That Will Never Work
Books | Business & Economics / Entrepreneurship
4.1
(77)
Marc Randolph
In the tradition of Phil Knight's Shoe Dog comes the incredible untold story of how Netflix went from concept to company-all revealed by co-founder and first CEO Marc Randolph.Once upon a time, brick-and-mortar video stores were king. Late fees were ubiquitous, video-streaming unheard was of, and widespread DVD adoption seemed about as imminent as flying cars. Indeed, these were the widely accepted laws of the land in 1997, when Marc Randolph had an idea. It was a simple thought—leveraging the internet to rent movies—and was just one of many more and far worse proposals, like personalized baseball bats and a shampoo delivery service, that Randolph would pitch to his business partner, Reed Hastings, on their commute to work each morning.But Hastings was intrigued, and the pair—with Hastings as the primary investor and Randolph as the CEO—founded a company. Now with over 150 million subscribers, Netflix's triumph feels inevitable, but the twenty first century's most disruptive start up began with few believers and calamity at every turn. From having to pitch his own mother on being an early investor, to the motel conference room that served as a first office, to server crashes on launch day, to the now-infamous meeting when Netflix brass pitched Blockbuster to acquire them, Marc Randolph's transformational journey exemplifies how anyone with grit, gut instincts, and determination can change the world—even with an idea that many think will never work.What emerges, though, isn't just the inside story of one of the world's most iconic companies. Full of counter-intuitive concepts and written in binge-worthy prose, it answers some of our most fundamental questions about taking that leap of faith in business or in life: How do you begin? How do you weather disappointment and failure? How do you deal with success? What even is success?From idea generation to team building to knowing when it's time to let go, That Will Never Work is not only the ultimate follow-your-dreams parable, but also one of the most dramatic and insightful entrepreneurial stories of our time.
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Author
Marc Randolph
Pages
336
Publisher
Little, Brown
Published Date
2019-09-17
ISBN
0316530212 9780316530217
Ratings
Google: 5
Community ReviewsSee all
"Solid book about the early history of Netflix. Some good stories and tips but note that experienced entrepreneurs may find sections a bit basic, but still worth a read"
Ian Morris
"This book, the story of Netflix in the beginning, really turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me. It’s very well written and you can tell how much the author cared about his people. For leaders and entrepreneurs, there is one major lesson throughout the book...know what you like and what you are good at. Become self aware. It is amazing to see someone so reflective and honest about what he was NOT good at and how little that affected his ego. Marc Randolph created a billion dollar company but Reed Hastings is the legend. Marcs self awareness is a lesson to all. He wasn’t the guy for the entire ride, he was the builder."
Sheldon Rapoza
""I can't help but note that as of this writing, the little DVD-by-mail company that Blockbuster could have purchased for $50 million is now worth $150 billion.<br/>And guess where Blockbuster is?<br/>They're down to one last store. It's in Bend Oregon."<br/><br/>Great read about a great company. Randolph tells it how it is immediately debunking the myth of those magical epiphanies where great companies come to life and instead painting a clear picture of a company that owes its existence instead to persistence and relentless trial & error. Although the Netflix story is not awfully long, Randolph recounts the story from day 1 showing its transition from a dvd rental service to a full fledged streaming giant in the wake of incumbents such as Amazon and Blockbuster.<br/><br/>The book is a reminder that nothing can replace the combination of hard work, a commitment to experimentation, and a little help from Mother Fortuna. Also, never forget NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING ~ so just try it.<br/><br/>"
Christopher Gilbert
"“Epiphanies are rare. And when they appear in origin stories, they’re often oversimplified or just plain false. We like these tales because they align with a romantic idea about inspiration and genius. We want our Isaac Newtons to be sitting under the apple tree when the apple falls. We want Archimedes in his bathtub.”
Story of Netflix has always made me curious. I was well aware about their David and Goliath reference wrt Blockbuster but always wondered what could have triggered this idea of making Netflix synonymous to movie rentals and now streaming. As Marc Randolph correctly pointed out that it was not an overnight epiphany but perseverance and hard work. It was a treat to read this memoir of how a startup is born and what makes them persevere through the brutal dot com crash. "
Nerdy Roop
"Strong recommendation, especially in audible"
Eli Glanz