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"Your idea is wrong," Randolph said."The real skill is how clever you can be about figuring out a quick and easy and cheap way to demonstrate your idea is viable."Netflix is nearly unrecognizable today compared to the video store presented in its early pitches, as cofounder Marc Randolph described them to Business Insider in an interview.
But Netflix would save you the drive the store each week by allowing you to place your orders online and then mailing the titles directly to you. Randolph told employees in May 1998 that Netflix aspired to be one of the 10 largest video chains within three years."Which of course was pathetically small," Randolph said."It's still funny to think how unbelievably ridiculous it would have been the point to Netflix then, and say, well look at what it is now."It wasn't the ideas in the pitches that made them successful, Randolph said. It was about showing that he could make the ideas work.
Netflix's model evolved a lot in its early days, too. DVD sales were the company's biggest revenue driver for its first few years; rentals made up a small part of the business. By 2000, Netflix had pivoted to a subscription offering to create a steadier stream of revenue. That evolution helped show investors that Netflix was nimble and not afraid to make changes when something wasn't working.
Putting our early-reach people on cc 😃👍
Monthly subscriptions do well. Who remembers Sirius?