The Amazon.Com Way

by Robert Spector

The tale of Amazon.com is well known to anyone who follows the stock market, the book business, the Internet explosion--heck, it's hard to imagine not knowing at least a piece of this extraordinary story. But few, it would seem, know the entire story, and it's these gaps that Robert Spector's Get Big Fast attempts to fill (or at least the information available in early 2000, when the book was published). For example, those who know about Amazon.com's paradigm-shifting influence on the book business may not know it wasn't even the first online book retailer, or the second or the third. (It was preceded by clbooks.com, books.com, and wordsworth.com, the last of which beat Amazon.com to the Internet by almost two years.) Those who've heard quirky stories about Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos--for example, that he built his own desk out of a door, and that his mother bought the desk at an online charity auction in 1999 for $30,100--may not know that he was a studious overachiever from an early age. As a 12-year-old in Houston, he was even profiled in a book on gifted education in Texas. And those who marvel at the company's multibillion-dollar stock valuation may not know that it was broke and nearly out of business in the summer of '95. Put it all together and you have a book that should be interesting to many different readers. As a pure business read, it certainly provides a blow-by-blow account of an important company's critical decisions. And anyone looking for a brief history of e-commerce will see how one idea--Bezos's realization in 1994 that Web usage was growing 2,300 percent a year--set the entire online retailing phenomenon in motion. If nothing else, that last fact should propel parents to pay very careful attention to their kids' math scores. Had Bezos, a summa cum laude Princeton grad in computer science, not realized the implications of exponential growth ... well, let's just say you wouldn't be reading this review right now. --Lou Schuler

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, History, Entrepreneurship, Biography, Technology, Internet

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Robert Spector is an author of business books, consultant and motivational speaker focusing on customer service.

Reviews

[Uyên Khôi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thực ra cuốn sách này không phải gout của mình. Tiểu sử CEO, số liệu khô khan, lâu lâu được một vài facts hơi thú vị một tí. Điều mình trông đợi nhất là về sự ra đời và quá trình phát triển máy đọc sách Kindle lại không có. Nhìn lại mới thấy sách xuất bản từ năm 2000 thì hồi đó chắc là chưa có Kindle đâu nhỉ :v

P/s: Đọc rồi mới thấy, Tiki quả thực rất giống Amazon của Việt Nam, đặc biệt là khâu chăm sóc khách hàng (ít ra là khâu chăm sóc khách hàng mà mình đã được trải nghiệm).

[Joel Gascoigne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting insight into how Amazon became the world-recognised brand it is today. The key take-aways in terms of how Amazon approached things was to keep spending in order to "Get Big Fast", and to focus on customer service. Definitely recommend it, very engaging.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN "EARLY" BOOK ABOUT THE PIONEERING ONLINE SELLER,

Robert Spector wrote in the Preface to this 2000 book, "Amazon.com is in a constant state of metamorphosis. That was at least one of the reasons why [CEO] Jeff Bezos and Amazon.com declined to participate in this [book] project. The company's official position was that it was too early for a book... no current employees agreed to be interviewed on or off the record. Amazon.com remains a secretive organization." (Pg. xiii)

He notes, "The Internet, where no one yet had made money, was about to become the worldwide marketplace for both ideas and stuff. And Jeff Bezos found himself in the right place at the right time." (Pg. 23) He adds, "An online bookstore would place virtually no limits on the number of books available to a customer; and the World Wide Web's search and retrieval interface technology would make it easy for customers to surf the entire database of books in print... an online bookseller could be run more economically than even the largest brick-and-mortar bookseller... an online bookseller could be programmed to provide an inexpensive personalized shopping experience for its customers... [Bezos saw] that online retailers had the potential to build large, global customer bases quickly and to achieve superior economic returns over the long term." (Pg. 27)

About the company's name, Bezos "preferred that the new appellation begin with the first letter of the alphabet because online websites were listed in alphabetical order... Bezos decided upon Amazon.com... 'Jeff was really excited about the fact that here was a river that was 10 times larger than the next biggest river...'" (Pg. 36) Later, he notes, "And as he was building up his management team, Bezos was also creating his public image. As we will see, the selling of Jeff Bezos was another essential element of the Amazon.com strategic plan." (Pg. 177)

Comparing Amazon to Microsoft, GE, and Dell, he observes, "But those people run companies that make money. Jeff Bezos, on the other hand, was creating a company that was deferring profits in an effort to... change the world." (Pg. 181)

This is a fascinating and very insightful look at an extremely important company.

