Amazon’s secrets, and Jeff Bezos’ business legacy

Russell Wilson and Spencer Rascoff back new sports app | Nuance acquires Saykara | Fabric raises $43M ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: Become a GeekWire member: [Support independent journalism and join today!]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES Amazon after Bezos: How will Amazon maintain its culture as it [prepares for its founder Jeff Bezos to step down as CEO]( One answer is the set of processes and principles that the company has put into place, the "Invention Machine" created by Bezos and his leadership team. That's the assessment of Bill Carr, a former Amazon executive and the co-author of the new book, Backwards]( with fellow Amazon veteran Colin Bryar. [Read key takeaways and hear our conversation with Carr on a special episode of the GeekWire Podcast.]( - One juicy tidbit from the book is the inside story of how an offhand remark by late Apple CEO Steve Jobs contributed to Amazon’s expansion into digital media: "Amazon has a decent chance of being the last place to buy CDs," the late Apple CEO told Bezos and a group of Amazon executives in 2003, prior to the release of iTunes for Windows. That backhanded compliment, Carr said, helped to put Amazon on a path that ultimately led to Kindle, Amazon Music, Echo, Fire TV and many other products. - The book says Bezos is often among the last to finish reading Amazon’s six-page documents in meetings. This does not mean that Bezos is a slow reader, Carr says. Instead, it means “he’s thinking very deeply about every word, every sentence in the document and analyzing it, to decide whether he actually agrees.” - Former Amazon board member Tom Alberg [reviews the book for GeekWire]( “Jeff’s selection of Andy Jassy, who has operated in Amazon’s strong culture for over 20 years, as his successor as CEO, assures that the leadership principles will continue into the future. It is why Jeff has always preferred that his successor be someone who has lived and breathed the culture.” Related: Amazon is developing a wall-mounted Echo device with a touchscreen and Alexa capabilities, [according to a report from Bloomberg](. Sports app backed by big players: Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff are among those involved in MOJO, a new company that wants to take the stress out of coaching with a tech approach that guides moms and dads through the process of leading teams. [Read more.]( Saykara acquired: Nuance Communications [swooped up the health-tech startup]( that makes a voice assistant for clinicians. Saykara CEO and founder Harjinder Sandhu previously co-founded and sold healthcare startup MedRemote to Nuance in 2005. Fabric raises $43M: Led by veterans of Staples, Google, and eBay, [the startup aims to help brands build e-commerce systems]( and keep up with Amazon. Thanks for reading, and see all our latest headlines below. — GeekWire editor Todd Bishop, editor@geekwire.com, managing editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [Calling all startup geeks!]( Check out this sample of[GeekWire Startups]( our weekly newsletter that includes all the latest headlines from the tech startup scene in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. To subscribe, visit [geekwire.com/newsletters]( and update your email newsletter preferences. LATEST HEADLINES [Former Amazon board member Tom Alberg reviews the new book, ‘Working Backwards’]( [Amazon’s business secrets: Former insiders explain how the tech giant really works in new book]( [SPAC led by Seattle investor Erik Anderson inks $2.7B deal with fuel cell startup Hyzon Motors]( [Seattle-area startup Fabric raises $43M to help retailers keep up with online shopping boom]( [Russell Wilson and Spencer Rascoff back MOJO, an app to help parent coaches find fun in youth sports]( SPONSORED: GEEK HOME OF THE DAY [Magnificent Waterfront Home in Mount Vernon]( [Nuance acquires Seattle digital health startup Saykara to boost healthcare AI products]( [Advertising surge lifts Amazon’s ‘Other’ segment past subscription business, on pace to rival AWS]( [Microsoft’s M12 venture fund chief Nagraj Kashyap departs for SoftBank]( [Washington Post editor talks Bezos and Amazon, and how billionaire owner reshaped newspaper]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [Temporal Technologies: Sr. Solutions Architect]( - [Proprio Vision: Lead Software Development Engineer – Test]( - [Logic20/20: Data Engineer – Spark]( - [INRIX: Senior Product Manager – Location Intelligence]( - [INRIX: GM, Automotive Sales]( - [INRIX: Senior Product Marketing Manager]( - [Temporal Technologies: Sr. Developer Advocate]( - [INRIX: Content Strategist]( - [Playful Software, Inc: Principal Product Manager]( - [GeekWire: GeekWire Technology and Business Reporter]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? 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