Jeff Bezos' cushy job was at D. E. Shaw Group and according to the book The Everything Store, he worked with D. E. Shaw directly, the man who was part of the quant trading wall street innovation. When the internet was starting, they worked together to see what kind of business opportunities might come about due to this new technological innovation, and that's where they came up with the idea for the everything store. Shaw wanted Bezos to build the everything store within the company but Bezos decided to leave and build it on his own in Washington (picked because of their small population and thus less need to collect sales tax and proximity to Silicon Valley). Bezos then proceeded to hire people from his old team at D. E. Shaw after their non-compete of 2 years passed. After their IPO, he let many of his people go to restructure. I could be totally wrong or the book might be lies, but I found that history scary.
Main point though is that Bezos was literally a genius, he was part of an experimental educational program for gifted children, and he was one of the most gifted in that program. He was also ruthless. I want to say, how could you not bet on someone like that? He was working with geniuses, had a vision, and the ability to lead them.
Main point though is that Bezos was literally a genius, he was part of an experimental educational program for gifted children, and he was one of the most gifted in that program. He was also ruthless. I want to say, how could you not bet on someone like that? He was working with geniuses, had a vision, and the ability to lead them.