[Paul Whitla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written just five years after Amazon’s founding this book chronicled those a-early years and the robust growth, but at that time still precarious position, of the worlds largest internet retailer. Interesting primarily in the sense that there was a fair amount of luck involved in the growth and also some huge risks taken, many of which Did not in fact work out. Bezos’ commitment and determination come through, a burning belief in what he was doing and a determination to power through, while others prevaricated. The title and amazon’s unofficial slogan, get big fast, was what mattered and making a profit is still seen as something of an afterthought at the company today. Of course dated as a book, but an interesting insight into the company in its early years, not clouded by events of more recent times.

[Andrakuf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ta książka jest już po prostu stara. Od jej wydania minęło sporo lat i zmieniło się w tym czasie jeszcze więcej. Fajnie jest prześledzić historię powstania tej firmy, jej ekspansję, tym bardziej wiedząc jak wygląda ona dzisiaj, ale z perspektywy kilku książek czytanych już przeze mnie na ten temat ta wypada raczej blado. Pomijam fakt, iż autor nie uzyskał autoryzacji i z wieloma rzeczami musiał się zmagać bez pomocy zainteresowanej firmy, ale jednak nie wyszło mu to zbyt dobrze. W wielu miejscach ta książka jest przegadana i te rozdziały z dobrymi radami mógłby sobie darować bo nie dość, że nic nie wnoszą to tworzą atmosferę jakby autor nie mógł się zdecydować czy tworzy hagiografię Jeffa Bezosa z jego przykazaniami czy jednak rzetelną opowieść o powstaniu jednej z największych firm świata.

[Elizabeth StClair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book nearly 20 years after publication is both illuminating and a tad infuriating. I wish it covered the next two decades! Parts of the book are still very relevant today. Other parts (ex: Sears as a well situated "clicks-and-mortar" store), not so much. The book barely misses the dot com crash, and, of course, all of Amazon's growth since. With this better understanding of Amazon (as well as other Internet startup) and its origins, I'm excited to read other books to learn more!

[Nam Vũ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sách đọc mệt não thật. Đa phần đều là liệt kê mốc thời gian và các lời trích của nhân vật abc nào đó. Đồng ý là có may mắn khó khăn thăng trầm của cột công ty hay những quyết định xyz của các ceo đi cùng quá trình hình thành và phát triển. Nhưng chẳng có gì để người đọc có thể nhận ra khó khăn đó giải quyết như thế nào lỗ lực ra sao. Tự thuật theo kiểu này chắc chỉ có người trong cty mới cần tìm hiểu :((
Next!

[Ricky Raghavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book for someone who is keen on learning or understanding the formation of a business. This book explains how Amazon.com came into fruition in 1995 and ended up being the leading e-commerce platform for most products within a space about 4 years! It highlights the principles which this company is founded upon.

[Son · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read about first 7 years of Amazon. Most of the time it is facts and figures (especially in the last 2 chapters) since the author can only collect information instead of having direct interview with Jeff Bezos.

[Thanh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cái nhìn sâu sắc về giai đoạn đầu tiên của Amazon.com, hiện thực niềm đam mê thực sự của Bezos : tự động hoá "thời kỳ thứ 2", thay đổi quy trình kinh doanh nền tảng và thực hiện công việc theo phương thức hoàn toàn mới, đây là một cuộc cách mạng thay vì chỉ là sự tiến hoá.

[Jason Orthman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative read as gave perspective on the early rise of Amazon and Jeff Bezos with the book published in 2002. Interesting that the valuation never made sense early on yet the value creation over the next 20 years was unprecedented!

[George Han · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to become an Amazonian, please make sure to read this book. It is so helpful to understand the Day 1 story of Amazon and CEO Bezos. They are striving every single moment to fulfill the 14 Leadership Principles.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between the two BSes, Bob Spector is a better writer than Brad Stone. The only fault is that it needs an update.

[Hee Jung Ryu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to get an insight into the early stage of Amazon.com until the dot-com crash.

[Anh Minh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Một startup thành công ngoạn mục, tính toán cẩn trọng và may mắn.

[Linh An · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nếu viết ngắn gọn súc tích hơn thì ok, nửa đầu quyển khá hay nhưng từ phần sau bị lê thê quá không đủ kiên nhẫn đọc đến hết.

[Youssef Ragab · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well told account of the first few years in amazon.com history. The book sets the stage by providing a brief biography of Jeff Bezos, the visionary master mind behind amazon.com, as well as a brief history of the internet and the book-business prior to amazon.com. The book then follows amazon.com from its conception in Jeff's mind and through the numerous challenges it had to get over up until its IPO and as it expanded beyond the book business. The book describes in gripping style the creativity, sweat and blood that was invested in making amazon.com what it is today. The book puts a lot of emphasis on amazon's business model and how it evolved over the years. I find this book an essential read for anyone seeking to launch an internet based startup or any startup for that matter! Truth be told, I find the story exceptionally motivational for just about anyone.

