“Don’t Vilify Big Companies”: What Jeff Bezos’ Comments Say About Small Business

Big companies don’t have it easy. Not only do they face urgent and difficult issues, like where to put their second headquarters, but they’re also “vilified” by politicians. At least according to Jeff Bezos.

The founder, chairman, and CEO of Amazon stated at an event in Washington that big companies should be recognized for the value they bring to the US economy, and society generally.

Politicians “shouldn’t vilify big companies,” Mr. Bezos said. “The reason is simple — there are certain things only big customers can do. I know what Amazon could do when we were 10 people; know what could do when we were 1,000 and 10,000, now we are half a million.”

Fair enough. But Jeff Bezos goes on. “There are certain things that only big companies can do. Nobody in their garage is going to build an all-fiber fuel-efficient Boeing 787.”

Small business owners and budding entrepreneurs may find these comments a little insensitive. Maybe even hurtful.

Alexa, Are Monopolies OK?

While Jeff Bezos certainly has a point about size having its advantages, big businesses don’t have everything figured out. In fact, as we’ve seen with Toys R Us and Sears, even decades-old household names can fall victim to the changing times (and their own unchanging attitudes).

The main concern about big business is usually regarding monopolies and antitrust issues. According to Mr. Bezos, a large company can do more than a smaller one. But does that give them a right to monopolize whole industries?

For example, if you ask Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant about buying diapers, what kind of answer will you get? Will Alexa send you to an independent grocery store owned by a local businessperson, or to Amazon?

Contrary to a web search that gives you many options, virtual assistants like Alexa or Siri usually only present a handful of choices. How are those choices determined? Are virtual assistants “partial” to their own companies and their business partners?

If they are, that presents a major problem for both small businesses and consumers. With trusts like that, small businesses can become virtually “invisible.” Potential clients would blindly pass them by en route to the shops suggested by Alexa.

But consumers wouldn’t win with these kinds of deals either. After all, trusts are mainly about establishing prices, usually higher than fair market price. Paying more money to big companies for no reason is not exactly on the wishlist of any consumer.

Garage Innovators

Jeff Bezos mentions big companies and fuel efficient planes. Does he even know what he’s talking about?

Many entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses are working on groundbreaking innovations designed to make the world a better place. Zero Mass Water, Molekule, BlueVine, and Veem are just a few companies revolutionizing various sections of the economy.

Whether it’s climate change, air quality, waste reduction, global payments, or virtually anything else, startups and small businesses are doing more than their fair share to help their communities and humanity in general. Are these kinds of comments really fair?

After all, did Amazon start off as the world’s third most valuable company back in 1994?

No, Mr. Bezos, we didn’t think so.