How Amazon rose to the top of the tech world

>>> WHO ARE YOU? >> I'M JEFF BEZOS. >> WHAT IS YOUR CLAIM TO FAME? >> I'M THE FOUNDER OF AMAZON.COM. >> WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA? >> THREE YEARS AGO I WAS IN NEW YORK CITY WORKING FOR A QUANTITATIVE HEDGE FUND WHEN I CAME ACROSS THE STARTLING STATISTIC THAT WEB USAGE WAS GROWING AT 2300% A YEAR. SO I DECIDED I WOULD TRY TO FIND BUSINESS PLAN THAT MADE SENSE IN THE CONTEXT OF THAT GROWTH. >> THAT IS AMAZON FOUNDER JEFF BEZOS INTERVIEWED AT A TECH CONFERENCE IN 1997. FEW PEOPLE COULD IMAGE AMAZON WOULD HELP HIM BECOME ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL MEN IN THE WORLD AND THE WEALTHIEST. >> THE NEW BOOK TITLED "THE EVERYTHING WAR, AMAZON'S RUTHLESS QUEST TO OWN THE WORLD AND REMAKE CORPORATE POWER." SO GREAT TO HAVE YOU. CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BOOK. HOW DO WE GET FROM THAT VERSION OF JEFF BEZOS TO TODAY WHERE HE'S THE WEALTHIEST GUY IN THE WORLD AND THE BUSINESS THAT HE BUILT IS SO POWERFUL THAT IT TOUCHES EVERYONE'S LIFE IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. >> IT'S REALLY STRANGE IN 2024 TO REMEMBER THAT. THAT COMPANY STARTED AS THIS ONLINE BOOK SELLER AND FROM THERE CORNERED EVERY PART OF RETAIL. IT'S THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN ONLINE COMMERCE, THE BIGGEST CLOWN COMMUTING COMPANY IN THE WORLD AND THE BIGGEST PARCEL CARRIER IN THE U.S. >> IN THAT VIDEO IN 1997, WAS HE ALREADY THINKING MUCH BIGGER THAN BOOKS? >> THERE WERE SIGNS HE WAS. THERE'S A SCENE IN THE BOOK WHERE HE TELLS ANOTHER CEO THAT YOUR MARGIN IS MY OPPORTUNITY. HIS REACH FOR WHAT THIS COMPANY COULD BE WAS REALLY UNLIMITED. >> THERE IS VIRTUALLY NOTHING YOU CAN'T FIND TO PURCHASE ON AMAZON, NOTHING. IF I WANT TO SELL SOMETHING ON AMAZON, HOW DO I GET MY PRODUCT ON AMAZON? DO I PAY THEM? HOW DOES IT WORK? >> IT'S REALLY EASY TO GET ONTO AMAZON.COM AND START SELLING. BECAUSE 40% OF ALL AID COMMERCE IN THE COUNTRY HAPPENS THERE, AMAZON KNOWS SELLERS NEED TO BE THERE. THEY'VE RATCHETED UP THEIR FEES REALLY STEEPLY IN THE LAST DECADE FROM 19% A DECADE AGO TO NEARLY 50% TODAY. SELLERS TELL ME THEY HAVE TO BE THERE. IF THEY'RE NOT THERE, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE SALES. THEY'RE HAVING TO RAISE THEIR MARGINS IN ORDER TO AVOID TEES. >> IN SOME PLACES THE MARKETPLACE OF AMAZON HAS OPENED THAT UP IN A REALLY BIG WAY. SO THE BALANCE OF HOW YOU THINK ABOUT THAT BENEFIT ON ONE END VERSUS POTENTIALLY SOME OF THE COSTS THOSE MERCHANTS ARE HAVING TO PAY ON THE OTHER END. >> YEAH. YOU'RE GETTING MORE FOOT TRAFFIC IN A SMALL TOWN. I SPOKE TO A MAN WHO TOOK OVER HIS DAD'S BUSINESS THAT MADE INDUSTRIAL CONTAINERS AND DOOR MATS. HE TOOK THE FAMILY BUSINESS, PUT IT ON AMAZON AND EXPLODED TO $10 MILLION IN REVENUE A YEAR. AFTER ALL HIS FEES ON THE SITE, THAT $10 MILLION TURNS INTO $30,000 IN PROFITS AT THE END OF THE YEAR BECAUSE THE FEES HAVE EXPLODED SO MUCH. >> YOU CALL BEZOS A MODERN-DAY ROCKEFELLER. >> THE HEAD OF THE FTC WAS RESEARCHING A LAW REVIEW ARTICLE ABOUT AMAZON BACK IN 2013. SHE MADE PARALLELS BETWEEN JEFF BEZOS AND ROCKEFELLER OF STANDARD OIL. SHE SAW SIMILARIIES IN THEIR BUSINESS PRACTICES, BULLYING COMPETITORS, SPYING ON COMPETITORS, PREDATORY PRICING. >> IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE IT COULD BE ANY MORE UBIQUITOUS THAN IT IS, BUT WHAT DOES AMAZON STILL HAVE AHEAD OF IT? >> IN THE MIDST OF ALL THESE REGULATORS AROUND THE WORLD CALLING AMAZON A MONOPOLY, THEIR CURRENT CEO SAYS THEY'RE NOT BIG ENOUGH. THEY DON'T SEEM TO BE PHASED BY THIS LAWSUIT FROM THE FTC. HE WAS ASKED WHAT'S THE OUTLOOK HERE. HE BASICALLY SAID IT'S LIKE A TAYLOR SWIFT SONG. HATERS ARE GOING TO HATE. WE'RE GOING TO SHAKE IT OFF. >> CURRENTLY AMAZON WOULD TELL YOU THAT THEY ARE A SMALL SLICE OF THE FULL RETAIL PIE. IN TRUTH, IF YOU INCLUDE ALL OF THE BRICK AND MORTAR STORES AND RETAIL GOING ON, THEY ARE A SMALL PORTION OF IT. THE QUESTION IS DO YOU DO FINE THE WORLD AS BRICK AND MORTAR, DIGITAL EVERYTHING? I THINK THERE'S A REAL QUESTION AS TO WHAT YOU THINK THE MARKETPLACE LOOKS LIKE. >> WE GOT A STATEMENT OF AMAZON RESPONDING TO SOME OF THE NEW REPORTING SAYING, QUOTE, ZOM HAS MADE SHOPPING EASIER. THE NEW BOOK IS TITLED "THE EVERYTHING WAR, AMAZON'S RUTHLESS QUEST TO OWN THE WORLD AND REMAKE CORPORATE POWER." THANK YOU SO MUCH. CONGRATS ON THE

Channel: MSNBC

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Keywords: Joe Scarborough, Willie Geist, Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC, MSNBC news, MSNBC live, MSNBC TV, news, breaking news, current events, US news, politics, politics news, political news, elections, morning joe full, morning joe live, morning joe today, Jeff Bezos, Jeff Bezos Amazon, Amazon, Dana Mattioli book, Dana Mattioli

Id: 4rLqpi_0sTg

Length: 7min 9sec (429 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 23 2024