Amazonian Accomplishments

Amazon is a massive company that has become incredibly successful because of a business model that holds up online shopping as the new wave of the future. Indeed, Amazon has become somewhat prophetic–many people do much of their shopping online, though grocery shopping has yet to move online. Amazon is one of those companies that has become successful by purchasing other startups and knowing what to do with them–shut them down in order to eliminate a competing firm, incorporate them into the family of sellers, or use their business for its parts or personnel.

One of its 1999 purchases, Cambridge, Mass.-based Exchange.com, helped launch Amazon’s marketplace as we know it today.

Exchange.com had been around less than a year, but its two websites were already hot: Bibliofind had 7 million books in its database, and MusicFile was gaining popularity among rare music collectors.

Amazon has never looked back–it has been a giant of e-commerce ever since. The article linked above has three testimonials from people who led companies that were bought up by Amazon–it’s a fascinating read for any entrepreneur.