Jeff Bezos urges Gen Z to gain work experience before starting businesses

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has urged Gen Z entrepreneurs to gain solid work experience before starting their own companies.

Speaking during an interview at Italian Tech Week, Bezos said young people should consider working at well-run companies to learn essential skills before taking the leap into entrepreneurship. 

“I always advise young people: go work at a best-practices company where you can learn fundamental things like how to hire well and how to interview,” he said.

Bezos explained that working in a professional environment exposes people to systems, leadership styles, and decision-making processes that are difficult to learn on their own. 

According to Bezos, gaining this experience first “increases your odds” of building a successful business later, adding that there is still plenty of time to start a company after learning those basics.

Bezos, currently the world’s third-wealthiest individual with a net worth of about $268 billion, founded Amazon at the age of 30 after roughly a decade of work experience. 

He often contrasts his path with some of Silicon Valley's influential names like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, who launched Microsoft and Facebook at just 19.

Bezos has described Gates and Zuckerberg as "exceptions," noting that while dropping out can work for some, it is not the norm. 

He also believes his extra years of experience played a key role in Amazon’s success, which has since grown into a company valued at more than $2.6 trillion.