Martin Harbech’s Post

Today, Amazon has more than 200 million paying Prime members... but did you know the idea came from an annoyed engineer, the initial financial models were awful, and most experts thought it was a terrible approach? Amazon’s pioneering loyalty programme has been a core driver of their explosive growth for many years. … but when it first launched, most thought it was crazy. Many senior leaders felt it was too risky. Shareholders feared it might take down the company. ‘All-you-can-eat’ two-day delivery for $79/year might sound normal today… but in those early days of e-commerce, it was truly disruptive. The first of its kind. The challenge was the huge financial uncertainty. “Our most loyal customers will cost us a fortune!” “If too many abuse it, we could go bankrupt!” In the end, the decision was more instinct than data. It was clear that Prime would be an amazing experience for customers, and members would undoubtedly buy more and shop more frequently. But no one had any idea just how successful it would be. It took many years for Prime to fully take off, but it ended up defining Amazon’s trajectory and history. It turned out that a simple annual fee could fundamentally change customers’ mentality. Once the upfront fee was paid, everyone wanted to get the most value out of their investment. Human nature. Now, twenty years later, we can look back at the Prime launch as true masterclass in customer obsession… and a powerful reminder of the importance of being willing to test new ideas even when others insist you’re wrong. For Amazon, the Prime launch was an experiment. Worst case, they would have to roll it back. As Bezos noted many years later: “We don’t have enough time for me to list all our failed experiments, but it’s the big winners [like Prime] that pay for thousands of failed experiments” The lesson? Innovation comes through constant experimentation. If you’re afraid to be wrong, it’s impossible to come up with anything original.

Today, Amazon has more than 200 million paying Prime members... but did you know the idea came from an annoyed engineer, the initial financial models were awful, and most experts thought it was a terrible approach? Amazon’s pioneering loyalty programme has been a core driver of their explosive growth for many years. … but when it first launched, most thought it was crazy. Many senior leaders felt it was too risky. Shareholders feared it might take down the company. ‘All-you-can-eat’ two-day delivery for $79/year might sound normal today… but in those early days of e-commerce, it was truly disruptive. The first of its kind. The challenge was the huge financial uncertainty. “Our most loyal customers will cost us a fortune!” “If too many abuse it, we could go bankrupt!” In the end, the decision was more instinct than data. It was clear that Prime would be an amazing experience for customers, and members would undoubtedly buy more and shop more frequently. But no one had any idea just how successful it would be. It took many years for Prime to fully take off, but it ended up defining Amazon’s trajectory and history. It turned out that a simple annual fee could fundamentally change customers’ mentality. Once the upfront fee was paid, everyone wanted to get the most value out of their investment. Human nature. Now, twenty years later, we can look back at the Prime launch as true masterclass in customer obsession… and a powerful reminder of the importance of being willing to test new ideas even when others insist you’re wrong. For Amazon, the Prime launch was an experiment. Worst case, they would have to roll it back. As Bezos noted many years later: “We don’t have enough time for me to list all our failed experiments, but it’s the big winners [like Prime] that pay for thousands of failed experiments” The lesson? Innovation comes through constant experimentation. If you’re afraid to be wrong, it’s impossible to come up with anything original.

Today, Amazon has more than 200 million paying Prime members... but did you know the idea came from an annoyed engineer, the initial financial models were awful, and most experts thought it was a terrible approach? Amazon’s pioneering loyalty programme has been a core driver of their explosive growth for many years. … but when it first launched, most thought it was crazy. Many senior leaders felt it was too risky. Shareholders feared it might take down the company. ‘All-you-can-eat’ two-day delivery for $79/year might sound normal today… but in those early days of e-commerce, it was truly disruptive. The first of its kind. The challenge was the huge financial uncertainty. “Our most loyal customers will cost us a fortune!” “If too many abuse it, we could go bankrupt!” In the end, the decision was more instinct than data. It was clear that Prime would be an amazing experience for customers, and members would undoubtedly buy more and shop more frequently. But no one had any idea just how successful it would be. It took many years for Prime to fully take off, but it ended up defining Amazon’s trajectory and history. It turned out that a simple annual fee could fundamentally change customers’ mentality. Once the upfront fee was paid, everyone wanted to get the most value out of their investment. Human nature. Now, twenty years later, we can look back at the Prime launch as true masterclass in customer obsession… and a powerful reminder of the importance of being willing to test new ideas even when others insist you’re wrong. For Amazon, the Prime launch was an experiment. Worst case, they would have to roll it back. As Bezos noted many years later: “We don’t have enough time for me to list all our failed experiments, but it’s the big winners [like Prime] that pay for thousands of failed experiments” The lesson? Innovation comes through constant experimentation. If you’re afraid to be wrong, it’s impossible to come up with anything original.

