Amazon tried to buy Diapers com.
They said no.
So Bezos did the most ruthless move in business history:
He first crushed them and then bought them anyway.
Here’s how it all went down 🧵
Two founders—Marc Lore and Vinit Bharara—launch
A tiny startup selling baby wipes and formula online.
Everyone laughed.
Until the numbers started growing.
Parents loved the site.
They offered fast shipping, unbeatable service, and built real loyalty.
In 5 years, http://Diapers.com hit $300M in annual revenue.
Amazon took notice.
They made an offer.
$580 million.
The founders said no.'
They wanted to keep building.
Bezos doesn’t like hearing “no.”
What happened next? Ruthless.
Amazon slashed diaper prices—below cost.
They lost money on every sale.
On purpose.
At one point, they were losing $100M/year
just to bleed http://Diapers.com dry.
But it didn’t stop there.
Amazon ramped up Google ads on all diaper-related keywords—
Just to drive CPCs up for their competitor.
http://Diapers.com was squeezed hard.
Margins collapsed. CAC went up.
VCs got nervous. Cash flow tanked.
The founders were stuck.
They had no choice.
They sold. To Amazon.
For exactly $545M. Less than the original offer.
Amazon got the users. The supply chain. And the team.
At a discount.
It was brutal.
But it worked.
And years later, Marc Lore would call it:
“The hardest business decision we ever had to make.”
The lesson?
It’s not always about building the better product.
It’s about playing the better game.
And sometimes, the game is war.
As a solo founder, this is your edge:
You’re small.
You’re fast.
You don’t need permission.
But you *do* need a strategy that plays to your size.
That’s what we teach at BuildSolo.
How to grow without VC.
How to move fast.
How to punch above your weight.
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