Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph on the ‘Best Decision’ the Streaming Giant Ever Made

Netflix has come a long way since 1997, from an upstart Blockbuster competitor to a streaming powerhouse with more than 150 million global subscribers. And there aren’t many people better to talk about the early days than Marc Randolph, the company’s co-founder and first chief executive. Randolph documents the streaming giant’s formative years in his new book “That Will Never Work.” There’s plenty to cover, including Netflix’s now-infamous pitch to Blockbuster in 2000 to be bought out for $50 million. The Blockbuster execs, Randolph told TheWrap, had a hard time keeping a straight face. (Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010.) Randolph also revisits a key PowerPoint presentation from his friend and co-founder, current Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, in 1998. The subject: Why Randolph wasn’t cut out to be chief executive — and should give up 650,000 shares (current valuation: nearly $190 million) in the process. The conversation was a textbook example of the “radical honesty” Randolph said made his working relationship with Hastings so fruitful. Randolph ended up becoming the company’s president and stayed on for another five years. TheWrap recently caught up with Randolph to talk about his time at Netflix: Also Read: Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner Talks...

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