Most recent Amazon title: Technical program manager. He also worked as operations manager and eventually helped launch Amazon's German site. He left Amazon because his work was reduced from technical to. The Foundation does not have an online presence. Bezos and Kaphan are no longer in touch. He has kept his personal life confidential. After writing early code and helping to build the company, he left in 2012 to work for online education non-profit Khan Academy, where he remains today as dean of infrastructure. The Bensons are still together today, living in Washington. One of Google's longest-serving employees, programming legend Jeff Dean was hired in August 1999, a year after the company was founded. Nobody. We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and All that existed of Amazon was on paper at that point. In the early days, Nelson used to be in charge of churning out book reviews for Amazon.com. Most recent Amazon title: Editor, Music and Video. Shel Kaphan has had 1 past job as the VP R&D & CTO at Amazon. Alfred Nickson is a famous , Dolf De Roos Wikipedia and Net Worth: As of the year 2022, Dolf De Roos Net Worth is $5 million. Most recent Amazon title: Operations/Business development/Software development. Taner Halicioglu was Facebook's first 'real' employee, leaving an engineering role at eBay to join the business in 2004. These days, Amazon is one of the most valuable companies in the world and Bezos is the richest person in the world with a net worth of about $105 billion. She told Stone that, in the early days, the assumption was that employees wouldn't even take a weekend day off of work. He told Business Insider in 2017 that he was often the one personally making sure packages made it to the post office by jamming them into his car to drop off at the end of his long workday. He ran the whole customer service department for the first several months, working with Bezos to establish Amazon's famous it's all about the customers attitude. Once he arrived, he made the suggestion to put packing tables in Amazon's warehouse. Read more. Shel Kaphan came from Santa Cruz in a U-Haul before the company was called Amazon. Shel Kaphan earns about $81,840 in salary. When I first got there, we didnt have any computers yet, so the first job was to go shop for some computers and decide what database systems we were going to use and what software was available. He said he agrees that Amazon deserves scrutiny, like everything thats large in the economy and in society., Were in a lot of verticals, yes, Wilke added. Since then, Kaphan has been more outspoken, usually concerning big tech issues and Amazon. According to the web, Shel Kaphan Net Worth is about $1-$3 million. Start Date. Organization Name. Most recent Amazon title: Editor, music and video. The foundation is based in the USA and does not have any online websites. There was a bit of a culture clash between the very early, generation zero of Amazon, and the people that started coming in, said Kaphan, noting the business-school graduates who flocked to the company. Apple's first-ever hire, Bill Fernandez is officially employee #4. Jeff Bezos net worth is an estimated rate of $177.5 billion. Karim Gharbi is currently a successful founder. Thats all for Shel Kaphan Net Worth and biography. After more than a decade of developing software across a number of companies and even teaching at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Henshaw-Plath founded Planetary, a decentralised social network looking to disrupt the market with its user-controlled algorithm and advert-free site. Rainier because this is probably one of the last days of the year that we are going to be able to do that. We were all new to the area, so we just got in the car and drove to Paradise, and hiked around a little bit, and blew that day off from working. Date worked for Amazon: 1996 at least 2001. Copyright 2023 InfluenceWatch. Although he's not officially considered a cofounder, he and Bezos were discussing the company even before it was incorporated, and Bezos once referred to him as the most important person ever in the history of Amazon.com. As the company grew,Geidt climbed the ranks and 10 years later she is Head of Operations at the worlds largest taxi company. Jonathan Kochmer now works for a nonprofit and plays in a band called Two Loons For Tea. Amazon.com today is approaching 40,000 employees. He has dark brown eyes and is maintaining his health and body figure. "'Wizard' was way too old school, 'Jedi' wasn't yet in vogue," he jokes on LinkedIn. His height is 5 feet and 6 inches. What he's doing now: Knapp is now retired. Most recent Amazon title: Information architect. The FBI and Energy Department think Covid-19 came from a lab. What he's doing now: Nelson now serves as executive director of CalPoly's Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. [9], Following his departure from