hedge fund when he learned about the increased growth in Internet use. The recent Supreme Court ruling that exempted online retailers from having to collect sales taxes from states where they did not have a physical presence caused his to move to Washington, since the lower population would reduce the amount of people that would need to pay sales tax. Bezos decided that his company would sell books online, due to their low price points and wide variety of titles available. Within two months, Amazon’s sales were up $20,000 per week, and they were continuing to increase.
Secret to Success Bezos’ genius had a large part to play in the reason why Amazon succeeded. He devised an unconventional business plan which did not expect to make a profit for around four to five years. Stockholders initially complained about this slow growth model, but after Amazon survived the burst of the dot-com bubble at the turn of the century, it became a massive name in online sales.
Jeff Bezos is an inspiration to entrepreneurs everywhere. His decision to pursue an idea resulted in wealth, fame, and success. If you are interested in running a company of your own, start by getting a business degree no matter if you live in Cheyenne or Los Angeles.