Today, Amazon has more than 200 million paying Prime members... but did you know the idea came from an annoyed engineer, the initial financial models were awful, and most experts thought it was a terrible approach? Amazon’s pioneering loyalty programme has been a core driver of their explosive growth for many years. … but when it first launched, most thought it was crazy. Many senior leaders felt it was too risky. Shareholders feared it might take down the company. ‘All-you-can-eat’ two-day delivery for $79/year might sound normal today… but in those early days of e-commerce, it was truly disruptive. The first of its kind. The challenge was the huge financial uncertainty. “Our most loyal customers will cost us a fortune!” “If too many abuse it, we could go bankrupt!” In the end, the decision was more instinct than data. It was clear that Prime would be an amazing experience for customers, and members would undoubtedly buy more and shop more frequently. But no one had any idea just how successful it would be. It took many years for Prime to fully take off, but it ended up defining Amazon’s trajectory and history. It turned out that a simple annual fee could fundamentally change customers’ mentality. Once the upfront fee was paid, everyone wanted to get the most value out of their investment. Human nature. Now, twenty years later, we can look back at the Prime launch as true masterclass in customer obsession… and a powerful reminder of the importance of being willing to test new ideas even when others insist you’re wrong. For Amazon, the Prime launch was an experiment. Worst case, they would have to roll it back. As Bezos noted many years later: “We don’t have enough time for me to list all our failed experiments, but it’s the big winners [like Prime] that pay for thousands of failed experiments” The lesson? Innovation comes through constant experimentation. If you’re afraid to be wrong, it’s impossible to come up with anything original.

Today, Amazon has more than 200 million paying Prime members... but did you know the idea came from an annoyed engineer, the initial financial models were awful, and most experts thought it was a terrible approach? Amazon’s pioneering loyalty programme has been a core driver of their explosive growth for many years. … but when it first launched, most thought it was crazy. Many senior leaders felt it was too risky. Shareholders feared it might take down the company. ‘All-you-can-eat’ two-day delivery for $79/year might sound normal today… but in those early days of e-commerce, it was truly disruptive. The first of its kind. The challenge was the huge financial uncertainty. “Our most loyal customers will cost us a fortune!” “If too many abuse it, we could go bankrupt!” In the end, the decision was more instinct than data. It was clear that Prime would be an amazing experience for customers, and members would undoubtedly buy more and shop more frequently. But no one had any idea just how successful it would be. It took many years for Prime to fully take off, but it ended up defining Amazon’s trajectory and history. It turned out that a simple annual fee could fundamentally change customers’ mentality. Once the upfront fee was paid, everyone wanted to get the most value out of their investment. Human nature. Now, twenty years later, we can look back at the Prime launch as true masterclass in customer obsession… and a powerful reminder of the importance of being willing to test new ideas even when others insist you’re wrong. For Amazon, the Prime launch was an experiment. Worst case, they would have to roll it back. As Bezos noted many years later: “We don’t have enough time for me to list all our failed experiments, but it’s the big winners [like Prime] that pay for thousands of failed experiments” The lesson? Innovation comes through constant experimentation. If you’re afraid to be wrong, it’s impossible to come up with anything original.

Today, Amazon has more than 200 million paying Prime members... but did you know the idea came from an annoyed engineer, the initial financial models were awful, and most experts thought it was a terrible approach? Amazon’s pioneering loyalty programme has been a core driver of their explosive growth for many years. … but when it first launched, most thought it was crazy. Many senior leaders felt it was too risky. Shareholders feared it might take down the company. ‘All-you-can-eat’ two-day delivery for $79/year might sound normal today… but in those early days of e-commerce, it was truly disruptive. The first of its kind. The challenge was the huge financial uncertainty. “Our most loyal customers will cost us a fortune!” “If too many abuse it, we could go bankrupt!” In the end, the decision was more instinct than data. It was clear that Prime would be an amazing experience for customers, and members would undoubtedly buy more and shop more frequently. But no one had any idea just how successful it would be. It took many years for Prime to fully take off, but it ended up defining Amazon’s trajectory and history. It turned out that a simple annual fee could fundamentally change customers’ mentality. Once the upfront fee was paid, everyone wanted to get the most value out of their investment. Human nature. Now, twenty years later, we can look back at the Prime launch as true masterclass in customer obsession… and a powerful reminder of the importance of being willing to test new ideas even when others insist you’re wrong. For Amazon, the Prime launch was an experiment. Worst case, they would have to roll it back. As Bezos noted many years later: “We don’t have enough time for me to list all our failed experiments, but it’s the big winners [like Prime] that pay for thousands of failed experiments” The lesson? Innovation comes through constant experimentation. If you’re afraid to be wrong, it’s impossible to come up with anything original.