On the down side; the book is several years outdated and with a company as dynamic as amazon, this means a severely incomplete picture. In addition, the book doesn't pay enough attention to amazon's websites, their features and evolution over the years. Moreover, there is not even a cursory introduction to the technical breakthroughs (e.g. amazon's recommendation system) that make amazon.com such a revolutionary user experience.

BOTTOM LINE: If you are interesting in amazon's launch phase and the lessons it offers, this is the book you are after. If you are looking for a comprehensive history or the company or for deeper insights into its websites and their backing technoogies then I suggest you look elsewhere.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book mostly review the life of the Founder of Amazon and CEO Jeff Bezos: his e-commerce success story, the beginning of is career as an investment banker, is passing through Amazon.com's early days in a dingy warehouse, the search for investor dollars, the company's transformation from a virtual to a physical entity, skirmishes in the marketplaces and the courts and, finally, the improbable expansion into other products (besides books) and countries.

This books is sometimes chronological, sometimes topical, this comprehensive overview is filled with interesting example likethe company initially protected itself against credit card theft by walking a floppy disk from one PC to another instead of transmitting information over the Net.

Unfortunately, this book leave the reader wondering how it's get big fast, what his the meaning of some sentence like this one

Setting about to run a corporate culture from the ground up, Bezos focused on hiring the absolute best people he could find.

In other cases, some sentences in the book are not well explain and it make the reader wondering what does he mean by that.

To conclude this wasn't a so bad book, but not the best one to read.

Lebanese Book Lovers

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, the book is dated now because it was written in 1999 and published in 2000. That means it missed all the fun of the dot.com crash.

However, the book is an interesting insight into the early days of Amazon and the amazing pace of innovation during their initial years. With hindsight, it's easy to see what Amazon would become, but for many of these early years it was merely an online bookstore competing against bookstore giants.

My favourite quote is Jeff Bezos saying "We're not trying to be a book company or trying to be a music company -- we're trying to be a customer company". That leaves a lot of scope for the future!

[Alvaro Alcocer Sotil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relata la historia de Amazon desde sus inicios que a su vez es la historia de la web dado que Amazon fue una de las primeras tiendas online y la primera que vendía libros por internet. Resalta el esfuerzo, compromiso y entrega de Jeff Bezos por alcanzar el éxito, gracias a su poder de convencimiento hizo que emprendieran junto a él un gran equipo multidisciplinario incluido su esposa y que entre todos superaran grandes retos y dificultades. El Dejo su acomodado cargo gerencial en una empresa para dedicarse por completo a crear una pagina web que vendía libros en un principio y ahora vende de todo.

[Sandeep · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Story of Amazon from the start till 2002, does not highlight the Internet doom period or the Competition with Ebay. The Author has not done a good job with respect to chronological order of events, its pretty confusion sometimes. Amazon's growth story has exploded after 2002, this book does not help you understand the real acumen behind Jeff Beoz. Try some other books which are latest to amazons story.

[Arthur Charlez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good insight into the mind of Jeff Bezos and how he put together the world's biggest bookstore. Overall an engaging read and some education on the good, bad and the ugly of starting a business that you aim to take global.

[Levent Bayindir · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read first 50 pages. The author write in story format. It makes the book hard and uninteresting to read for me. I would like to hear facts instead. Some other kinds of people might find the book interesting but for me only the title was interesting.

P.S. Read as part of OBPDPY program.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast-paced, short read that gives a good background on the early history of the company. The author didn't have inside access so most of the anecdotes came from third parties or news pieces, but it was a fascinating story nonetheless.

[Derek Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book some time ago but very much enjoyed it. I love the work ethic related to building your own business and the fact that to "Get Big Fast" requires a lot of work and a special kind of determination.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

You hear a guy's name enough times and you want to learn about him. Good inside account of who Jeff Bezos is and how he founded Amazon.

[Timothy]

What a great read on the start up of Amazon and the man whose vision drove it all the way. A plus is the summary of each chapter and the take-away points.

[Lori Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A should-read company profile for knowledge workers, managers, directors, C-levels, and entrepreneurs.

[Senake Atureliya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging and inciteful.

[Samuel & Edwensa LASCASE]

Very interesting book. Everyone should read it at least once!