You know Amazon’s slogan: ‘Work Hard. Have Fun. Make History’.
Indeed, it did make history as it is now known as a superstore that sells everything from A to Z.
It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t heard of Amazon or even used its services.
That’s how influential and big Amazon has grown.
But how did Amazon, which started off as a modest online bookstore, grow to what it is today?
Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos dreamed big and aimed high. He wanted Amazon to dominate the ecommerce market. Opening a digital bookstore was merely Stage 1 of his ambitious project.
Well, let’s start with a few interesting and unique facts about the company before reading the infographic.
Cadabra was Amazon’s Original Name
When Bezos first created the company, he wanted to name it Cadabra since it sounded mystical.
After going through a few suggestions from various partners and lawyers, he finally chose the word ‘Amazon’. Since it starts with the letter A, the site appears near the top of search engine results, which were listed alphabetically when it was first launched.
Barnes and Noble Meet-Up
In Amazon’s early days, the company didn’t have its own office to hold meetings. In fact, it first ran from Bezos’ garage.
Instead of always holding meetings in Bezos’s garage, where most of the day-to-day operations occurred, its employees sometimes went to Barnes and Noble to have their meetings there.
All Work, No Play
Today, Amazon is known for its generous holiday and vacation time to its employees. It’s a pinnacle that drives most people to apply for a position in the company.
However, when it first started, Bezos had no concept of a work-life balance. In fact, he expected his employees to work at least sixty hours per week.
Amazon’s Auction Service
When eBay was launched, Amazon wanted to compete with it or drive it out of the market.
Amazon set up its own Auction Service, which ultimately didn’t pan out, but Bezos thought it was a great idea.
Here’s an awesome infographic courtesy uk.16best.net that shows you how Amazon went from being an obscure online bookstore to the definitive force in eCommerce today.