Today, Amazon has more than 200 million paying Prime members... but did you know the idea came from an annoyed engineer, the initial financial models were awful, and most experts thought it was a terrible approach? Amazon’s pioneering loyalty programme has been a core driver of their explosive growth for many years. … but when it first launched, most thought it was crazy. Many senior leaders felt it was too risky. Shareholders feared it might take down the company. ‘All-you-can-eat’ two-day delivery for $79/year might sound normal today… but in those early days of e-commerce, it was truly disruptive. The first of its kind. The challenge was the huge financial uncertainty. “Our most loyal customers will cost us a fortune!” “If too many abuse it, we could go bankrupt!” In the end, the decision was more instinct than data. It was clear that Prime would be an amazing experience for customers, and members would undoubtedly buy more and shop more frequently. But no one had any idea just how successful it would be. It took many years for Prime to fully take off, but it ended up defining Amazon’s trajectory and history. It turned out that a simple annual fee could fundamentally change customers’ mentality. Once the upfront fee was paid, everyone wanted to get the most value out of their investment. Human nature. Now, twenty years later, we can look back at the Prime launch as true masterclass in customer obsession… and a powerful reminder of the importance of being willing to test new ideas even when others insist you’re wrong. For Amazon, the Prime launch was an experiment. Worst case, they would have to roll it back. As Bezos noted many years later: “We don’t have enough time for me to list all our failed experiments, but it’s the big winners [like Prime] that pay for thousands of failed experiments” The lesson? Innovation comes through constant experimentation. If you’re afraid to be wrong, it’s impossible to come up with anything original.

Today, Amazon has more than 200 million paying Prime members... but did you know the idea came from an annoyed engineer, the initial financial models were awful, and most experts thought it was a terrible approach? Amazon’s pioneering loyalty programme has been a core driver of their explosive growth for many years. … but when it first launched, most thought it was crazy. Many senior leaders felt it was too risky. Shareholders feared it might take down the company. ‘All-you-can-eat’ two-day delivery for $79/year might sound normal today… but in those early days of e-commerce, it was truly disruptive. The first of its kind. The challenge was the huge financial uncertainty. “Our most loyal customers will cost us a fortune!” “If too many abuse it, we could go bankrupt!” In the end, the decision was more instinct than data. It was clear that Prime would be an amazing experience for customers, and members would undoubtedly buy more and shop more frequently. But no one had any idea just how successful it would be. It took many years for Prime to fully take off, but it ended up defining Amazon’s trajectory and history. It turned out that a simple annual fee could fundamentally change customers’ mentality. Once the upfront fee was paid, everyone wanted to get the most value out of their investment. Human nature. Now, twenty years later, we can look back at the Prime launch as true masterclass in customer obsession… and a powerful reminder of the importance of being willing to test new ideas even when others insist you’re wrong. For Amazon, the Prime launch was an experiment. Worst case, they would have to roll it back. As Bezos noted many years later: “We don’t have enough time for me to list all our failed experiments, but it’s the big winners [like Prime] that pay for thousands of failed experiments” The lesson? Innovation comes through constant experimentation. If you’re afraid to be wrong, it’s impossible to come up with anything original.

Today, Amazon has more than 200 million paying Prime members... but did you know the idea came from an annoyed engineer, the initial financial models were awful, and most experts thought it was a terrible approach? Amazon’s pioneering loyalty programme has been a core driver of their explosive growth for many years. … but when it first launched, most thought it was crazy. Many senior leaders felt it was too risky. Shareholders feared it might take down the company. ‘All-you-can-eat’ two-day delivery for $79/year might sound normal today… but in those early days of e-commerce, it was truly disruptive. The first of its kind. The challenge was the huge financial uncertainty. “Our most loyal customers will cost us a fortune!” “If too many abuse it, we could go bankrupt!” In the end, the decision was more instinct than data. It was clear that Prime would be an amazing experience for customers, and members would undoubtedly buy more and shop more frequently. But no one had any idea just how successful it would be. It took many years for Prime to fully take off, but it ended up defining Amazon’s trajectory and history. It turned out that a simple annual fee could fundamentally change customers’ mentality. Once the upfront fee was paid, everyone wanted to get the most value out of their investment. Human nature. Now, twenty years later, we can look back at the Prime launch as true masterclass in customer obsession… and a powerful reminder of the importance of being willing to test new ideas even when others insist you’re wrong. For Amazon, the Prime launch was an experiment. Worst case, they would have to roll it back. As Bezos noted many years later: “We don’t have enough time for me to list all our failed experiments, but it’s the big winners [like Prime] that pay for thousands of failed experiments” The lesson? Innovation comes through constant experimentation. If you’re afraid to be wrong, it’s impossible to come up with anything original.