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Jeff Bezos Raised Amazon's Seed Round: 60 Meetings, 40 Nos, 70% Chance of Failure

By Jeff Bezos · Investing · 1 min read

Bezos sold 20% of Amazon at a $5 million valuation. He took 60 meetings. About 40 said no. He told every investor there was a 70% chance they'd lose their money.

Key Points

22 angel investors, roughly $50,000 each, for $1 million total at a $5 million valuation
60 meetings to close the round — about 40 said no
He told every investor there was a 70% chance they'd lose their investment

I would always tell people I thought there was a 70% chance they would lose their investment. In retrospect, I think that might have been a little naive — I was giving myself better than the real odds.

60 Meetings for a Million Dollars

Bezos: To raise the first million dollars of seed capital for Amazon, I sold 20% of the company at a $5 million valuation. A million dollars to 22 angel investors, roughly $50,000 each.

I had to take 60 meetings. About 40 of them said no. And the 40 nos were hard-earned nos — they weren't just 'no.' It was me in multiple meetings, working really hard, trying to get people to write that $50,000 check.

60 meetings. 40 said no. Hard-earned nos — multiple meetings trying to get each $50K check.

70% Chance You Lose Everything

Bezos: The first question was always — what's the internet? Everybody wanted to know what the internet was. This was 1995.

I would always tell people I thought there was a 70% chance they would lose their investment. In retrospect, I think that might have been a little naive. I think I was giving myself better than the real odds. The whole enterprise could have been extinguished then.

It was the hardest thing I've ever done.

I told them there was a 70% chance they'd lose everything. In retrospect, I was giving myself better than the real odds.