Amazon, Kaphan stayed out of the spotlight and did not sit down for an in-depth interview until 2011. He shared this fun anecdote via email in 2017: "During Christmas 1995, the site really took off. Although he only stayed with Amazon for less than two years, he was absolutely critical to the development of the site, helping to create the entire backend. Copyright 2023. These days he's a top angel investor, sits on the board of an animal care and education centre and has even established a data science institute that bears his name at UC San Diego. Shel Kaphan is Amazon's first ever employee. According to Amazon's first employee, Shel Kaphan, Benson was the one who got Amazon on Netscape's "Whats New' and "Whats Cool" pages when she worked there. I got there in October of 1994, and a month later we hired the second technical guy from the UW, Paul Davis was his name. Date worked for Amazon: Fall 1994 1999 First Amazon job title: VP of Research and Development Most recent Amazon title: CTO. He is now the owner of The Kaphan Foundation. He completely gave up coffee soon after. Bezos and Kaphan are no longer in touch. Stephen Beitzel worked as a software developer at numerous small tech companies and spent almost three years at Apple before joining the team at LinkedIn. [1]. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specific songs by contemporary musicians. Scott left in July 1981. I lived in Santa Cruz, California, and that was at the time when there was a huge amount of ferment in the air with Netscape hiring up all of the hot-shot programmers around. He has stated that he has not kept in touch with Jeff Bezos, but that he would like to ask Bezos if he still believes in less government regulation. The Foundation funds a variety of left-of-center causes and organizations, including Planned Parenthood, groups seeking to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court decision and abolish the Electoral College, and various environmentalist organizations. He also did "stealth online promotion" and vendor negotiation. Over the years he has held a variety of positions in developer support, AppleScript engineering, and more. To the people that were into it, it really was something amazingly cool. Paul Davis was hired by Jeff Bezos in the autumn of 1994 back when the company was headquartered in the Bezos' garage in Bellevue. She's admitted that Bezos could be a royal a**hole with irrational stubbornness, but that it all came from his unrelenting desire to delight customers. Karim Gharbi net worth is an estimated rate of $6.8 million. She is well-known for her business and is also active on social media. September 21, 2022 September 18, 2022 by Tom Grill. The company's first product identifies outfits from the clothes in users' closets. This is only an estimated rate and not an actual rate. At the time, I was more enamored of what we then thought of as bigger machines, the kind of machines that the universities had. Benson joined the company as an engineer. He and Susan, his wife, would always bring their dog Rufus to work with them because of the long hours. Laurel Canan, Amazon's eighth employee, was a 24-year-old carpenter who planned to return to school to become a Chaucer scholar. But if you take it too far, you reach like a breaking point where were going to see things potentially get uglier. Get the latest money-saving tips, expert strategies for boosting your wealth and generally-useful financial info sent straight to your inbox by entering your email address below. Date worked for Amazon: 1995 1998, September 2016 Present, First Amazon title: Recruiting and Operations, What he's doing now: "Principal TPM Middle Mile" at Amazon, Lovejoy worked with Bezos at D.E. He is an Employee at Amazon from 1944-1999. He took up various media roles in the following years, including senior director at cable TV channel ESPN, and a director position at global media company Cond Nast. Trinkle won the National Spelling Bee in 1973 with the word "vouchesafe" and has served on the Bee's Word Panel since 1996, the same year she joined Amazon. It might have happened without the personal connection, but who knows, maybe not.". Shaw research associate, married Jeff Bezos in 1993 and the duo founded Amazon together. What he's doing now: He nows works as a program manager for Microsoft. Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos. He has also recently said that breaking up the e-commerce giant could potentially make sense, and while hes proud of what Amazon has become, it also scares him. Success! You cant just ask one player to change the way that they act.. by John Cook on June 14, 2011 at 10:43 amAugust 5, 2017 at 10:03 am. [2] [3] The Foundation does not have a website and does not appear to solicit grant applications online. Shaw research associate, married Jeff Bezos in 1993 and the duo founded Amazon together. He also addressed concerns around specific technologies and tools used by Amazon, including its proprietary doorbell camera system, Ring. Apple's longest-serving staff member, Espinosa continues to work at the firm. The Foundation also funded left-of-center electoral administration policy organizations, including $200,000 in general support to FairVote, a campaign to abolish the electoral college; $10,000 in general support to Fix Democracy First, which advocates the reversal of the Citizens United decision and taxpayer funding of election campaigns; and $300,000 in general support to the political finance organization MapLight. He completed the preliminary version in only two weeks. Now, Amazon's very first employee, Shel Kaphan, says a breakup of Amazon "could potentially make sense.". When he left his job at the University of Washington, his coworkers passed around a coffee can to collect a few dollars for him in case the risky venture failed. Do you know how much Shel Kaphan net worth is? What drew him to work with Bezos, Kaphan said, was a desire to work on cutting-edge web architecture, or hypertext, and his love of working with books. He completely gave up coffee soon after. MacKenzie Tuttle, a D.E. She became the fledgling company's first accountant and, according to Brad Stone, was the one "handling the finances, writing the checks, and helping with hiring.". At the same time, being large or powerful is not illegal on its own. When Jeff Bezos realized that Molly was helping us in the warehouse, he came down and had her sign a non-disclosure agreement.". What he's doing now: Philanthropy at The Kaphan Foundation. He is now the owner of The Kaphan Foundation. [6], The Foundation made several grants to environmentalist causes, including $25,000 to Earth Economics, $25,000 to National Parks Conservation, $25,000 to the Rainforest Alliance, $25,000 to the Sugar Pine Foundation, and $100,000 in general support to the controversial National Resources Defense Council. Im not all that comfortable with the way that that is used or thats being shared with the police departments, he said. There wasnt a lot of extraneous activity., Nothing unusual from those early days? Schonhoff, Amazon's fifth employee, had just earned a computer science degree at the University of Washington when Bezos brought him on board. A few are happily retired. According to Mike Hanlon, Amazon's seventh employee, Knute Sears and Fred Eiden were Amazon's ninth and tenth employees, hired in 1995. What he's doing now: Philanthropy at the Kaphan Foundation. You've been added to our mailing list. It is a Left-of-center grantmaking foundation. Explore FRONTLINEs collected and ongoing reporting on Russia's war on Ukraine. In the interview, highlights of which are excerpted below, he expresses his concerns about the impact of Amazon on competition and innovation and says it could potentially make sense to break up parts of the company. She was Amazon's receptionist. In the early days, Nelson used to be in charge of churning out book reviews for Amazon.com. Heather Cairns was Google's first ever HR manager. Inhis own words: "I left, despite significant stock and other inducements to remain, because I am a technical person and had little interest in playing a role in the growth of the company. It might have happened without the personal connection, but who knows, maybe not. He celebrates his birthday every year. Cook, John. He and Susan, his wife, would always bring their dog Rufus to work with them because of the long hours. Rugel is now using his digital expertise in a relatively new venture called The Seventh Spark Company, which brings together faith communities using mobile technology. He is an Employee at Amazon from 1944-1999. Others went on to other major companies. He also did stealth online promotion and vendor negotiation. Kaphan says he still owns some Amazon shares; he wouldn't specify how many. Reader support helps us keep our explainers free for all. He started out in the company as a teenager in 1977 and was the company's first programmer. One of Amazons first employees says the company should be broken up, recent comments from Amazons second employee, Paul Davis, Chris Hughes has also called for the breakup, Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice are all engaged in simultaneous investigations. Shel Kaphan Biography In an interview for a new PBS Frontline documentary about Amazon viewed by Recode, which airs February 18, Kaphan said the companys rise to power has left him conflicted. In 2022, she has also served with magazines including Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, W, and Elle. Date worked for Amazon: 1995 to at least 1998 (we weren't able to find further information on Canan). Everyone was working long hours, and my girlfriend (now wife) Molly would come hang out in the warehouse in the evenings to help us pack up shipments. In 2012, he donated $2.5 million to defend gay marriage in Washington. He is one , John Delony is a famous bestselling author and anchor of The Dr. John Delony Show. During Christmas 1995, the site really took off. Strauss had a variety of jobs at Amazon, including answering customer service calls, writing code, packing books, giving presentations, and "anything else you can imagine.". YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down. Although they took that first long road trip alone, it didn't take Bezos with his grand vision and boisterous laugh long to start pulling in talent. Shel Kaphan was the very first employee hired by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, in 1994. The founding of Facebook has produced a fair few billionaires over the years, and the social networks earliest employees have gone on to have enviable careers even after leaving the company. To most it would seem obvious, but Bezos, who had suggested buying knee-pads to make packing on the ground easier, praised him for years for the completely "brilliant idea.". Kaphan spoke to FRONTLINE for the upcoming documentary Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos, which airs Feb. 18. While at Amazon, Kochmer helped develop the browse system for books and worked within the teams that developed the company-wide data infrastructures. She was Amazon's receptionist. Software engineer Ellen Ratajak worked on Amazon's early IT. Laurel Canan eventually married another early employee, Sara Jinks. Accessed March 13, 2021. You used to pay for social media with your eyeballs. It has also previously said, Amazon only succeeds when sellers succeed and claims to the contrary are wrong. Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has also called for the breakup of the company he helped form with Mark Zuckerberg. In fiscal year 2018, the Kaphan Foundation reported $62,023,402 in revenue, of which $61.5 million came from a stock contribution by Kaphan, and $931,349 came from dividends and interest. However, we are searching his Instagram and Facebook profiles and update you very soon. Shel Kaphan was Amazon's first employee besides Bezos and his wife. Most recent Amazon title: Editor, books division. In 2013, Stubbletine also launched a publicationcalled Better Humans, offering self-improvement advice, followed bysister projects Better Programming and Better Marketing in 2019. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), https://www.geekwire.com/2011/meet-shel-kaphan-amazoncom-employee-1/, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/amazon-first-employee-shel-kaphan-calls-company-huge-unstoppable-force/, https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation (Non-profit), Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) (Non-profit), Democracy Now Productions (Democracy Now!) While at Amazon, Kochmer helped develop the browse system for books and worked within the teams that developed the company-wide data infrastructures. He is an Employee at Amazon from 1944-1999. uses data to help you make stressful decisions, She's admitted that Bezos could be a "royal a**hole", She's admitted that Bezos could be a royal a**hole. What he's doing now: Owner of Stark Raving Foods, which makes gluten-free frozen pizza. But nobody else seemed to care about it or think much of it. Jeff was working on it full-time already, and his wife, Mackenzie, was writing checks every once in a while. What he's doing now: Kochmer is chief technology officer at a startup called Synectify in Singapore, according to LinkedIn. Shaw research associate, married Jeff Bezos in 1993 and the duo founded Amazon together. But it is still the case that people are trying to figure out how to do business on the Web, and in the early days it was even more of an open question. In January 2010, Uber founder Travis Kalanick tookto Twitter for tips on people to hire for his brand new start-up Ryan Graves replied with his email address and two months later he was Ubers first official employee, stepping into the role of CEO. Combined with our highly effective AI-driven software, our robotic equipment manages the efficient storage, movement of material, and workflows while . Microsoft's first technical writer Andrea Lewis, pictured in 1978 and more recently, started at the company in 1977 and was the only staff member hailing from Albuquerque, where the firm's first headquarters was located. He completed the preliminary version in only two weeks. The broken Twitter everyone warned us about is finally here. In August 2013, Bezos bought The Washington Post for $250 million and Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion. Shel Kaphan once said that it took Jeff Bezos all summer to convince him to work with him since he had previously worked as a programmer on several failing startups. Support our mission, and make a gift today. 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