Business Adventures

Amazon's first annual letter to shareholders is the most imitated document in modern business writing. Nearly every founder letter since has borrowed its structure, its long-term framing, or its language directly.

It is worth hearing what it actually said.

Nineteen ninety-seven was a year in which Amazon sold one hundred and forty-seven million dollars of books, grew revenue by more than eight hundred percent, and reported a loss. Bezos used the letter to explain why the loss was the plan. He told shareholders the company would prioritize growth over profitability, take cash flow over favorable accounting, make bold investments knowing some would not pay off, and measure itself on customer growth and repeat purchase rates rather than earnings. He closed by warning that competition was aggressive, execution risk was real, and the company still had a great deal to learn.

He also promised that the letter would be attached to every future annual report. It was.

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