Popular Mechanics (South Africa)
Book review:
A binge-worthy business book by the co-founder and first CEO of Netflix.
That Will Never
Work: The Netflix story.
HERE ARE some things you probably didn’t know about Netflix: Marc Randolph – Netflix’s co-founder and first CEO – had to pitch the idea to his mom so she would become an early investor. The company’s first conference room was in a motel. On the day they launched, their server crashed. It definitely wasn’t all ‘Netflix and chill’ … in the business sense.
The Netflix we know and binge today started out as a simple idea. This brilliant memoir, entitled That Will Never Work, tells the story of how Randolph turned a dream into reality, and ultimately created a company worth more than $130 billion.
His idea came about when bricks-and-mortar video rental stores such as Blockbuster were still thriving. If you wanted to watch a movie or series, they were the place to stop by on the way home for hiring a video or DVD. Randolph, who’s been an entrepreneur for more than 40 years, had the vision for Netflix in a world not yet inundated with small business incubators and today’s prolific start-up culture. And while his book is, for the most part, a classic Silicon Valley start-up story, it’s also easy to read, thought-provoking, heartfelt and entertaining. It will take you back to the key conversations, challenges and crazy ideas behind building this tech and media-streaming giant. Ultimately, That Will Never Work is a business book and a bible for budding entrepreneurs. It provides valuable lessons for future founders as well as CEOs, interspersed with the brilliant start-up story of Netflix.
Even if you don’t traditionally like business books (which can sometimes be dry and preachy), this is different. Randolph’s turn of phrase is sure to make you smile, nod your head in agreement and, on occasion, even laugh out loud. It’s full of aha moments and quotable quotes, and will leave you wondering which ideas you should have said yes to instead of thinking,
‘That will never work’.
‘You have to look for ideas, you don’t stumble over them.’
– Marc Randolph