Marc Randolph

That Will Never Work

1. IDEA 1

   An unlikely idea became Netflix

   Randolph, Netflix's co-founder and first chief executive, tells how the company began with an idea many people doubted: renting films through the post. Friends and investors told him it would never work, but he kept testing it.

2. IDEA 2

   A test with a single disc

   Randolph describes mailing a single music CD to himself to see if a disc would survive the post. When it arrived safely, the idea of renting DVDs by mail seemed possible.

3. IDEA 3

   No one knows anything

   Randolph argues that nobody can predict which ideas will succeed. The only way to find out is to test ideas quickly and cheaply. In his view, even experts guess wrong, so small, quick tests teach more than confident predictions.

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