Amazon, created in the Seattle garage of Jeff Bezos, was incorporated on 5th July, 1994. 

Before Bezos had settled on the site’s name as a way of conveying the size and scope of the e-commerce platform he intended to build, his working titles had included Cadabra, Relentless, Awake, Browse and Bookmall.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Washington was chosen as the launch location for the company; reveal how Bezos was able to resell individual books from wholesalers without breaching any Ts & Cs; and compare notes on their first-ever Amazon purchases… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Amazon Was Founded 25 Years Ago This Friday. Here's What the World Was Like When Jeff Bezos Incorporated the Company in 1994’ (Inc, 2019): https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/amazon-cadabra-jeff-bezos-25-year-anniversary-1994.html

• ‘Olly Mann on “My Mate Bought a Toaster”’ (Tom Price, 2020): https://podfollow.com/1462168683/episode/50c5e6d3a7471bb569f375a2d8d65d0bdd39e6e4/view

• ‘60 Minutes: Amazon’ (CBS, 1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv8MrBBuRqI

… and look, there’s FIVE MINUTES+ MORE of us talking about the origins of Amazon, Bezos’s pitch to investors, and the time they turned down an offer from Howard Schulz at Starbuck’s, available exclusively to our supporters. Sign up now via Apple Subscriptions or Patreon* to hear it - and a bonus bit like it, every single week. Thanks!

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.

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