Sorry

In 2012, I quit Amazon. I was fried.

This was the .com era.

A time of RAPID growth, innovation, and expansion.

The like we have never seen again.

It was insane.

After 7 years of innovating global ecommerce, building operations, and running 110%…

I tapped out.

In the end, I was in extreme survival mode.

Adrenal exhaustion. IBS. Pre-diabetic and addicted to sleeping pills.

I was a money-making machine, surviving on good wine, imported cheese, and prescriptions.

In my final days at Amazon, I sat down with Greg, an old-school Amazonian and fellow “Islander.”

At this point, my point of view was pretty bleak…and I was full of vitriol.

After seven years at Amazon, two tech patents, laying the cornerstones of the Amazon import supply chain, generating billions of dollars of GMV, and architecting global DTC as we know it today…

I could not think of a single positive thing to say. I was a hollow shell.

Greg looked at me and said, “One day, Kim, you are going to look back on all the AMAZING things you built here…and you are going to be really proud of it.”

And I leaned forward and looked Greg right in the eye and said,

“FU!”

It was not my finest moment. Not my worst by a mile, but not my finest.

In the years to come, I would begin to see Greg’s point.

I would see how cutting the paths for international customer experience and pushing the boundaries of the supply chain…were accomplishments without comparison.

Most importantly, leading a team and a COMPANY through the most uncharted waters in ecommerce was the greatest gift, honor, and responsibility ever bestowed.

It took almost a decade, but…

I’m sorry, Greg. You were right.