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Brad Stone joins us to discuss the making of the modern Amazon, and how it's morphed from the "flywheel company" of The Everything Store into a set of interlocking and self-reinforcing businesses that extended both wider and deeper into the global economy than anyone ever imagined. (except perhaps Jeff Bezos) Is Amazon the Standard Oil of our time, or maybe something much, much bigger? Tune in as we dive in! If you love Acquired and want more, join our LP Community for access to over 50 LP-only episodes, monthly Zoom calls, and live access for big events including upcoming Book Clubs like these! We can't wait to see you there. Join here at: https://acquired.fm/lp/ Sponsors: Thanks to Kevel for being our presenting sponsor for this special episode. Kevel provides API infrastructure to quickly build custom ad platforms for sponsored listings, internal promotions, native ads, and more — customers include Yelp, Rappi, OfferUp, Mozilla, Strava, and many other large apps and platforms. In true Acquired fashion, Kevel and CEO James Avery have put together a fun page showcasing the company's "history a facts", which you can find here: http://bit.ly/acquiredkevel ! Thank you as well to Masterworks and to Perkins Coie. You can learn more about them at: http://bit.ly/acquiredmasterworks (use code “Acquired” to skip the waitlist) http://bit.ly/acquiredperkins Topics covered: When and why Brad decided The Everything Store needed a sequel The process of writing the book and access he got at Amazon, including S-Team executives like Dave Clark The evolution of Amazon's core strategy from the flywheel into a set of "interlocking and self-reinforcing businesses", and how Brad landed on that as the key theme for the book Amazon's culture and the evolution from "Jeff-bots", and its embodiment in S-team members and company leaders beyond Amazon's investments in Video and why Bezos was ahead of the pack in realizing its strategic importance (including the rumored as-of-recording MGM deal) Amazon's secretive "Campfire" event and why Amazon does it despite its very un-Amazon price tag Brad's take on the future of three major Amazon business lines: Video, International and Marketplace / 3rd Party Sellers Amazon and Bezos's intense focus on competitors, despite the "theater" of their mantra to only focus on customers The Bezos "lapses of judgment" in 2018-19 and what it was like reporting on all the craziness around it Tracking down the "voice of Alexa" Nina Rolle, and Bezos's relationship with Elon! Links: Amazon Unbound (on Amazon, natch): https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Unbound-Invention-Global-Empire/dp/1982132612/