It’s 2 a.m. and I just finished the fifth episode of Season Two of Stranger Things. Just one more episode before I go to bed, well maybe two episodes. Welcome to the area of binge-watching, a phenomenon brought about by the creation of Netflix. From the days of the mail-in DVD to the streaming and content video giant it is today, Netflix's success has been built upon the simple business principles of preparing for anything and never taking NO for an answer. The founders never listened to the naysayers when they were told that their business would never work. Google changed the way we find information on the web and Facebook and Instagram changed the way we socialize with others on the web. Netflix changed the way we actually consume media, forever changing the way we watch television and movies.
Netflix was founded on April 14th, 1998 by two Silicon Valley software engineers, Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings. Brought together by business, they became friends. Living in the same town, they carpooled to work and developed a plan to start a new business, whereas Reed would become the financial backer and Marc would come up with the idea. The idea they came up with was video renting by mail after Hastings had incurred high late fees on a video he had rented from Blockbuster, the story goes. They started with $2 million. It took 6 months and $1 million to start their own website, netflix.com. They started their business incrementally. At the time, all videos were on VHS cassettes and Blockbuster dominated all video rental markets. Randolph and Hastings were lucky because at the time they came up with their idea, DVDs were being introduced into the US, which was a new lightweight medium for mailing out videos. They tested their idea sending a music CD in a gift envelope to Hastings’ home address and the idea of Netflix took off from there.
Starting with just 900 DVDs, they officially launched Netflix, a new DVD video by mail business. Essentially, one would select a movie online and Netflix would mail out the DVD. Once received you had as long as you needed to watch the video without incurring late fees. By mailing the DVD back you would receive another on your list. However, what truly launched Netflix was the fact that there were no late fees and high-priced subscriptions, meaning that people would be able to hold onto a disk for a few days, weeks, even a year. Netflix also offered people a free month trial subscription.
Although Randolph and Hastings encountered problems initially with their start-up, their persistence and confidence helped the business to eventually succeed, even though many told them Netflix would never work. After two years of struggling and trial and error, Netflix eventually became so successful that they dominated the market in video rentals, putting Blockbuster and video rental stores out of business. Where Netflix has gained in success and popularity over the past years has been through streaming video. The way we watch television has changed and it is now possible to watch entire seasons of television shows in one sitting.
Today, the popularity of Netflix stems from their amazing content of movies, television series, and documentaries. In 2013, Netflix created their first Netflix Original, the award-winning House of Cards followed by Orange is the New Black. Most recently Stranger Things, Peaky Blinders and The Crown dominated the airwaves. Netflix now produces documentaries and recently Netflix producers were up for their first Oscar for The Irishman.
Personally, I love binge-watching series on Netflix. I love movies! Netflix has been a big part of my life, especially during quarantine. From watching old classics to documentaries, I have learned a lot from their content. Netflix is great because there are no commercials, so I can watch as many movies as I want, without any commercials. Also, Netflix has simultaneous logins, so when I am home watching Stranger Things, my dad can be watching Peaky Blinders and my mom can be watching The Crown, all on one account.
I am so lucky to be a student at High Point University where our Entrepreneur in Residence is Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph, who directly works with students of all majors and has changed the world of media. As Marc Randolph states, “Don’t set aspirations beyond your means.” In his book That Will Never Work: The Birth of NETFLIX and The Amazing Life of An Idea, he states that being persistent, dedicated, confident, an taking risks is the key to success. He states that blocking out time every day to do important things in your life is necessary or else they will never get done. I love how he overcame obstacles and never gave up to fulfill his dream. Thank you, Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings for taking the risk. I look forward to seeing you on campus again soon!
On the far left is a picture a VHS cassette and an original BlockBuster card. On the top right is an example of an original Netflix video DVD mailer.
On the bottom right is a photo of me enjoy my favorite shows and movies on Netflix during Quarantine!
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