Amazon.com 1997 Letter to Shareholders

WRITTEN BY: UPSIDE PARTNERSHIP
JEFF BEZOS VIA VENTUREBEAT

At Upside Partnership, we share Amazon’s 1997 Letter to Shareholders with all founders during onboarding. We also refer back to the letter often, rereading almost quarterly. For us, it’s a fantastic reminder of long term vision, planning, and execution. While Amazon today is a more complex business than it was in 1997, it’s clear that the direction and progression of the company has been a focal point all the while.

“We believe that a fundamental measure of our success will be the shareholder value we create over the long term. This value will be a direct result of our ability to extend and solidify our current market leadership position. The stronger our market leadership, the more powerful our economic model. Market leadership can translate directly to higher revenue, higher profitability, greater capital velocity, and correspondingly stronger returns on invested capital.”

Jeff Bezos’ letter is a strong reminder that long term thinking and vision is an unfair advantage available to everyone. Few take it- we encourage entrepreneurs to do so.

Read the full letter here.

Originally Published:
1997, Amazon.com 1997 Letter to Shareholders, Jeff Bezos- Amazon, via VentureBeat