- Steve Yegge started working at Amazon in 1998 as a technical program manager
- He said that Jeff was a 'hands-on leader' with an 'unmistakable magnetism for him'
- But he added that he was a bit too 'focused on the mission'
A man who worked at Amazon when the net started when Jeff Bezos was really long before he was a billionaire.
Steve Yegge, 56, from Washington, started working at Amazon in 1998 as a technical program manager, four years after Jeff launched the company from his garage.
He recently told Business Insider that the founder of Amazon was a 'hands-on leader' with an 'unmistakable magnetism for him'.
But he added that he was so “focused on the mission” that he sometimes overlooked problems in the office.
“He seemed to give nothing but his mission,” said Steve. 'It didn't matter if the toilet was dirty or whether engineers were admitted all night.
“He just seemed to care if it started to slow him. Perhaps that is the kind of leader that you have to be. Successful leaders do not take no as an answer. '
Steve The Amazon offices described as 'dark and grungy', but added that despite the unattractive space the atmosphere was great.
'After you entered the building, there was a crunch in the air. You could feel that something very big was going on – and it was all centered on Jeff, “he went on.
A man (left) who worked at Amazon when the net started as it revealed how Jeff Bezos (right) was really long before he was a billionaire
Steve Yegge, 56, from Washington, started working at Amazon in 1998 as a technical program manager, four years after Jeff launched the company from his garage
Steve admitted that there was a lot of 'pressure' and an expectation 'that everyone always had to work. “
'Avoids people to ask for free time. Some employees would sort out others, “he added.
“A friend of mine worked in a cupboard because that is the only place where there was room for a desk.”
When he first started with the company, Steve said that he 'helped in coordinating projects' before he eventually started 'the technical team'.
He continued to “work his way up” and finally noticed that he worked directly with Jeff on a “secret project:” a platform “intended as Reddit.”
“I didn't know enough about distributed computer use to get what Jeff wanted in his desired time frame,” he admitted.
“I felt that the project was not feasible at the time, but I was afraid of delivering that message to Jeff.”
In 2005 Steve said that Google made him a 'great offer', so he decided to leave Amazon.
He recently told Business Insider that the founder of Amazon (to be seen in 1997) was a 'hands-on leader' with an 'unmistakable magnetism for him
But Steve (recently seen) added that Jeff was so “focused on the mission” that he sometimes overlooked problems in the office.
Looking back, he confessed that he “didn't really like it there” and disagreed with the practices of the company, “but he was grateful that he had the time he did with Jeff.
“I worked, among others, CEOs, including the Larry page of Google and Eric Schmidt, and they have usually not brought senior employees together for spontaneous chats, but Jeff would do this quite often,” he concluded.
“He would reset us and change how everyone in the company thought of things. He challenged people every day, but I never saw him get angry or swear in my almost seven years there.
“He had this electrical presence, a magnetism for him that was unmistakable.
“He was never difficult to work with, even though he could sometimes be difficult to work for because of his super high expectations.”
In response to the story of Business Insider, Amazon told the publication in a statement: “An anecdote of one person is not representative of what it was like to work at Amazon then or how it is now.”
